Source: WTL digital photo of canvas in "Imagining of Place" art exhibition at Santa Fe College, 2009.
Permission: Nereida García Ferraz's email to WTL March 2, 2009.

Comments: The two images in the column on the right are of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (Virgin of Charity of Copper), who is the Patron Saint of Cuba and therefore of Cuban Americans (in the Roman Catholic tradition). I have placed them here because, in my understanding, García Ferraz's images are suggestive of this version of Saint Mary and the story about origins of the actual image, which you see in fancy Roman Catholic garb in the bottom image on the right. It is now housed in a sanctuary (santuario) near the city of Santiago de Cuba on the SE coast of the island.

Abbreviated version of the origin story: In 1612-1613 three poor Cubans of color known in tradition as the "three Juanes" (Juan de Hoyos, Rodrigo de Hoyos, and Juan Moreno) found an image of the Virgen off of Cape Francés in the Bay of Nipe, Cuba, when they were searching for salt, which was used to cure beef in the region of the copper mines of the Cueibá region of Cuba. They found a board floating on the water with a small image of Saint Mary holding the Baby Jesus in her arms and an inscription that said "Yo soy la Virgen de la Caridad" (I am the Virgin of Charity). They were amazed that neither the image nor her clothes were wet. At first the image was displayed in a small hermitage, but soon it was moved to the parish church of the Royal Copper Mines, hence this Virgin's name. Her veneration then spread throughout Cuba, and the statue was moved to a larger venue that could accomodate the huge increase in visits by pilgrims. In 1916, Pope Benedict XV declared the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre the Patron Saint of Cuba to be celebrated annually on September 8th. In 1977, the sanctuary was elevated to the status of Basilica, and in 1998 Pope John Paul II gave her the title of Queen and Patron Saint of Cuba; hence the crown on these images. (A nice Web site with photos of the Virgen del Cobre in Cuba is: http://www.santiagoencuba.com/galerias/el_cobre/cobre.htm).

In exile after the rise of a communist dictatorship in Cuba, the Cuban community of Miami longed for a way to venerate their Patron Saint. Coincidentally, on September 8, 1961, when they were celebrating mass in Miami Stadium, an image of the Virgen de la Caridad was presented to them. It had been in the Guanabo parish in the Archidiocese of Havana, but it had been secreted to the Italian embassy in Havana; from there it passed into the hands of the Panamanian Commerce Commission; and thence to mass in Miami Stadium, which was being officiated by the Archbishop Carroll of Miami.

Humanities Question: (A) Now compare and contrast again these two sets of images placed one on top of the other with the work you did for García Ferraz #18. Especially, explain the García Ferraz's bottom image.