CINTAS Foundation presents the winners of its 2022 awards, the Oscars of Cuban artists

Three Cuban creators won the 2022 grants from the CINTAS Foundation, which consist of an award of US$20,000 each to support the creative development of the artists. 

The awards ceremony took place on Sunday during a virtual event broadcasted on Facebook. At the event, members of the CINTAS Board of Directors presented the finalists in these three categories. President Celso González-Falla welcomed all attendees and Cristina Nosti, Creative Writing category; Orlando García, Musical Composition Chair; and Rafael Miyar, Visual Arts Chair, announced the winner for their respective disciplines.

The Creative Writing Award went to Cuban writer, journalist, and editor Armando Lucas Correa. A New York resident of more than 25 years, Correa published his first novel, "The German Girl" in 2016 and it immediately became an international bestseller. It has since been translated into 17 languages and published in more than 30 countries. 

Hollywood Gang Productions—the same company that produced blockbusters such as "300" and "Immortals"—bought the rights of the popular novel to turn it into a television series. Correa is a graduate of the University of the Arts of Cuba (Instituto Superior de Arte) and holds a postgraduate degree in journalism from the University of Havana.

The finalists in this category were: Ruth Behar, Ana Hebra Flaster, Abigail Santamaría, and Emma Trelles.

The winner in the Visual Arts category was Cuban artist Sandra Ceballos. Ceballos, who lives in Havana, graduated from the San Alejandro School of Fine Arts. Together with Ezequiel Suarez she created Espacio Aglutinador, an independent and alternative art space where emerging or alternative artists can develop their exhibitions and cultural programs. She is also the driving force behind Perro Residencies, an altruistic project in Havana that produces and disseminates the work of low-income artists and curators.

The finalists in this category were: Gustavo Acosta, Luisa María Basnuevo, Hamlet Lavastida, and Clara Varas.

The award in the Music Composition category went to composer, conductor, classical guitarist, and educator Rodrigo Castro. The musician holds a bachelor's degree in Music and Composition from Florida State University and a master's degree in Music Composition from Carnegie Mellon University, from which he also earned a Certificate of Advanced Music Studies in Composition/Theory and Conducting. Castro was born in Mexico to Cuban parents with whom he later immigrated to Miami.

The finalists in this category were: Adonis González-Matos and Alexis Rodríguez Martínez.

The CINTAS Fellowship Program promotes the creative development of Cuban-born artists residing in any country around the world. The institution was established in 1963, with funds from the estate of prominent businessman and patron of the arts Oscar B. Cintas (1887-1957), who was also Cuba's ambassador to the United States. 

The prestigious competition has recognized the achievements of Cuban artists in various categories over the past five decades. Among them are Carmen Herrera, Félix González-Torres, Reinaldo Arenas, María Martínez-Cañas, Teresita Fernández, Oscar Hijuelos, María Irene Fornés, Andrés Duany, and Tania León, among others.