Yankee go home...with me.
Hoy decidí gracias a Youtube, armar unas notas sobre la música americana y la “especial” importancia que tuvo para mi generación.
En la Cuba de mi temprana juventud, nos obligaban a repetir que vivíamos en un Paraíso. Para no romper las alegorías bíblicas; hoy a muchos años de distancia, puedo afirmar que la “Música americana”, terminó siendo “El fruto prohibido” y que la vehemente pasión con que la escuchábamos, devino en nuestro pecado original. Los campos de concentración UMAP (Google-it!) fueron nuestro castigo. Confieso que hubiéramos preferido la correspondiente “Expulsión del Paraíso”, con espada de fuego incluida indicándonos hacia “El Norte”…como Dios manda.
También confieso que toda esta simbología religiosa, la he tomado de pautas establecidas, antaño, por nuestro Comediante en jefe: que a sus 33- años-Cristo un día (de Dios) 1ro de enero de1959, le “ñampitió” el trono a Fulgencio Pilatos.
Ya para 1966, la mermada industria ligera del país, apuntaba a su desaparición. Primero desaparecieron los anuncios comerciales del total de los productos cotidianos, seguidos por la también desaparición, de los productos antiguamente anunciados.
Todo lo que otrora nos fue familiar, desaparecía como por arte de Magia…negra.
Gene Pitney / Kepp Telling Yourself
En los finales de ese año, ya había yo regresado a Cienfuegos, mi ciudad natal, con dos propósitos; estudiar formalmente arte y alejarme lo más posible del infame CDR (Google-it!) informante e imperante del pueblo donde crecí. Durante la despedida, una enlutada mujer y madre del joven vecino que se había suicidado, recién salido de la UMAP; me obsequió un LP de Gene Pitney (obviamente música americana). Había sido parte de las pertenencias de su infortunado muchacho. Quizás la única manera de protestar calladamente su dolor.
Por mucho tiempo conservé el disco y aunque me encantaba, no pude oírlo frecuentemente, pues no tenía Tocadiscos. Sumándole que mis estudios de arte eran en un colegio Internado con disciplina militar. A veces lo llevaba, como mi aporte a algunas fiestas de ocasión, sin olvidar jamás su triste procedencia.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
American Citizen / Yankee Go Home...with me

This picture is from 1965 when I was 14 years old. It was intended to go on my passport; if...all legal procedures with the Cuban Emigration authority turned out successful, but they didn't. Simply because my age then was to close to 16; the fatalistic age when Young males of the "New Revolution" serve in the "Mandatory Military Service" by law. A law that affected the majority of Cuban families anxious to leaving the country. Practically a blackmail that worked wonders for a government that at the same time "changed" the Cuban currency; from "equal to dollars" to a new "Peso" that worth nothing, still.
All this made us prisoners of an island where "Yankee Go Home" sadly became our daily "National Hymn" for ever and without hope, so far.
Reason why after I saw this offensive slogan turned so cleverly around (in the infamous movie "One Angry Inch") always make me smile with satisfaction.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Yankee Go Home...with me
Cepp Selgas / God Bless America IV - Burned Flag / Oil and encaustic on muslim / 27x36in. / 1989.

Funny 4th of July jokes
OK, I know they’re corny...
Q: Did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell?
A: Yeah, it cracked me up.
Q: What’s red, white, blue and green?
A: A patriotic pickle
A. A seasick Uncle Sam
Q: Why did the British cross the Atlantic?
A: To get to the other tide
Q: What happened as a result of the Stamp Act?
A: The Americans licked the British
Q: What did one flag say to the other flag?
A: Nothing, it just waved.
Q: Why did the duck say bang?
A: Because he was a firequacker
Q: What’s the difference between a duck and George Washington?
A: One has a bill on his face, and the other has his face on a bill
Q: What was George Washington’s favorite tree?
A: The infantry
Q: Do they have a 4th of July in England?
A: Of course they do. That’s how they get from the 3rd to the 5th.
Q: What protest by a group of dogs happened in 1773?
A: The Boston Flea Party
Sources: yumsugar.com, helium.com

Funny 4th of July jokes
OK, I know they’re corny...
Q: Did you hear the one about the Liberty Bell?
A: Yeah, it cracked me up.
Q: What’s red, white, blue and green?
A: A patriotic pickle
A. A seasick Uncle Sam
Q: Why did the British cross the Atlantic?
A: To get to the other tide
Q: What happened as a result of the Stamp Act?
A: The Americans licked the British
Q: What did one flag say to the other flag?
A: Nothing, it just waved.
Q: Why did the duck say bang?
A: Because he was a firequacker
Q: What’s the difference between a duck and George Washington?
A: One has a bill on his face, and the other has his face on a bill
Q: What was George Washington’s favorite tree?
A: The infantry
Q: Do they have a 4th of July in England?
A: Of course they do. That’s how they get from the 3rd to the 5th.
Q: What protest by a group of dogs happened in 1773?
A: The Boston Flea Party
Sources: yumsugar.com, helium.com
Friday, July 2, 2010
4th of July / Fun Facts and Trivia
Cepp Selgas / God Bless America I / Encaustic on wood-Stretcher assemblage and mirror / 24X18X18in. / 1989.

4th of July fun facts and trivia:
Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national animal but was outvoted when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson chose the bald eagle.
Over an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed today. That's roughly 1 dog for every two people in the U.S.
Oddly, the majority of the nation's flags and patriotic paraphernalia in relation to the 4th of July is produced in China. Nearly $349 million dollars are used each year to import in the flags, banners, decorations, and emblems.
The first 4th of July party held at the White House was in 1801.
The 4th of July was not declared a national holiday until 1941.
The national anthem is actually set to the tune of an old English drinking song called To Anacreon in Heaven.
John Hancock was the only person to actually sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The other 55 signers did not sign it until August 2nd or even later.
The youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence was 26-year-old Edward Rutledge. The oldest signer was Benjamin Franklin. He was 70. Most of the signers were in their 30s and 40s.
When the United States became a country, there were approximately 2.5 million people living in the country. Today the population is around 304 million.
Bristol, Rhode Island has the oldest, continuous 4th of July celebration dating back to 1785.
The following events happened on July 4th:
Three U.S. presidents have died on July 4th. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the singing of the Declaration of Independence. Five years later, James Monroe died on July 4, 1831.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was published on this date in 1865.
Calvin Coolidge is the only U.S. president born on the 4th of July. He was born in 1872.
Ann Landers and twin sister Abigail VanBuren, both advice columnists, were born on July 4, 1918.
Marie Curie, the only woman to win two Nobel Prizes and the only person to win two in two different science fields, died on July 4, 1934.
Sources: yumsugar.com, helium.com

4th of July fun facts and trivia:
Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national animal but was outvoted when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson chose the bald eagle.
Over an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed today. That's roughly 1 dog for every two people in the U.S.
Oddly, the majority of the nation's flags and patriotic paraphernalia in relation to the 4th of July is produced in China. Nearly $349 million dollars are used each year to import in the flags, banners, decorations, and emblems.
The first 4th of July party held at the White House was in 1801.
The 4th of July was not declared a national holiday until 1941.
The national anthem is actually set to the tune of an old English drinking song called To Anacreon in Heaven.
John Hancock was the only person to actually sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The other 55 signers did not sign it until August 2nd or even later.
The youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence was 26-year-old Edward Rutledge. The oldest signer was Benjamin Franklin. He was 70. Most of the signers were in their 30s and 40s.
When the United States became a country, there were approximately 2.5 million people living in the country. Today the population is around 304 million.
Bristol, Rhode Island has the oldest, continuous 4th of July celebration dating back to 1785.
The following events happened on July 4th:
Three U.S. presidents have died on July 4th. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the singing of the Declaration of Independence. Five years later, James Monroe died on July 4, 1831.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was published on this date in 1865.
Calvin Coolidge is the only U.S. president born on the 4th of July. He was born in 1872.
Ann Landers and twin sister Abigail VanBuren, both advice columnists, were born on July 4, 1918.
Marie Curie, the only woman to win two Nobel Prizes and the only person to win two in two different science fields, died on July 4, 1934.
Sources: yumsugar.com, helium.com
Thursday, July 1, 2010
My 2010 Zoe' Calendar / July-Juillet
Cepp Selgas / Escape / Acrylic on canvas / 20X40in. / 2009.

Gracias a la gentileza del calendario 2010, ingeniado por Zoé Valdés, como promoción a mi reciente exhibición en el Ars Atelier de Paris el pasado mes de marzo; tengo el chance de poder hablar de cada una de las 9 piezas que conformaron la misma.
Hoy mi “Escape” inicia su travesía desde julio 1ro hasta su 31 final. Un mes muy importante en la historia de Cuba por su 26 de julio de 1953 y por el 31 de julio de 2006. Dos insultos a la inteligencia humana-cubana.
Ahora ojos a la obra.
Escape:
Partiendo del símbolo universal de la armonía de los opuestos Ying & Yan, me propuse “cubanizarlo” con dos estilizadas siluetas de la isla de Cuba. Dos; la de la propaganda izquierdista, y la “del engendro-real”, que en efecto conforman la textura del acuático helicoide, con el que he representado el mar.
Con esta obra quise lograr un genérico e intemporal "autorretrato" en una composición de hierático equilibrio. Un deshumanizado jeroglífico en espera de un experto, que logre al fin descifrar el drama.

Gracias a la gentileza del calendario 2010, ingeniado por Zoé Valdés, como promoción a mi reciente exhibición en el Ars Atelier de Paris el pasado mes de marzo; tengo el chance de poder hablar de cada una de las 9 piezas que conformaron la misma.
Hoy mi “Escape” inicia su travesía desde julio 1ro hasta su 31 final. Un mes muy importante en la historia de Cuba por su 26 de julio de 1953 y por el 31 de julio de 2006. Dos insultos a la inteligencia humana-cubana.
Ahora ojos a la obra.
Escape:
Partiendo del símbolo universal de la armonía de los opuestos Ying & Yan, me propuse “cubanizarlo” con dos estilizadas siluetas de la isla de Cuba. Dos; la de la propaganda izquierdista, y la “del engendro-real”, que en efecto conforman la textura del acuático helicoide, con el que he representado el mar.
Con esta obra quise lograr un genérico e intemporal "autorretrato" en una composición de hierático equilibrio. Un deshumanizado jeroglífico en espera de un experto, que logre al fin descifrar el drama.
Labels:
Cepp Selgas,
Cuban Artist,
Mariel,
Tessellation,
USA.
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