According to the 2020 U.S. Census, 6.8% of Cincinnati’s residents are foreign-born, nearly double the 2000 Census figure of 3.8%. To celebrate The Queen City’s increasingly rich diversity, ArtWorks launched a new mural series celebrating our communities’ diverse cultures. This project proudly includes our first mural honoring Cincinnati’s Cuban culture.

“Azucar!”, designed by illustrator/designer Jorge Rodriguez Diez, embodies the artists’ experience as a Cuban artist and immigrant. The mural features illustrations that reference advertising graphics and political propaganda while reflecting on and questioning Cuba’s conflicted past. Diez uses stylized graphics from period magazines and recycles images typical of Cuban history to establish a close connection to its current reality. Irony and sarcasm are essential strategies in Diez’s work.