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 An artist & ethnic
muralist from the Bronx in New York, Enrique Rafael Cabrera’s only desire
as a child was to be involved in the arts. He was able to fulfill his
dream when he graduated from the School of Visual Arts Miguel Pou back in
1973.
In 1985, he moved to Massachusetts and a year later he began painting
murals with teenagers from schools in the area. Utilizing his own talent
to design these murals using history & literature as a backdrop, Enrique
Rafael was able to teach art & history to young people. In 1993, he moved
to Miami, Florida where he signed up a five mural contract with ASPIRA of
Florida. It was this project that opened doors for other sponsors such as
Nestlé’s Very Best in Youth Program, Coca Cola Calle Ocho Festival and
South Florida Art Center.
Enrique Rafael has painted; with Florida teenagers, thirteen murals
ranging from Puerto Rican, Dominican, Haitian, Cuban and African-American
history. His murals can be seen all over the Miami & Miami Beach
communities. In 1995, he was contracted to paint his first mural in the
largest multicultural city of the eastern seaboard of the United States,
New York. Through the offices of ASPIRA in New York, he painted a mural
for the Project B.E.A.M., Beacon Program at the Alexander Junior High
School, located in the South Bronx community of Mott Haven.
Enrique has been the only artist to design for 11 consecutive years
1995-2006, Centro Las Americas’ Latin American Festival’s posters. This
event is held each August in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts to
celebrate the Hispanic culture.
Back in the state of Florida he worked as a scenic artist for the
Miami-Dade Community College Pawley Theatre painting scenery for shows as
Guys and dolls, The Crucible, Pirates of Penance and with the Coconut
Grove Playhouse: Don’t Stop the Carnival, with music written by Jimmy
Buffet.
His passion of the trade made him one of the first Hispanics to work as a
scenic artist with The Florida Shakespeare Theatre; now called The Gable
Stage, located at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Fl. There, he was
able to enrich his palette while painting scenery for shows such as:
Skylight, From Mice to Men, Full Gallop, Psychopathia Sexualis and Citizen
Tom Payne among many others.
In 2002 he became artist in residence for ASPIRA of Broward where he was
able to teach, once again, how to preserve and strengthen cultural
heritage to “at risk" students. As a result, a collection of wonderful
paintings & sculptures were exhibited at the Art Serve Gallery in Fort
Lauderdale, Fl. Enrique Rafael currently lives in the city of Miramar,
Florida.
Click on images to view larger.
You can contact Enrique at telephone: (954) 593-2912 or email:
enriquerafaelcabrera@yahoo.com
You can also see more of his work at:
www.enriquerafaelcabrera.com
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