Rita Longa's work 'Forma, espacio y luz' (1950-53)

Havana, June 15 (RHC)-- The National Center for Fine Arts paid tribute on June 14th to Cuban sculptor Rita Longa on her 109th birthday anniversary.

On its Twitter account, the prestigious Havana-based institution recalled that Rita Longa –the National Fine Arts Prize laureate in 1995-- is the artist behind more than 120 works, notably Los Venados (1947) depicting a family of deer at the entrance to the Havana Zoo, the Marble Ballerina (1950) that presides over the entrance to the world-famous Tropicana Cabaret.

Her bronze statue of Cuban National Hero Jose Marti, situated in the plaza bearing his name, doubles as a solar clock.

The sculptor often visited the Zapata Peninsula home of the Taino, Cuba’s indigenous people. Fascinated by their culture, she created 25 life-size sculptures from marble dust and concrete depicting their daily life. The works are now scattered about a reconstructed Taino village in Guama that she designed with architect Mario Girona.

Rita Longa died in Havana on May 29, 2000.

Other awards granted to Rita Longa included the Gold Medal at Exhibition of the Architectural League in New York City, Cuba’s Alejo Carpentier Medal and Félix Varela Order.