Cuban Faces of 2015: Danilo Maldonado, ‘El Sexto’, Graffiti Artist

Cuban Faces of 2015: Danilo Maldonado, 'El Sexto', Graffiti Artist /
14ymedio
Posted on December 31, 2015

14ymedio, Havana, 29 December 2015 — Irreverent and daring, the graffiti
artist Danilo Maldonado, known as El Sexto (The Sixth)—in a satirical
reference to the 'Five Heroes'—organized a performance for Christmas
2014 under the title Animal Farm. In Havana's Central Park the artist
intended to release two pigs on which he had painted the names Fidel and
Raul, but he was never able to carry out the action because he was
arrested on the way there and imprisoned.

During the time he spent in prison, El Sexto managed to send out
drawings and letters that visually narrated the rigors of incarceration
and in which he ratified his decision to continue making rebellious art.
A hunger strike, through which he demanded to be released, led him to
the brink of losing his life and made his cause even more visible.
Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience.

In mid-April of this year, 2015, this restless creator born in 1983
received the Vaclav Havel Award for Creative Dissent, in the midst of an
intense international campaign demanding his immediate release which
played out on the social networks with the hashtag #FreeElSexto.

In October of this year, El Sexto was released without ever having been
brought to trial, and is now on an international tour.

Source: Cuban Faces of 2015: Danilo Maldonado, 'El Sexto', Graffiti
Artist / 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuban-faces-of-2015-danilo-maldonado-el-sexto-graffiti-artist-14ymedio/