Danza negra, 1968

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Rafael Tufiño
Linocut

In 1957, Rafael Tufiño, received the task from Don Ricardo Alegría, founder of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP) or Institute of Puerto Rican Culture to illustrate the poem Majestad negra by Palés Matos as part of the third number of the series of Poetry Journals published by the ICP. This counter with poetry and Afro-Antillean culture led Tufiño to develop other works inspired by the poem. The linocut Danza negra of 1968 is one of those interpretations in which the frenzy of the rhythm overpowers the bodies being represented, evoking a ritual and musical state of trance.

Permanent collection, MAB