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Monday, January 22, 2007

Wealth of talent has foreigners eager to pounce on unknown artists

Posted on Mon, Jan. 22, 2007

Wealth of talent has foreigners eager to pounce on unknown artists

PROSPECTS: Artists, performers, music publishing catalogs and film
archivers will all find opportunities.
BY CHRISTINA HOAG
choag@MiamiHerald.com

to MARKET

From Celia Cruz to Wifredo Lam, music and art have figured among Cuba's
most famed exports through the decades.

Songs and paintings still count among the most popular products from the
island, these days with tunes from bands like Los Van Van and paintings
from artists such as Kacho.

The Cuban government has long recognized its trove of creative talent,
and artists enjoy special status among Cuban citizens.

Since the early '90s, artists have been able to travel overseas, sign
contracts with foreign distributors, sell their works abroad -- even in
the United States -- and keep a portion of the revenue their sales generate.

Most well-known Cuban artists already have representation deals with
overseas art galleries and record labels, but that doesn't mean
U.S.-based entrepreneurs aren't preparing to storm the island to hunt
for undiscovered talent and works in the event of an end to the embargo.

''I hope to be the first one,'' says Ramón Cernuda of Cernuda Art in
Coral Gables. He represents 12 contemporary artists on the island and
would like to open a gallery in Havana as soon as he's legally able.

''These societies in the vortex of change generate incredible artistic
movements, and there is a thirst for art in the post-modern world,''
Cernuda says.

On the music side, entrepreneurs also see a competitive scenario but say
that although many performers already have recording contracts, that
doesn't rule out new deals.

''There's plenty of room,'' says Hugo Cancio, chief executive of Fuego
Entertainment in Miami. ``Nobody's signing long-term contracts with
anybody anymore.''

Cancio's company has formed an exploratory committee with Wall Street
analysts and interested investors to look into opportunities, including
extensive music publishing catalogs and film libraries owned by the
government.

Likely to bubble to the surface: legal disputes over back royalties for
U.S.-based Cuban artists whose music has been licensed to European
agencies by the Cuban government, Cancio predicts.

''The potential transformation is huge,'' he says.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/special_packages/business_monday/16503052.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_business_monday

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