WALL STREET JOURNAL (video)

Cuba's Skateboard Scene Has Scrappy Charm  

In contrast to America's glitzy and over-marketed skateboarding scene, the young skaters in Cuba embrace a do-it-yourself, scrappy aesthetic. Kelly Crow reports from Havana, Cuba.

6/4/2009

Cool Hunting article!

Title: Sofia Maldonado: Skate My Patria

By Tamara Warren

Link: http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2009/06/sofia_maldonado.php

La Sala Polivalente Ramon Fonst (skatepark), Cuba

Sergio Gonzalez, a friend photographer from Cuba, as part of Red Bull crew kindly send us this great pictures from the La Sala Polivalente Ramon Fonst (skatepark), in Cuba. This site-specific painting over the ramps was part of  Sofia's art project, "Skate My Patria".  

Mural by Sofia Maldonado. 

SKATE MY PATRIA (back from the Havana Biennal)

In 15 day... we did various interviews, painted the Sala Polivalete Ramon Font (skate park) Centro Havana, give out donations to the winners of the contest and part to the INDER (Instituto Nacional de Deportes) the extreme sports division, who has their own way to distribute gear. Thanks to all the people that helped us to paint and make this project possible!

Sala Polivalete Ramon Font (skate park), painted by Sofia Maldonado, Cuba, 2009.

We will post more details of the Cuba trip and project after Sofia's tour around Orlando and Puerto Rico.

Thanks for the bearings!

Dustin & Adrian,

Gracias por los bearings! That's what family is for in this concrete jungle. Es tan hermoso ver cuando los boricuas se apoyamos por los nuyores, detalle que algunos no han aprendido... amigos son pocos en esta vida.

By the way, Mr. Destroyer is back in town.

HOPPS + JAHMAL WILLIAMS donation

This past Sunday, the morning after a happy Saturday nite, we met Jahmal at KCDC... Yo! Last night everybody was in party mode, Williamsburg was pack, the beer at KCDC's art show run out super fast, all the art fairs had after parties, the girls could finally wear mini-skits in high hills! We got to see a real ice from Alaska... what?!?... and all our good friends: Scotty, the KCDC crew, Amy, Rob Campbell, Alex Corporan, Rodney Torres, Luis Tolentino, Melisa, Keigo, and others.

Big props to our friend Jahmal, who donated: 2 snickers (Etnies + Nike sb), 4 hats, 6 Hopps t-shirts, 5 grip tapes (we needed this so badly!).

SK8 by ERNESTO PUJOL

Ernesto Pujol is a very precious friend of us, and New York-based conceptual artist with a multimedia and interdisciplinary art practice, has donated us a hand painted long board from his series of birds. We were not able to fit this huge board on the crate, so I will just carry it with me on the plain... I hope we make it to Cuba with this beautiful art piece!

etnies: INVISIBLE WARRIOR SNEAKER release party

I WOULD LIKE TO PERSONALLY INVITE YOU TO

LTD, ETNIES + INVISIBLE NYC presents

INVISIBLE WARRIOR SNEAKER AND LTD ISSUE 15 RELEASE PARTY

THURSDAY, MARCH 5TH, 8-11PM

ETNIES SHOWROOM - with DJ SOUL

RSVP: RSVP@LTDMAG.COM

Monday 2, last day working on the crate.

Our deadline was March 1, but the Chelsea Visits Havana crew had some delivery delays so...

After organizing and documenting all the donations, we put hem in boxes in a way they fit inside the crate (this was the hard part!). We taped and closed each box, to make sure that if the crate gets open they don't do party with our stuff. I named all the boxes with a marker all around... eventually this changed cause we had to make more space inside the crate, until we puzzled it out. So we fit all in 5 boxes, the use skateboards are in the middle, some shoes and wheels are at the bottom, and the rest is inside the boxes.

Crate #31 (part of the Chelsea Visits Havana event) departs to the 10th Havana Biennial, Cuba.