Juan Boza Sánchez

Who was Juan Boza Sánchez?

Juan Boza Sánchez was a gay Afro-Cuban-American artist specializing at painting, drawing, engraving, installation and graphic design.

Boza studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes “San Alejandro” from 1960 to 1962 and then from 1962 to 1964 at the Escuela Nacional de Arte both located in Havana, Cuba. He was expelled from San Alejandro due to "political issues" and became a lithographer with the Experimental Graphic Workshop in 1965.

Boza was fired as a result of the Congress of Education and Culture which convened in 1971 and led to the censorship of many artists in Cuba. In the years between 1971 and his exodus from Cuba in 1980 Boza restored religious statues to earn a living.

In 1980 Juan Boza managed to escape Cuba to New York via the Mariel boatlift. Boza described New York as a "tremendous shock" and upon arriving in New York "had to re-build Juan Boza from scratch." Boza began developing an Afro-Cuban theme that he realized was part of his culture after leaving Cuba, as well as his participation in the Santeria religion. According to Jaun Boza, "There is no distinction between my faith and my aesthetics." He lived in New York City from 1980, when he arrived during the Mariel boatlift until his death, at Brooklyn Memorial Hospital, working at the Printmaking Workshop, the Lower Eastside Printshop and the Art Student League.