Although in the world large cities have exhibited famous and not so famous Wax Museums since long ago, in Cuba this old tradition appeared for the first time in the southeastern city of Bayamo, in the province of Granma, with the inauguration on July 14, 2004 of a small gallery with figures made by skilful hands in that material, with a favorable reception from the public. And then the old and unknown art of giving a practical and close shape to wax, breaks out with good luck in Cuba in that beautiful oriental city, a city of transcendent history and customs since 2007, already being called the Wax Museum, on the 29th of December of that year.
A family from the rural town of Guisa, close to Bayamo, but located at the foot of the Sierra Maestra mountain range, had a lot to do with the practice of this art and at the same time an artisan tradition, with a telluric and urban flavor. This is the Barrios clan, in which from very early on some of its members self-taught the hobby of molding the fence and turning it into human or animal figures with great skill and beauty.
Thanks to them, today in the central General García street in Bayamo, a notable number of wax figures are exhibited, among which reproductions of Cuban birds and reptiles stand out. The show that welcomes endearing humble characters from the region is very popular, such as Francisco Jerez, who was passionate about the local history of Bayamo, a task to which he dedicated himself selflessly. Ah, who does not remember the indefatigable &Paco Pila" there.
Other popular parades such as the unforgettable Rita La Caimana, a lady who in other times wandered the city, full of grace, mischief and ingenuity at the same time, becoming the owner of the imagination of her compatriots, although she was not always well understood and treated. Her wax statue of her is a tribute and at the same time an atonement. The virtuosity of these popular artists, wax modellers, has led them to make their pieces life-size, in full color, and the young brothers Rafael and Leander Barrios Milán are experts in this, along with their father and teacher Rafael Barrios Madrigal.
The reproductions of the Barbarian of rhythm stand out: Benny Moré, Bola de Nieve, the immortal son of Guanabacoa, Compay Segundo, the natural Guajiro Polo Montañés, Sindo Garay and Carlos Puebla, virtuoso guitarists and singers of a lyrical and popular flight. The image of the young Italian Fabio Di Celmo, victim of a terrorist attack at the Copacabana Hotel in Havana in the 1990s, is also moving. An unusual place in Cuba, but very much in keeping with the life and tradition of its people is the Museum of the Bayamés Wax. If you decide to visit it, you surely won't regret it.
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