“Guijes” are imaginary beings with their origin in popular mythical stories related by inhabitants of the northeastern provinces of Cuba around the 19th century.
The physical description of “guijes” instilled fear in children, a part-human and part-animal creature of two to three feet high, large eyes, protruding stomach, claws, and short legs. As told by parents and grandparents, these apparitions would appear in the night near riverbanks, sometimes camouflaged by river branches and vegetation. Their connection to human beings was very ephemeral; avoiding all human contact they would rapidly disappear or hide if approached by humans.
Parents would use their versions of the stories of “guijes” to convince their children to be obedient and to avoid going close to dangerous rivers. Of this popular fantasy, however, “guijes” were never known for harming children, but were instead given the responsibility for protecting the flora and fauna of the Cuban forests and dealing punishment for those who damaged “El Monte” (the woods). The popularity of “guijes” in Cuba’s culture and social frame is such that they have been portrayed in both Cuban music, literature, and sometimes in satirical sketches.
My work in progress on the series of sculptures of “Guijes” is a reflection and recreation of this fantasy and my imagination of these mythical creatures, which I extracted from the stories told to me by my father who was born and grew up in the northeastern part of Cuba.
