Alexis Esquivel is a Cuban visual and performance artist whose work often explores themes of history, race, and identity, particularly in a Cuban cultural context. Esquivel presents the sharp perceptions of the black population’s social reality in his paintings through his nonconformist readings of history. His work details historical figures past and present that are extracted from “official” photos to be juxtaposed with cultural artifacts from the past, or repainted following conventions of famous Western artworks. His works feature a surrealist flavor and a high dose of irony. Esquivel’s paintings appear as dense layers where even fortuitous accidents of the painting process are obvious.