Nelson Ponce Sanchez was born in 1975, in

Alamar ''For the film see Alamar (film)'' Alamar, also known as Alamar-Playa, is a district in east part of the city of La Habana in Cuba, part of the ''municipio'' of Habana del Este. This district is primarily prefabrication construction of Soviet-style ...

(

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

). He is an illustrator and graphic designer, especially known for his Vampiros en La Habana (

Vampires in Havana ''Vampires in Havana'' (Spanish: ''¡Vampiros en La Habana!'') is a 1985 Spanish-language adult animated comedy horror film directed by Juan Padrón and features trumpet performances by Arturo Sandoval. It is an international co-production of Cuba, ...

) poster, as well as his active participation in the Camaleón collective.

History

Nelson Ponce is a native Habanero. His family moved in Nuevo Vedado when he was 14, and he now lives with his fiancée and her parents in Cayo Hueso (« Bone Key »), Centro Habana. Nelson Ponce teaches drawing classes in the Casa de las Américas building, and is a professor at the ISDI (Instituto Superior de Diseño Industrial) - where he studied graphic arts when he was younger. Nelson Ponce also worked as a freelance for years. Among his influences, he mentions Félix Beltran, one of the legends of Cuban poster design who was also a teacher at the ISDI. He also refers to American or Spaniards graphists such as

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer. His most notable designs include the I Love New York logo, a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan, and the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University and Brooklyn Brewery. In 1954 ...

, David Carson,

Javier Mariscal Francisco Javier Errando Mariscal (born 9 February 1950) better known as Javier Mariscal is a Spanish artist and designer whose work has spanned a wide range of mediums, ranging from painting and sculpture to interior design and landscaping. H ...

and Isidro Ferrer. His illustrations have been featured in magazines and children’s books, and he has designed dozens of posters. But there is one in particular that made him famous : the one he created for the film Vampiros en La Habana. Its principle : the first and last letters of the film’s title form bloody fangs under a pair of sinister yellow eyes. This image, famous in

’s design history, has been printed on t-shirts, baseball caps, and even on the capital’s walls. The turning point in his career came in 2001, when he formed the Camaleón collective with his ancient ISDI students - Idania del Río González, David Alfonso Suárez, Darién Sánchez Castro, and Eduardo Sarmiento -. In 2003, the group did a mural in the student cafeteria of Havana University’s Communications wing, treating of the theme of « miscommunication » : a black-booted figure with a megaphone for a mouth transmits cryptic signals to another figure wearing earmuffs. This work took only one day to paint. Three years later, when the G café was remodeled – the Cuban literary hangout at the intersection of 23rd and G in Vedado -, they reiterated the experience : the group painted, in one day too - and without any brushes - another mural depicting cartoony notion of good and evil.

Awards and recognition

2006 : Cuba's Prográfica prize for Best Young Designer. Design Award 2013.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponce Sanchez, Nelson 1976 births Living people Cuban illustrators Cuban graphic designers Artists from Havana 20th-century Cuban artists 20th-century Cuban male artists 21st-century Cuban artists