Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo
susanapilardelahantematienzo.blogspot.com

Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo (b. 1984) lives and works in Havana, Cuba. Her work explores the obstacles and challenges that women face from both a personal and global perspective. Working mainly in video, photography, and drawing, Matienzo is unflinching in her approach to address the act and effects of violence against women, often producing powerful and disruptive visual images. From 1998 until 2008 Matienzo studied in the Elemental school of Visual Art, the Fine Arts Academy and the High Institute of Arts (ISA) in Havana, Cuba. She pursued post-graduate studies in New Media, from 2011 to 2013 at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design in Germany. - www.apexart.org/fellowship/matienzo.php

Cuba Holds Its First Natural Hair Competition to Promote Black Pride 6/18/2015 Black Girl Long Hair: "Havana performance artist, Susana Delahante held a black hair competition in Cuba this past weekend. Black and mixed-race women were invited to compete in three hair categories – natural, braided and dreadlocked. The two hour competition which had over 70 contestants was described as an effort to bolster pride within the Afro-Cuban community. Delahante states: “I wanted to do something that legitimized my hair, this undervalued type of hair.”"

Some of us will remember that when Angela Davis first visited Cuba in 1969, Cubans were completely fascinated with her afro, which no one could wear at that time as it was banned.

Lo llevamos rizo: precioso concurso en La Habana
6/16/2015 Cubadebate

Articles/Artículos

Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo in Conversation with Thomas J. Lax 5/13/2020 post: "One more thing. When I created Flor Elena, I made her a black woman and made her a little thick. I was trying to respond to myself. All the submissives, all of the slaves, were white. I never got approached by any black avatars even though I saw a lot of black avatars, men, women and gender non-confirming people in Second Life. They mostly had white submissives and not the other way around. This is an experience for which I don’t have the explanation. Is this their way of trying to reinvent history through Second Life, in other words, reverse the history of slavery through Second Life? Is this a means for people who are trying to use Second Life to release those things? I don’t have the answers yet."

GAZES OF THE BLACK WOMAN  6/1/2019 OnCuba: by Odette Casamayor Cisneros - "The maroons continue to use whatever they find within their reach — not just to survive, but to strive. Artist Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo created the character of Flor Elena as an avatar in the game Second Life, where she is a financial dominator (Findom). Her image was presented at the 2015 Venice Biennale in the piece “Dominio inmaterial.” The artist was able to travel there thanks to the virtual slaves of Flor Elena, who provided the funds to buy a plane ticket. The black Flor Elena, a virtual character, then had an impact on the real life of its creator, also black. Without a doubt, maroon methods. But the action is right-on; and its power, inescapable. Just like the nameless young black woman’s gaze on the cover, from which we can’t escape."

Los Rizos van sobrepasando el muro  3/14/2019 ADN: "Desde el primero de marzo en el Museo Casa de África, con apoyo de la Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad y como parte del proyecto Detrás del Muro, de la XIII Bienal de la Habana, la artista Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo ha realizado una edición más de su Concurso de Cabello Afro “Lo llevamos Rizo”. Con gran participación de público de todas las edades, casi en su totalidad afrodescendientes, se llevaron a cabo conferencias, demostraciones de elaboración de peinados y conversatorios sobre las atenciones que requiere este tipo de cabello."

Susana Pilar Delahante: Ampliando su dominio  6/23/2015 Caimán Barbudo: "Durante mi estadía en Alemania estaba explorando nuevos medios en Internet. Usualmente trabajaba el 3D Max, un programa que utilizan mucho los arquitectos. Entonces encontré Second life. Al principio creí que era una especie de fórum en el cual podías crear y comunicarte con otros realizadores, luego me percaté de que era una plataforma que incluía un chat tridimensional donde creas un avatar, que es un “muñequito moldeable”: lo puedes poner gordo o flaco, añadirle pelo, es capaz de tomar forma de personas, animales, en fin, lo que se desee."

Cuban artist bolsters black pride through hair competion  6/18/2015 South Florida Times: "After a two-hour competition in which 70 women competed Saturday evening, the audience of about 300 people voted by applause, handing the natural-hair prize to 72-year-old Felicia Solano, whose white outfit dramatically set off her halo of white hair, and the braids award to Marbelys Gonzalez, 15, with a cascade of tight braids decorated in brightly colored beads. There were no entries in the dreadlocks category. Delahante and participants in the competition described it as a way of rebuilding pride among Afro-Cuban women in a society where kinky hair and black skin often are seen as less beautiful than straight locks and pale complexions."

Cuba Holds Its First Natural Hair Competition to Promote Black Pride  6/18/2015 Black Girl Long Hair: "Havana performance artist, Susana Delahante held a black hair competition in Cuba this past weekend. Black and mixed-race women were invited to compete in three hair categories – natural, braided and dreadlocked. The two hour competition which had over 70 contestants was described as an effort to bolster pride within the Afro-Cuban community. Delahante states: “I wanted to do something that legitimized my hair, this undervalued type of hair.”"

Lo llevamos rizo: precioso concurso en La Habana  6/16/2015 Cubadebate: "Como parte del proyecto Entre, Dentro, Fuera/ Between, Inside, Outside, de la Bienal de La Habana, la artista Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo promovió el primer Concurso de belleza para cabello afro Lo llevamos rizo. Aquí están las concursantes y ganadoras en el encuentro que tuvo lugar en el Pabellón Cuba y del cual el fotógrafo Yander Zamora dio testimonio."

Cuban artists at the Venecia Biennial  5/16/2015 Cubarte: "For Susana Pilar Delhante, this is her second trip to Venice, although she made the first one through an INTERNET platform. Her second project to be exhibited in Venice was created from 2012. She also graduated from San Alejandro and subsequently the ISA. Susana Pilar studied in the center for art and the media, in Germany and she is currently Professor at the digital Art and new media department, in San Alejandro Academy."

¡Qué distinta Venecia!  5/4/2015 Juventud Rebelde: "Recordaba Susana que en Internet y otras tecnologías de comunicación modernas, un avatar es una representación gráfica, generalmente humana, que también ha sido adaptada a los juegos de rol. Y justamente de ese modo se clasifica el personaje creado por ella cuyo nombre es Flor Elena Resident, «una dominadora financiera a quien los esclavos tenían que tributar. Es este proyecto, en el que trabajé entre 2012 y 2013, el cual aparece bajo el título de Dominio inmaterial»."

Para cabellos natural afro y para Ana Mendieta  4/27/2015 Bienal Habana: "También habrá un concurso de cabello natural afro que se llama “Lo llevamos rizo”. Dirigido sobre todo al público cubano, el concurso será el 13 de junio a las 4:00 pm pero desde el 26 de mayo voy a estar inscribiendo a quienes quieran participar y anunciando qué va a suceder. Esas personas inscritas van a pasar por un proceso de conferencias, de proyección de películas, de talleres acerca de cómo trabajar su pelo. Todo ello empezará entre el 3 y el 4 de junio hasta el 13, un aproximado de dos semanas en el cual van a estar sucediendo diferentes actividades con relación al concurso. El último día es el del fallo del jurado y la Gala. Hay tres modalidades: Afro, Trenzado y una de Dreadlocks. Tres premios para esas tres modalidades. Pueden participar personas de todas las edades, el único requisito es el que el pelo sea natural."