José Marcos García, Cuba – Missiles
José Marcos García
1902 Cuesta de David, New Mexico – 1998 Albuquerque, New Mexico
Cuba – Missiles
ca. 1962
carved and treated pine
8 x 9 x 4 in.
Albuquerque Museum, gift of Peachy and Mark Levy, PC2014.28.4
photo by David Nufer
The fear of Nuclear annihilation stunned the world in early October 1962. In response to the placement of American immediate range nuclear weapons in Italy and Turkey that could reach all of the western U.S.S.R, Soviet Union leader, Nikita Khruschev sent nuclear missiles to Cuba. The presence of Russian attack missiles in Cuba and tensions between the United States and Cuba raised fear of a nuclear holocaust. An agreement was reached for the U.S. to remove the missiles from Italy and Turkey and for Khrushchev to remove missiles from Cuba.
José Marcos García, who signed his carved sculptures simply “Marco,” responded to the crisis with a sculpture showing Khrushchev removing weapons from Cuba. The sculpture depicts Fidel Castro protesting Cuba’s circumstance of being left alone to stand up to the United States.