Yet to come

Carla Gonzalez stands next to her recently completed mural, “Artists Rule the World,” at CF’s Dassance Fine Arts Center. [Courtesy of the College of Central Florida]

“I had a lot of fun with it, and after the first five days, I was getting the hang of it,” the artist told the “Gazette” during a phone call from Mexico City.

Though Gonzalez was born and raised in Havana, Cuba, she visits Mexico often, this time with her sister, Camila, to visit an aunt who lives there. Another aunt and their grandmother traveled from Cuba to meet up with them.

“We are a close family,” she said, explaining why she goes often.

Though the plane ticket is more expensive to Mexico City, the “difficult situation in Cuba” makes it cheaper overall to come here instead, Gonzalez explained. But she and her family also travel to Cuba to visit her grandfather, who chooses to stay put.

“He’s already traveled the world and he doesn’t really wanna do that anymore,” she said with a laugh.

Thanks to her repatriated aunt, Gonzalez grew up “surrounded by Mexican culture.” Artist Frida Kahlo, born in the borough of Coyoacán, has influenced her as an artist and inspired her as a woman. One of Gonzalez’s most striking paintings, “Chavela y Frida” depicts the artist with companion Chavela Vargas and captures Kahlo, who suffered from debilitating pain caused by a bus accident, during one of the happier, more serene moments of her life. 

Gonzalez, fortunately, hasn’t endured such a calamity. Her father, a truck driver, prompted the family to move after learning about the area from friends. Her mother taught at a Montessori school before the COVID-19 lockdown, and now she assists her husband with dispatch and administrative tasks.

Gonzalez loves visiting Manhattan and its museums, but she also enjoys nature and quiet times. On weekends, she and Oliva explore nature together and enjoy sketching at Silver Springs State Park and the Ocala National Forest.

Her parents, she said, have a lot to do with why she’s persevered as an artist and will continue to do so.

From her mother, she inherited her work ethic and a commitment to lifelong learning.

“From my father,” she said, “I learned never to give up,” she said. “I really do not give up. I like trying everything and I’m not scared of trying and failing. I’m okay with that, and he is like that. He will try something and then if it doesn’t work out, he’s going to be like, ‘Okay, well I, at least I tried.’ And that’s what I do, especially with my art.”

To learn more about Carla Gonzalez, visit instagram.com/carlasinazucar. For more information about CF’s visual and Performing arts department, visit CF.edu/VPA. To learn more about the CF Foundation’s New Initiative Grant, visit CF.edu/Foundation.