CON PURA MAGIA CUBAN BACHS POSTER

This hand silk-screened poster by acclaimed Cuban poster designer Eduardo Munoz Bachs promotes a 1984 Cuban film titled Con Pura Magia Satisfechos which loosely translates to “Satisfied with Pure Magic.”  It’s a documentary film about Nitza Villapol, a Cuban cookbook author and television cooking show host.

Following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, many food items became scarce or prohibitively expensive.  In her programs and cookbooks Villapol showed her viewers how to make meals with whatever food was available at the market, devising creative substitutions and using local produce and meat in ways and combinations never before tried.

The United States’ trade embargo directed at Cuba following the revolution was blamed for many of the food shortages, which is why Munoz Bachs portrayed Uncle Sam as essentially being boiled in effigy.  Rather than simply hanging Uncle Sam in effigy, he stuck him in a pot of green liquid on a stove, which was consistent with the message of the documentary encouraging Cubans to employ creative solutions to food shortages.  Bachs certainly came up with a creative solution. Uncle Sam's purple face and expression of dismay most certainly amused the Cuban audience, and the poster's wonderful colors most certainly caught their attention.

Eduardo Munoz Bachs (1937-2001) was born in Spain, but his family emigrated to Cuba in 1941. Though he had no formal art training, he began designing posters in 1960 for the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematograficos, the state-run organization formed after the revolution to promote Cuban films.  During his lifetime he designed over 2000 posters for the ICAIC and is considered one of the great Cuban film poster artists of his era. His posters are typically characterized by his use of bright and bold colors and his wry sense of humor, both of which are evident in this poster. Many of his poster designs have a “cartoon” quality, also evident here, and in fact he drew a cartoon strip as well as designed posters. He also illustrated books and painted. 

Check out our other posters by this acclaimed Cuban poster designer.  You'll be charmed by them all.  

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