{"id":13989,"date":"2026-09-01T12:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/?p=13989"},"modified":"2026-09-01T12:36:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:36:37","slug":"ediciones-vigia-a-cuban-artists-collective-reimagining-the-paperback-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/2026\/09\/01\/ediciones-vigia-a-cuban-artists-collective-reimagining-the-paperback-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Ediciones Vig\u00eda: A Cuban Artists\u2019 Collective Reimagining the Paperback Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Composite<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier this year I curated a pop-up exhibition of Ediciones Vig\u00eda artists\u2019 books<\/a> as part of my Ellin M. Kelly Internship in Special Collections and Archives. The exhibit, which ran from May 21st\u201422nd, featured twenty-two Cuban artists\u2019 books from the 1990s.<\/p>\n

In Cuba during the 1980s, mass-produced paperbacks were the primary form of accessible literature. Alfredo Zald\u00edvar Mu\u00f1o and Rolando Est\u00e9vez Jord\u00e1n sought to change that, believing that \u201cCuba was in need of beautiful books, books that themselves would be works of art.\u201d1<\/sup> In 1985, Zald\u00edvar and Est\u00e9vez founded an artists\u2019 book collective in Matanzas, Cuba, called Ediciones Vig\u00eda. The primary goal of Ediciones Vig\u00eda was to publish books that were functional and worth displaying as artwork, merging literature and visual arts.<\/p>\n

\"Book<\/a>
De Vidushaka a Pelusin ; El Fuego Eterno, SPC. 702.81 A257md1998<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the time of its founding, Ediciones Vig\u00eda created unique artists\u2019 books out of donated materials and found objects; using a borrowed typewriter and an old Soviet mimeograph machine to create reproductions. Many of the books are made out of butcher paper, (which Zald\u00edvar and Est\u00e9vez were able to acquire for free) and this became a recognizable feature of the Vig\u00eda books.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe humble brown paper became the trademark of Ediciones Vig\u00eda. Made of bagasse, a fibrous byproduct processed from sugarcane pulp, it was a quintessentially Cuban form of paper. Sugar, the island\u2019s major crop throughout its history, was the backbone for the handmade books.\u201d2<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Correos\/bosques<\/a>
Correos\/Bosques Intermedios, SPC. 702.81 S227Lc1996<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each book published by the collective has a run of 200 copies, which are first given to the collaborators involved in the making of the book, before being available for purchase by the public. In an effort to maintain a level of accessibility for community members, the collective established a two-tier payment plan, which made Vig\u00eda books more expensive to tourists than to Cubans. This payment plan ensures the collection\u2019s longevity without going against their core value of creating beautiful and accessible books for Cuba.<\/p>\n

In the early years of Ediciones Vig\u00eda, the collective focused on uplifting unknown Cuban authors but, over time, Vig\u00eda\u2019s scope expanded to include international authors as well. This is reflected in the collection of thirty-eight Ediciones Vig\u00eda artists\u2019 books held by DePaul Special Collections and Archives<\/a>. Published between 1994\u20131998, the collection primarily features poetry, as well as songs, letters, and short stories.<\/p>\n

\"Miel<\/a>
Miel imprevista : seleccio\u0301n poe\u0301tica del libro Versos, 1920-1938, SPC. 702.81 E797Lv1997<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The collection contains a mix of Cuban and international authors, such as Jorge Borges, Emily Dickinson, Serguei Esenin, \u00c9douard Glissant, Rafael Hern\u00e1ndez, Gerhard Kofler, Dulce Mar\u00eda Loynaz, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Nancy Morej\u00f3n, and Wis\u0142awa Szymborska. Many of the books are formatted as traditional books, but many of the materials in the collection deviate from that, notably featuring books in alternative formats such as hanging scrolls; an envelope of letters; and even a cardboard house with an openable roof that contains a book and props.<\/p>\n

For further reading about Ediciones Vig\u00eda, Handmade in Cuba: Rolando Est\u00e9vez and the Beautiful Books of Ediciones Vig\u00eda<\/a> is the most comprehensive source available. All thirty-eight Ediciones Vig\u00eda books are available for in-person research at DePaul\u2019s Special Collections and Archives, located in room 314 of the John T. Richardson Library. Everyone is welcome.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Citations:<\/p>\n

1<\/sup>Ruth Behar, Juanamari\u0301a Cordones-Cook, and Kristin Schwain, eds., <\/span>Handmade in Cuba: Rolando Este\u0301vez and the Beautiful Books of Ediciones Vigi\u0301a<\/span><\/i> (University Press of Florida, 2022), 18.<\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/sup>Ruth Behar, Juanamari\u0301a Cordones-Cook, and Kristin Schwain, eds., <\/span>Handmade in Cuba: Rolando Este\u0301vez and the Beautiful Books of Ediciones Vigi\u0301a<\/span><\/i> (University Press of Florida, 2022), 2. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year I curated a pop-up exhibition of Ediciones Vig\u00eda artists\u2019 books as part of my Ellin M. Kelly Internship in Special Collections and Archives. The exhibit, which ran from May 21st\u201422nd, featured twenty-two Cuban artists\u2019 books from the 1990s. In Cuba during the 1980s, mass-produced paperbacks were the primary form of accessible literature. <\/p>\n

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