About me

Biography: Yasmany Risco Barbón

Yasmany Risco Barbón was born in Cárdenas, Matanzas, Cuba, and grew up on Mercedes Street No. 512, between Amistad and Neptuno. He is the son of Camilo Risco Taylor and Rosaura Martínez Barbón. From a very early age, he showed a natural inclination toward drawing and art, finding in pencils and sheets of paper his main form of expression and entertainment.

His first approaches to drawing emerged in a self-taught manner. He used transparent sheets to trace images and reproduce them with precision, as well as activity books that taught how to form figures by connecting numbered dots. Over time, he understood that he could copy directly what he saw without the need to trace, gradually developing his own visual technique. Although the process initially involved errors, constant practice allowed him to refine his line work and his understanding of drawing.

During his school years, he participated in painting contests and artistic interest groups, experiences that helped strengthen his talent. During this period, he received significant influence from his teachers Castillo and Maribel, who guided him and helped him develop greater technical and creative awareness of his work.

Despite his artistic ability, he was unable to enter an art school due to not meeting the required academic ranking, even though many people recognized that his talent surpassed that of other students who did manage to enroll. He later completed two years of Military Service, after which he had to face the reality of working life, taking jobs far removed from his true artistic vocation.

Years later, a strong inspiration marked a turning point in his development: the discovery of a sketchbook belonging to a person deprived of freedom, whose drawings displayed an impressive level of quality. This encounter deeply motivated him and led him to set the goal of reaching—and surpassing—that artistic level. Over time, he managed to master techniques that today allow him to reproduce with great accuracy around 90% of the images he observes, without having gone through formal academic training in the arts.

Yasmany defines himself as an artist without creative limitations, capable of materializing what he imagines and observes, endowing each work with a high level of detail and its own unique “magic.” Although he acknowledges that he does not master all traditional academic techniques, he believes that his self-taught path has allowed him to develop a solid and authentic style. He describes himself as “one of the good ones among the best.”

Throughout his career, he has participated in various contests and community projects, including the Versalles Project in Cárdenas, directed by Gastón Castañeda, a resident of Caridad, between Calzada and Coronel Verdugo. Together with this project, he carried out multiple works and achieved first place in a collective piece during the COVID-19 pandemic period. This work was later donated to the museum located at Vives and Coronel Verdugo.

Thanks to this recognition, he had the opportunity to work as the main decorator at the Starfish Varadero Hotel, a position he held for three years alongside another artist and close friend named Junior, with whom he maintained a very strong professional and fraternal relationship. During this time, his work contributed significantly to the hotel’s aesthetics and beauty.

He was also selected to work as a decorator at an event for the Blue Diamond hotel chain in Havana, chosen by Abel, a representative of the chain in the tourist areas of Varadero. His work was recognized by individuals in high-responsibility positions, allowing him to consolidate a reputation based on the quality and professionalism of his work. During this stage, his animation supervisor at Starfish Varadero was María Esther, with whom he was part of a team of animators distinguished by their strong performance.

After three years of working at the hotel, Yasmany met the woman who is now his wife, Tina Loretta Lichti. After getting married, he had the opportunity to immigrate to Canada, where he currently resides in Woodstock, Ontario.

Today, Yasmany Risco Barbón continues to develop his artistic career, carrying with him a trajectory built through effort, self-taught talent, and a deep passion for art, which continues to be the central axis of his life and identity.