Miguel Sirgado (Artburst Miami) reviews “El Monte”—the first solo museum exhibition by Cuban American photographers Elliot and Erick Jiménez. The exhibition opened on August 28, 2025, and will be on view through March 22, 2026, at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). Here are excerpts from Sirgado’s review article.
Cuban writer and ethnographer Lydia Cabrera published “El Monte” in 1954, a groundbreaking study of Afro-Cuban spirituality and oral traditions. Cabrera devoted her life to documenting the Lucumí faith—also known as Santería or Regla de Ocha—a syncretic religion that emerged in Cuba from Yoruba belief systems brought by enslaved Africans and merged with Catholicism. Her work preserved stories, rituals, and sacred knowledge that might otherwise have remained hidden, earning her the trust of communities that rarely shared such practices with outsiders. Cabrera died in exile in Miami in 1991, but her scholarship continues to shape the way Afro-Cuban culture is understood worldwide.
With the opening of the exhibition, Cabrera’s presence resonates in a new way. “El Monte,” the first solo museum exhibition by Cuban American twin photographers Elliot and Erick Jiménez, opens on Thursday, Aug. 28, at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM).
The show draws inspiration from Cabrera’s seminal text, published in English for the first time in 2023 by Duke University Press.
PAMM’s Associate Curator Maritza Lacayo, who organized the exhibition for the museum, sees the translation as pivotal. “‘El Monte’ is one of the most influential books in Cuban cultural history, and now, with its English translation, it has become accessible to a new generation of readers,” she said. “For the Jiménez twins, who grew up in Miami as Cuban Americans, the translation is deeply meaningful. It connects them to their heritage in their first language.”
Elliot Jiménez echoes the sentiment. “We felt that having our first exhibition here in Miami, referencing Cabrera’s book, was important—especially because when we began working on the show, we learned the book was being translated into English for the first time. That widens access not just to a new audience, but also to first-generation Cuban Americans like us. Many of our peers don’t necessarily speak Spanish, so now they can finally read this work and connect to it.”
For the artists, Cabrera’s text is not a script to be illustrated but a catalyst. “We didn’t set out to necessarily recreate Lydia Cabrera’s book—we set out to create a world inspired by its spirit,” says Elliot. “‘El Monte’ is not an illustration; it’s a response born of heritage and imagination.” [. . .]
Visitors to the exhibition will encounter an immersive environment: a nocturnal forest where flora and spirits come alive. At its center stands a towering Ceiba tree, sacred in Afro-Cuban cosmology and believed to connect heaven, earth, and the underworld. Inside the tree, a space represents the shared womb of twins, housing the Ibejí Chapel, dedicated to the divine twins of Lucumí who symbolize duality, balance, and sacred siblinghood. [. . .]
For full review article, see https://www.artburstmiami.com/visual_arts/at-pamm-the-jimenez-twins-reimagine-afro-cuban-spirituality-through-art
Also see our previous post https://repeatingislands.com/2025/08/20/elliot-erick-jimenez-el-monte/
Miguel Sirgado (Artburst Miami) reviews “El Monte”—the first solo museum exhibition by Cuban American photographers Elliot and Erick Jiménez. The exhibition opened on August 28, 2025, and will be on view through March 22, 2026, at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). Here are excerpts from Sirgado’s review article. Cuban writer and ethnographer Lydia Cabrera