Cuban Sculptor Carves Furniture for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion
For Ciro Rolando Santana y Arrite, a soft-spoken, wiry little Cuban sculptor of extraordinary talent, a temporary position at Disneyland has become a springboard to the fulfillment of a longtime dream — to bring his family from an adopted home in Puerto Rico to the United States and continue his career as a sculptor.
Rolando Santana came to this country early in 1969. He had been at Disneyland for only a few weeks when the word went out from WED that new projects required the talents of an additional sculptor.
Rolando went to WED for an interview, presented his credentials, and was promptly made a member of the WED Imagineering staff.
The sculptor’s work has been exhibited in many countries throughout the Americas and in Spain. For two decades, art and educational publications have featured articles on his works.
Rolando received his formal art training as a student for seven years at Havana’s St. Alexander’s National School of Fine Arts and two years at the Havana Center of Fine Arts.
Adept in sculpturing all media, Rolando has begun the resumption of his career at WED by carving wooden furniture and ornamentation for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion.
While one part of Rolando’s dream became a reality, the other part came true in May when his wife and three children joined him in their new home in the United States.
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