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Tomas Rafael Rodriguez Zayas (Tomy) 1949-2010
The great Cuban cartoonist known as Tomy,
had died suddenly of a heart ailment on Sept. 6, 2010.
When I was in Cuba -1999 (Havana) ,I visited him, he was really kind
and great Cartoonist,He invited me to his home, I have seen many
great artworks of Tomy.He had own style,He was my best friend, and
we had very good relationship,I can not believe he is dead, because
he was full of energy,Unbelivable...
I am so sorry,and my condolencesm for Tomy’s family and friends.
He is in our hearts for ever...
Massoud Shojai Tabatabai
More about tomy:
The Cuban cartoonist Tomas Rafael Rodriguez Zayas, better known by
the pseudonym Tomy, has passed away, according to Cuban journalist
and on-line Cuban news portal editor M.H. Lagarde. The cause of
death was complications from heat disease. This article suggests he
may have died on September 6. His birth date suggests Tomy was 61
years old, although his age at passing has been reported as 60.
Tomy was born in 1949 in Barajagua, in the northeastern province of
Holguin, and never stopped presenting himself to colleagues and
friends in part as a kind of enthusiastic, unaffected country
peasant engaging the wider world. He was a self-taught artist, and
studied agronomy in school. He joined the Cuban press as a
cartoonist in 1968, and soon became one of his country's most lauded
and loved humorists. He was published widely in national and
international magazines. He was a member of the Cuban Writers and
Artists Association (UNEAC), and the Cuban Journalists Association (UPEC).
He was president of the Cuban Humorists Association and directed the
humor supplement of the Juventud Rebelde newspaper, Dedete, through
which he made his name as an artist during a recognized "golden
period" for the publication.
Tomy's work was widely exhibited, not just in Cuba and not just in
conjunction with other cartoonists in Cuba's rich cartooning
community but in solo shows as far aways as Angola, Brazil, Costa
Rica, Columbia, France, Nicaragua, Korea, Turkey and Venezuela. A
major exhibition of his work in 1980 in Havana solidified his
already lofty reputation in his country, while a 1996 exhibition
curated by the cartoonist traveled across Cuba. He was a presence
from the mid-1970s on at Cuba's humor biennial, and his work was
included in important international shows in Mexico (1993) and
Brazil (2001).
He won the Juan Gualberto Gomez National Journalism Award and the
Felix Elmuza Order from UPEC.
His first major prize may have been a second-place showing for
General Humor at the Humor Salon in Havana in 1970. He also won
major prizes in Brazil (1999)
and Spain (2000).
In later years, Tomy pursued opportunities in other art forms:
design, painting,
mural-making. In the 1990s,
He illustrated news articles as well as working in humor and in
caricature. In the new century Tomy became the cartoon editor for
the Cubasi news portal and contributed to the Cambios en Cuba blog,
keeping both avenues for work open right until the recent diagnosis
of his heart condition.
Tomy was buried in the town of his birth.
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