YLECARA

Aracely Pérez Beato

Email: arcoalas@gmail.com

Awards

Arte‑Laguna Prize, 19th Edition (2024)
First Selection.

Miami International Fashion Week (2012)
Second Runner‑Up, International Jewelry Competition
Winning Piece: “A Flower Within” (Still Alive Nature Collection)

Wolfson Campus, Miami Dade College (2002)
Outstanding Artist of the Year
Recognized Work: “Metamorphosis” (Transitions Collection)

National Theater, Havana, Cuba (1993)
Outstanding Artist of the Year
Recognized Work: “Song and Construction”

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On‑Site Positions

Miami Dade College – Kendall Campus
January 2024 – Present

Continuing Education Art Instructor

Art & Education Curriculum Author

Sherwin‑Williams
2012 – 2016

Color Designer & Consultant

IVOLV
2004 – 2007

Graphic Designer & Illustrator

GLOCO Jewelry
1996 – 1998

Jewelry Designer & Model Maker

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Activities

• 1990 - Present: Member, Cuban National Registry of Independent Artists

• 1989 - Present: Member, ACAA (Asociación Cubana de Artesanos y Artistas)

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Artist Body of Work

• 1993-2025 (Ongoing): Questioning the Shadows

• 2014: Havana Skin - Art Panels and Architectural Finishes

• 2012: Still Alive Nature - One-of-a-Kind Jewelry Collection

• 2002: Transitions - Mixed Media

• 1993: Song and Construction - Jewelry Collection.

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Awards                    

• Arte-Laguna Prize 19th Edition 2024:

First Selection - 19° EDITION 2024

• Miami International Fashion Week (2012):

Second Runner-Up, International Jewelry Competition

Winning Piece: "A Flower Within" from Still Alive Nature Collection

• Wolfson Campus, Miami Dade College (2002):

Outstanding Artist of the Year, "Metamorphosis" from Transitions Collection

• National Theater, La Habana, Cuba (1993):

Outstanding Artist of the Year, Song and Construction.

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Exhibitions

• 2002: Collective Exhibition - Annual Juried Wolfson Campus, MDC

• 1994: Collective Exhibition - Avellaneda Salon, Havana National Theater

• 1992: Solo Exhibition - Song and Construction, La Casona, Fondo de Bienes Culturales, Havana, Cuba

• 1991: Collective Exhibition - Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba

• 1990: Collective Exhibition - Casa Africa, Havana, Cuba

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Articles and Reviews

• 2012: Interview with CNN Español - Notimujer

• 2012: Featured in El Nuevo Herald - Estilo

• 2012: Featured in Miami Diario.

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Under the River: A Biography.

Introduction

Every piece of art has its roots in the autobiographical. In my case, it is not only an autobiographical work; it is an archive in symbols of a journey toward reconciliation, self-discovery, and healing. Through deeply instinctive processes, I channel my urgency toward a primal need: to belong to myself, to discover who I am amidst the rubble of a turbulent childhood and early youth. My artistic practice carries the imprint of the persecution and alienation experienced by the queer community of those years, as well as the life-altering juxtaposition of moving from dictatorship into the excesses of hyper-capitalism. These crossings forced me to gather my scattered pieces and reconstruct a sense of self—one that could hold both vulnerability and resilience, and transform survival into creation. 

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Origins

I was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1966, under one of the longest and most cynical dictatorships in history. I am a descendant of a middle class of confused intellectuals who were dispossessed of all their heritage. And I’m not just talking about financial inheritance; I’m referring to the fact that their roots and history were wiped away.

Looking back, it all started when I was 12 years old during a summer vacation. I went to help a distant cousin, the principal of an elementary school. In my home, there were psychology books, including Freud's psychoanalysis and others with psychological tests like the Rorschach Inkblot Test. My father was a scientist, my mother, an artist. No one questioned why I was drawn to such unusual books or what I was doing with them.

During that vacation, I practiced psychological tests from the books with the school’s students, attended an art workshop after classes, made paper sculptures, and acted in a television program. This is how my desire to pursue art and psychology began. I never imagined that the journey would be so unsettling, provocative, disruptive, and filled with so many stops, abysses, and challenges along its landscape.

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The Immigrant: The Privilege of Living in Polarized Cosmogonies. 

In 1995, I came to live in the United States, where I still reside. Here, I have continued my research into psychology, anthropology, astrology, and dozens of other topics that bring us closer to mystery and always to the edges of limits. On the other side of my career as a designer, I have spent years researching and pursuing answers with relentless curiosity. My long exploration has not ceased to this day.

Five years ago, I obtained a state license in real estate in Florida, along with a special certification as a strategy counselor in real estate. Today, my artistic work is transitioning into supporting the research of a project that seeks to be self-sustaining, creating a community model that pursue affordability and sustainability.