Museo de los Balseros
The Museo de los Balseros centered on rafts and personal objects recovered at sea, once belonging to Cuban rafters risking the journey in search of asylum in the United States. The exhibition brought together artifacts found aboard these vessels: inner tubes, wooden planks, rope, makeshift sails, handwritten phone numbers, medicine, religious items, and navigational tools. Each object carried the weight of a life in transit and the fragile line between survival and loss.
The project was dedicated to the four members of Brothers to the Rescue, Armando Alejandre Jr., Pablo Morales, Carlos Costa, and Mario de la Peña, killed when their civilian aircraft was shot down by Soviet-made MiGs over international waters while searching for migrants in distress. It was also dedicated to Félix González-Torres, whose work had long addressed themes of exile, memory, and disappearance.
By presenting these objects within a museum framework, Museo de los Balseros sought to honor the lives behind them and confront the political forces shaping the perilous journeys of those seeking freedom.
During the course of the exhibit of “El Museo de los Balseros,” had a six-person panel discussion that took place focusing on the topics of: The Arts, Economics and Politics. None of the objects displayed at the Franklin Furnace Archive were found to have pertained to survivors nor were for sale.
PANEL PARTICIPANTS
- Dr. Juan Martinez - Florida International University, Miami, FL
- Dr. Juan Clark - Miami-Dade College, Miami, FL
- Dr. Jorge Hernandez - Dartmouth University, Hanover, NH
- Dr. Mary Anne - Staniszewski Rensselaer Institute, NY
- Dr. Damian Fernandez - Florida International U, Miami, FL
- Humberto Sanchez - Brothers to the Rescue - Founding Member
