Overview:
Cristiano Berti's new book, 'Boggiano Heirs', delves into the stories of enslaved people owned by Antonio Boggiano in 19th century Cuba. The book explores the impact of slavery and traces the legacy of the Boggiano surname among Afro-Cubans today.
By Leticia Callista
Cristiano Berti’s new book, Boggiano Heirs, tells the stories of the Boggianos, a group of enslaved people owned by Antonio Boggiano, a wealthy Italian merchant residing in Cuba in the early 19th century, whose surname was imposed upon many enslaved people and transmitted to their descendants up to this day.
In the early 19th century, slavery was widespread in Cuba. Racism was also a rampant issue as the Cuban society was divided into classifications according to one’s proximity to Whiteness, defining a woman of mixed African and European descent as a mulata, of mixed Indigenous American and European descent as a mestiza, of mixed White and mulata descent as a tercerona, a descendent of mixed White and tercerona descent a cuarterona and so on in the numerous possible combinations.
By the time Antonio Boggiano arrived in Cuba, it was fairly easy for him to amass enough money to purchase a coffee plantation near the city of Trinidad – in an area named San José de los Puriales – along with slaves who were forced to exert labor to cultivate it.
The enslaved people endured poor living conditions and harsh treatment, particularly those who worked in sugar plantations. Poor sanitary conditions, scarcity of medicines and overcrowding made the enslaved people more vulnerable to epidemics. Due to the hardships the enslaved faced, their lifespan was cut short – those in sugar plantations had a lifespan that averaged around 10 years, while those in coffee plantations had a comparatively higher lifespan.
Those who attempted to flee, known as cimarrones, were often captured and returned to slavery after being subjected to terrible punishments. According to customary law, the only reliable way to freedom was through its purchase. As few had the means to do so, many had their fates sealed as slaves. Fortunately, some of Boggiano’s slaves did precisely this: They bought their own freedom.
While the Cuban Boggianos of this era carry Antonio Boggiano’s surname, they do not directly descend from his lineage. Instead, the book explores other possibilities, such as the customary practices in Spanish colonies that baptized enslaved people under the surname of their enslaver.
Today, the only tangible relic of Antonio Boggiano’s many businesses and properties is a white marble altar found in Santísima Trinidad’s Church. However, the author emphasizes that the marble altar is not particularly interesting compared to the immaterial legacy constituted by the transmission of his surname that can be found among many Afro-Cubans to this day.
The result of five years of research, Cristiano Berti’s “Boggiano Heirs” is primarily an artist’s book but takes the form of a historical essay. His recent projects involve the publication of an artist’s book, along with works created using the typical mediums of contemporary art.
The book closes with a conversation with American art critic and author Seph Rodney on art and the representation and memory of slavery:
“You turned toward the mystery of the Boggianos to see what they could tell you about the wider developments within the Caribbean. I think it’s valuable that you have uncovered a hushed history of entrepreneurship, travel, exploitation, enslavement, aspiration, intermixing of cultures and ethnicities, and laborious self-possession.”
Boggiano Heirs is distributed in the U.S. by IDEA Books and produced thanks to the support of the Italian Council’s programme for the international promotion of Italian art, under the General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture.
Cristiano Berti (Turin, 1967) is a visual artist who mainly works with the mediums of photography, video and installation. Using an array of sources, Berti weaves together the stories of Boggiano and the people he owned as slaves. Uniting everything is the surname Boggiano, imposed on the slaves and still widespread in the Afro-Cuban community.
The book uses the mystery of the Boggianos to understand wider developments within the Caribbean, uncovering a hushed history of entrepreneurship, travel, exploitation, enslavement, aspiration and intermixing of cultures and ethnicities.
The book is part of a larger project titled Futile Cycles: Boggiano, which include two other works developed by Berti: a wall installation depicting two large family trees, in which the people born in Africa stand at the apex, branching out through marriages that took place in the first half of the 19th century, and a video in which some stories collected by the author in the area where Antonio Boggiano’s coffee plantation once stood intersect with the conversation a family of Afro-Cuban Boggianos.
The result of five years of research, Boggiano Heirs is primarily an artist’s book, but takes the form of a historical essay.
Berti found the inspiration for Boggiano Heirs from the research conducted on Gaggini, which led him to discover the existence of Antonio Boggiano, who was an intermediary in the commission to the sculptor of two fountains for the city of Havana.
Due to its historical and artistic relevance at an international level, the book won the support of the Italian Council programme operated by the Italian Contemporary Creativity Directorate General of the Ministry of Culture.