Cuban Exile Artist José Antonio Pantoja Gifts Two Original Xylographies to Luca and Claudette
The hand-pulled woodcuts "Turtle Island Cuba" and "Exodus" are presented to Luca and Claudette in support of the single "Cuba Libre Rising"
SEDONA, Ariz., November 8, 2026 — Zanna Records has received two original framed xylographies as a gift from the Cuban-born artist José Antonio Pantoja Hernández, presented to label founder Gianluca Zanna and singer Claudette Lyons, who perform together as Luca and Claudette. The works were given in support of the label's single "Cuba Libre Rising," a song dedicated to the Cuban people seeking freedom.
Both pieces are hand-pulled woodcut prints, signed and dated by the artist in 2023. "Turtle Island Cuba" depicts the island as an enormous sea turtle carrying a city of crumbling buildings on its back, swimming beneath a watching sun while a figure in the waves pulls at its shell. "Exodus," hand-colored by the artist, shows a long-nosed farmer in a wide straw hat steering a small boat away from a palm-lined shore, his animals crowded in with him and the house he left behind still visible on the sand.
The two works arrived as the label and the artist began discussing a wider collaboration: an original painting created by Pantoja in response to "Cuba Libre Rising".
Pantoja describes the pieces in terms of his own practice of treating artwork as a form of currency, a habit he has kept since arriving in the United States.
For Zanna Records, the gift carries a weight beyond its value.
"I wrote 'Cuba Libre Rising' after a dream about Cuban streets, protests and hungry children, at a time when I knew very little about what the Cuban people were living through. To receive these two works from a man who actually lived it, who painted the truth when painting the truth could cost him his freedom, is the most meaningful response this song has had. Claudette and I are honored. These will hang where we work every day." — Gianluca Zanna, founder, Zanna Records
About the artist
José Antonio Pantoja Hernández was born in Bejucal, Cuba, in 1971. He produced surrealist paintings and prints addressing what he has called the errors of the Revolution at a time when voicing such views in Cuba carried the risk of imprisonment. In 2011 he used an invitation from a Mexican museum to leave the island, crossed the border at Nuevo Laredo and requested political asylum in the United States. He now lives and works in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his work has been exhibited at the Gilcrease Museum. His catalog spans painting, xylography and sculpture, with recurring themes of exile, hunger, migration and survival. More at pantojaart.com
About "Cuba Libre Rising"
"Cuba Libre Rising" was written by Gianluca Zanna and released worldwide on August 20, 2026. It was produced by Danny Saber and recorded in Los Angeles with musicians including Rudy Sarzo and Robert Sarzo, who were born in Havana and left Castro's Cuba as children in 1961. The song is dedicated to the Cuban people seeking freedom and to the late actor Tomás Milián. Production photographs, video and the full story behind the recording are available at www.CubaLibreSong.com
About Zanna Records
Zanna Records is an independent record label founded by Gianluca Zanna and based in Sedona, Arizona. Its catalog spans more than 200 original compositions across EDM, rock, classical and cinematic music, and reaches 500 radio stations in 99 countries across six continents. The label's artists have been covered by Rolling Stone, Forbes, Billboard Italia and Music Connection, with television appearances on PIX11 New York, Fox News San Diego, NBC Palm Springs and ABC13 Las Vegas.
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