CINTAS Foundation

About CINTAS Our Mission The mission of the CINTAS Foundation today remains true to Oscar B. Cintas’ wishes: to encourage artistic expression and appreciation by offering grants to artists, architects, composers and creative writers of Cuban descent, and by making their art available to the public. The CINTAS Foundation awards fellowships annually to creative artists of Cuban citizenship or Cuban lineage. The CINTAS Foundation was established in 1957 with funds from the estate of the late Oscar B. Cintas, a former Cuban ambassador to the United States and a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts. CINTAS fellowships acknowledge creative accomplishments and encourage the development of creative artists in architecture and design, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts. The legacy of Oscar B. Cintas has fostered the development of Cuban artists for over 60 years, promoting the professional development of these artists and the continuity of Cuban traditions in art. The foresight of Oscar Cintas has resulted in more than 350 fellowships and grants since 1963. The roster of CINTAS fellows is a testament to the talent and creativity of the Cubans and their direct descendants, many of whom have later achieved national and international renown.. The CINTAS Foundation is the oldest entity in the United States dedicated to the support of artists of Cuban lineage. Past recipients include writers Oscar Hijuelos, María Irene Fornés, Antonio Benítez Rojo and Reinaldo Arenas; visual artists Carmen Herrera, Felix González-Torres, Teresita Fernández, Guillermo Calzadilla, Cundo Bermúdez, Quisqueya Henríquez, Lydia Rubio, Gean Moreno, Baruj Salinas, Carlos Alfonso, Andres Serrano and Ernesto Oroza; architect Andres Martin Duany, and composers Orlando García and Tania León.