Item

DescriptionPostcard depicting a Mario Sanchez woodcarving of people dancing and playing drums in front of homes and a lighthouse. The description on the verso reads, 'Mario Sanchez. "Manungo's Backyard Rhumba Band, Key West, 1919" - 1964 - Painted Woodcarving. In backyards and lanes, over and beyond the Key West Light (Whitehead Street and Truman Avenue), there were many combos that vied with one another for rhythm, improvization, and skill in capturing the beat of the jungle. Here, while a hot tropic sun burns vivid in the sky, three members of the hooded "Nanigos" (in fantastic costumes of their secret cult) combine with bongo player, polka-dot dressed lady, and gentlemen in straw hat and striped shirt, while neighbors watch and listen. Even the normally stately coconut palms striped stick and leafy branch are symbolical as are the screams and motions of the dancers. Collection "El Kiosko", Key West, Florida.'