Miguel Fleitas

Miguel A. Fleitas is a Cuban-American visual artist, photographer, and film director based in Miami, Florida.

Fleitas was a television director and film editor for several popular television programs during his tenure with Univision and Telemundo.

By the 21st century, he would be an exhibiting artist in both solo and group exhibitions and win further awards.

He has since become closely associated with his “The Breast Project” and his Gallo (Rooster) series of paintings, well as the “Giants in the City” public art exhibition series in Miami.

Miguel Angel Fleitas was born in Havana, Cuba on June 22, 1956.

He was first exposed to film and the arts through his parents, who were prominent figures in 20th century Cuban film.

His father, Miguel Fleitas Sr., was a painter and noted filmmaker who gained recognition for establishing the Cuban Institute of Arts and Industry Cinematography (Instituto Cubano de Artes e Industria Cinematografica; ICAIC) and served as its founding director.

His mother, Clarivel Suarez, was a lead production assistant in film for the ICAIC.

Among his father's many directorial film credits are the 1975 film The Smile of Victory, part of the Florida State University Libraries, as well as the 1979 film Etiopia Diario de una Victoria, which was added to the collection of Franklin and Marshall College's Phillips Museum of Art.

Fleitas attended primary school in Valdes Rodriguez within the city of Havana and subsequently conducted his pre-university studies at Saul Delgado high school, also in Havana.

He began his professional work in media as a radio operator in the Havana Radio Station.

In 1979 he transitioned from radio to film and began working in the ICAIC's Film Laboratory and training in film and photography.

As an artist Fleitas has exhibited internationally, participated in high-profile exhibitions, and won awards since launching his art career in the 1980s.

He is the son of Cuban filmmaker and artist Miguel Fleitas Sr.

During this period and into the 1980s, Fleitas began participating in group exhibitions in Cuba.

Alongside his work in the arts, he spent much of his early career also gaining recognition as a film director and cameraman.

His film background would influence his approach to art in photography and later painting.

Fleitas studied Art History in the University of Havana while he worked as Chief Graphic Designer for MINFAR Studios Film Department and later as their Documentaries Manager for Tourism.

Fleitas' fine art career began in the 1980s in Cuba with photography.

He gained early recognition in 1982 for his series Farmers of the Sea. The black and white series was exhibited in the Pabellón Cuba in Havana which led to his winning a placement to tour and exhibit his work in twelve Latin American countries, his first professional award and recognition in the arts.

The following year Fleitas enrolled in the University of Havana in 1983 studying Art History.

He also studied film and camera techniques in Havana with personal mentoring programs, completing his training in 1985.

In 1985 he won 6th Prize in the international Peace World Photography Exhibition in Poland for his series Happy Children. Despite this, his work in the arts remained secondary to his main career and profession as a media executive in the radio, film, and television industries for much of the following three decades.

Fleitas emigrated from Cuba in 1986 and subsequently joined the Cuban diaspora community in exile within South Florida.

While in the United States, he continued his art as well as directorial work, now transitioning into television with the two leading Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Univision.

After emigrating to the United States, Fleitas began to expand his artistic mediums to include painting in the 1990s.

He worked for Telemundo for ten years from 1991–2001.

In 1995 he graduated from the University of Oklahoma and also participated in National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) 35th Television News and Video Production Conference sponsored by Sony.

During his tenure in Telemundo, Fleitas was first a cameraman, then reporter and finally editor of News Channel 51 in Miami.

He then became Television and Technical Director for Venevision International (now Cisneros Media).

In 2002 he also joined the national Univision, Telefutura, and Univision Deportes (Sports) Network as a floor manager and director.

Fleitas worked for both Venevision International and Univision until he resigned from Venevision in 2006 to focus on his increasing demands with Univision.

During his time with Venevision and Univision he directed a number of their most popular programs including ¿Quién Tiene la Razón?, Tu Desayuno Alegre, Escándalo TV, and Casos de Familia as well as soccer and boxing sports coverage.

Fleitas participated in the inaugural 2009 “Giants in the City” public art exhibition of monumental-scale sculptural installations organized by the Moore College of Art and Design.

In addition to being a founding featured artist, Fleitas was also active in helping to organize the event.

The event's success prompted a follow-up exhibition the following year at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, in close proximity to the Miami Beach Convention Center that hosts Art Basel Miami.

Fleitas was again invited to participate in the 2010 exhibition, held during Miami Art Week, which was well-received drawing large audiences.

Fleitas again participated in the 2011 installment, which saw the venue move to the larger Bayfront Park of Downtown Miami during Art Basel Miami.

Fleitas retired from film and television in 2013 to fully dedicate himself to his fine art career.

Fleitas also participated in the 2014 and 2015 installments of the public art series.