Ileana Collazo, Pen Name, Fátima Cánovas

My story:

My grandmother’s garden is the most heartfelt keepsake of my early years; that magical place became the catalyst for the art I create today. The scrapbook of my mind is filled with treasured memories of time spent alone in that sacred space.

My early years were tumultuous and unsettling. At age five, communism forever changed my family’s trajectory; by age nine, I witnessed the demise of my father’s life work and his heart attack and nervous breakdown. Shortly after, our home and belongings were confiscated, and our family sought shelter in my grandparents’ Victorian country house.

For three years, my parents struggled to get us out of the country, while I started to believe we may never leave. Then, suddenly, we packed our bags and boarded a plane for Madrid, Spain, where we lived for eleven months. I was fascinated by my ancestral history, the architecture, museums, and gardens. I fell in love with the old city but, for the third time in my short life, I had to wave goodbye to a place I came to love.

Life in the United States was very different. My parents struggled to rebuild what they no longer had enough time to replicate; the life they lost and mourned. But they were persistent and resilient; the family set roots, I met my soulmate, and we started on the creative path that, to this day, gives profound meaning to our lives.

I experienced many impactful moments throughout my life, but the three years spent among my grandmother’s flowers, birds, butterflies, and ever-changing skies filled me with the wonder that fuels my poetry and art.

What words mean to me:

Long before I started to create visual art, and as early as age nine, writing was the way I expressed my views about the mesmerizing world that surrounds us; with nature playing a primary role in my everyday ventures. I experimented with short stories and novels since my twenties but fell in love with poetry and started writing in earnest in my forties while living in New England; during that time, I took to reading dictionaries and thesaurus as voraciously as I read novels.

In June 2015, I had the opportunity to launch Art Daily News

International Magazine with the feature: Havana: 12th

Biannual: Half a Century Later. For years, I went at it alone, but I am thrilled that there is now a team of collaborators who share their expertise and knowledge of their respective fields from the corner of the world each one calls home.

As this labor of love of art grew, I created Art Daily News International Magazine, because as an artist I know firsthand how important it is to do everything possible to properly market our craft.

As our group continues to innovate and improve our beloved publication, one thing will never change. Art Daily News International Magazine will continue to be a 100% literary publication.