La Sabiduría de los Oráculos
IFÁ, Los Caracoles y el Coco
Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui

Editorial Design
& Collaboration:

Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui

Designing for Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui always transcended a mere professional commission; it was a constant dialogue with the living history of Cuban ethnography. This book, published by Editorial José Martí, compiles the divinatory systems of Ifá, the shells (Dilogún), and the coconut (Obí), demanding a rigorous typographic treatment to organize "pattakíes," proverbs, and complex hierarchies without losing reading fluency.

The responsibility was immense. It was not just about laying out a manual and incorporating the author's own artwork into the cover design, but about dressing the words of an intellectual authority trained under the tutelage of the great Lydia Cabrera. The graphic design had to live up to that legacy, moving away from visual folklore to present the work with the sobriety, elegance, and academic respect that her research deserved.

My design and layout work always sought to honor the author's voice: clear, profound, and authentic. More than a book, this project represents the testimony of a close collaboration with an indisputable figure of our culture, whose supervision and proximity transformed the technical process into a vital learning experience and an indelible personal memory.

Services: Art Direction & Editorial Design

Client: Editorial José Martí

Year: 2018

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