Cuban immigrant went from dishwasher at Phoenix resort to restaurant's resident artist

PHILIP HALDIMAN  The Arizona Republic/

PHOENIX — In the hierarchy of the restaurant kitchen, a dishwasher has no place to go but up, even if it is at a swank resort in the Northeast Valley.

Cuban native Nelson Garcia-Miranda knew this all too well.

The Phoenix resident also knew to believe in his work as a painter and his strokes would whisk his way to the American dream.

But he had no clue the journey would lead to the lounge of the restaurant where he washed dishes.

In April 2005, Garcia-Miranda began slinging suds at Deseo, Westin Kierland Resort and Spa's signature restaurant.

Now, the 65-year-old is the restaurant's resident artist, painting for customers in the lounge and selling his works for hundreds of dollars.

His creations cover the walls of Deseo, complementing the restaurant's ambience and Nuevo Latino cuisine.

In early 2008, the resort commissioned him to paint a number of works for the restaurant and lounge after chef Roberto Madrid discovered Garcia-Miranda's talent.

Garcia-Miranda began selling a number of his Cuba-inspired paintings and receiving attention from guests. Seeing the reaction, Westin Kierland managers started making bigger plans.

"We really wanted to make him a bigger part of the experience," said Stephanie Dowling, director of public relations for the resort in northeast Phoenix.

So, by the end of 2008, Garcia-Miranda stopped washing dishes for good and set up shop in the lounge.

Since moving to the U.S. in 1999, he has worked countless jobs to make ends meet. But he never stopped painting.

"In Cuba , art is regulated," Garcia-Miranda said. "I was looked at as a liberal artist, and because of that, I was excluded from many social activities, as were other artists who eventually had to leave the country."

"I know how to do two jobs and then one extra," he said in Spanish through a translator. "But I knew that once someone saw my work, I'd be good."

Garcia-Miranda was born and raised in a poor neighborhood of Holguin, in eastern Cuba.

He was schooled in the art of painting, and by the time he was 18, his work had been shown in Germany. By his 30s, his creations were being exhibited in hotels, restaurants, music halls and different cultural institutions across Cuba.

Garcia-Miranda said he had gained much respect for his work as a painter in his homeland and internationally. He taught the art form and was among the creative elite, with showings in Havana, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Spain, the U.S and other countries.

But he said life in Fidel Castro-controlled Cuba was restrictive artistically. Although he was able to create and sell paintings, a big portion of his sales were kept by the government, he said.

"In Cuba, art is regulated," Garcia-Miranda said. "I was looked at as a liberal artist, and because of that, I was excluded from many social activities, as were other artists who eventually had to leave the country."

So when Garcia-Miranda had the opportunity to leave Cuba for a better life, he jumped at it. He came to the U.S. under a visa won in a lottery by his wife at the time.

"It was like winning the golden ticket," he said. "If you have the chance to go to the U.S., you go."

After a short stop in Miami, Fla., Garcia-Miranda came to Arizona, where he received a warm welcome.

"I feel like I was born here," he said. "My most important paintings have been done in Arizona."

But that won't stop him from resting on his laurels.

"Always, even at night as I am closing my eyes to sleep, I am certain that I can do more," he said. "I'm certain that I can do many more things than I am currently doing."