Simanca was born in Santa Clara, Cuba, 1960. In 1995 moved to Brazil.

He graduated in fine arts in the San Alejandro Academy and in the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana.

Began his career as a cartoonist in the cuban magazine Dedeté in 1975.

Creator and organizer of the Bahia International Cartoon Contest in 2001 and 2002. Museum of Modern Art. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Editorial Cartoonist, A TARDE Newspaper. Salvador, Bahia - BRAZIL.

Member of Cagle Cartoons, Inc. International Syndicate of Cartoonist. USA.

His works appeared in several newspapers and magazines around the world: Jornal do Brasil, Courrier International, Los Angeles Times, La Opinion, The Denver Post, The Washington Post National Weekly, MSNBC.com, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Tampa Tribune, The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, The Cincinnatti Enquirer, The St Louis Post-Dispatch, The Toronto Star, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Jyllands-Posten…

Selected Group Exhibitions:

1983 -Humor: línea y concepto. Galería L Havana, Cuba.

1985 - Landscapes of Landscapes, Paintings and Graphics from Cuba. Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Rabindra Bhavan Gallery, New Delhi. Lalit Kala Akademi, Madras, India. National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Manzar Akbar Hall, Karachi, Paquistan.

1986 - Salón XXV Premi Internacional de Dibuix Joan Miró, Miró Centre d’Estudis d’Art Contemporani, Parc de Montjuic, Barcelona, Spain.

1989 - El Camino del Humor, XX São Paulo International Biennale, Brazil.

1992 - The Unknown Face of Cuban Art, Northern Center for Contemporary Art (NCCA). Sunderland, New Castle, United Kingdom.

Among his Awards are:

1982 - First Prize . Salón Nacional de Humorismo, Horacio Rodríguez Suriá, Havana, Cuba.

1987 - First Prize. Salón Nacional de Artes Plásticas. Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba UNEAC. Havana, Cuba

2000 - First Prize Péricles Maranhão (Cartoon) and First Prize Crispim do Amaral (Caricature). II International Humor and Comics from Pernambuco FIHQ. Recife. Brazil.

2002 – First prize. Perenquén de Oro. VII Bienal de Caricatura y Dibujo Humorístico de Tenerife, Islas Canarias. Spain.

2004 - Third prize. XV Salao Carioca de Humor. Rio de Janeiro. Brazil

2004 - “Knack” Prize. 43 Knokke-Heist Cartoonfestival, Belgium.

2004 - First Prize. I Concurso Humorismo Gráfico Iberoamericano 2002- 2003. Extremadura, Spain.

2004 - First Prize Ex Aequo. Biennale Internazionale Eurohumor 2003 - 2004, Borgo San Dalmazzo. Italy

2005 - Second Prize. International Humor Exhibition of Piracicaba. São Paulo, Brazil.

2005 - Third prize. The United Nations Correspondents Association, Ranan Lurie Political Cartoon Award for the Year 2005. New York, USA.

2006 - Second Prize. XVII Salão Carioca de Humor. Rio de Janeiro. Brazil.

2006 - First Prize. 1st International Cartoon Contest GREEKARTOON “Cartoon Bridging Cultures” Athens, Greece.

Having also being honored with the Ordem Estadual do Mérito do Renascimento do Piauí in Brazil and the National Culture Medal of the Cuba Republic.

Photos: Aris Malandrakis. 2006, Athens, Greece.