Ukrainian artist Mariya Zrazhaeva finds a home in Cuenca and captures the ‘faces of Ecuador’

By Stephen Vargha

Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres said, “While every refugee’s story is different and their anguish personal, they all share a common thread of uncommon courage — the courage not only to survive, but to persevere and rebuild their shattered lives.”

In Salinas, Daria won the first regatta she was in. (Submitted Photo)

For Mariya Zrazhaeva, 42, her courage took her from Ukraine to Ecuador.

“My husband, daughter, and I went to Moldova to have lunch,” said Zrazhaeva. “And we’re still having lunch.”

The trip from her hometown of Kyiv to the neighboring country of Moldova was supposed to be a quick trip in February 2022.

“On February 24, our friends started telling us what was happening and they sent videos,” said Zrazhaeva. “I asked them if it was a joke as it was difficult to believe.”

Some of the “Faces of Ecuador,” a series of works that gives the viewer an opportunity to look closer, to delve into the soul and to observe in a different way people we already know.

Russia’s full-scale, second invasion of Ukraine made refugees of Zrazhaeva, her husband, Sergey, 51, and teenaged daughter, Daria.

The three stayed with friends in Moldova.

But that stay was short-lived as there were great fears that Russia was headed to Moldova. Everyone, including their friends in Moldova, went west to Romania.

“On March 14th, we wanted to be further away as we were afraid of nuclear war,” said Zrazhaeva. “We picked Ecuador as it is far from Russia. And it is warm, especially in 2022 when it was cold in Europe.”

This was during the Covid pandemic. Ecuador was open to refugees if you were vaccinated or had Covid in the past.

“We had Covid two times before moving to Ecuador because we were not vaccinated,” said Zrazhaeva.

The Ukrainian family picked Salinas (Santa Elena province) to be their new home.

“For more than seven years, I have been leading a vegetarian lifestyle, so I chose a country where tropical fruits grow,” said Zrazhaeva.

Home of two major yacht clubs, Salinas was perfect for her daughter, Daria, who had awards from her five regattas in Ukraine. Daria learned to sail while living in a suburb of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, the oldest city in Ukraine.

Mariya Zrazhaeva and her family fled Ukraine in February 2022, after the second Russian invasion of her homeland.

Two weeks after their arrival in Ecuador, Daria was in her first sailing regatta in an Optimist sailing dinghy, a boat with a short hull and a flat bow.

“The Ukrainian sailing team is really strong,” Zrazhaeva. “Sailing makes one responsible as it is only water, wind, you, and the boat.”

Like her fellow sailors from Ukraine, Daria came in first.

While Daria focused on sailing, Zrazhaeva began to teach art at Unidad Educativa Bilingüe Jefferson, a K-12 school.

Mariya Zrazhaeva proudly presents one of her paintings that will be at the special exhibit at Salón del Pueblo “Efraín Jara Idrovo,” at Casa de la Cultura.

“Drawing lessons were taught in the family. My grandfather was an artist, then I learned more by visiting museums, exhibitions, and self-study,” said Zrazhaeva. “One way or another, art has always accompanied me, but it fully entered my life in 2013, when my husband drew my attention to the fact that art gives freedom.”

That freedom was the right to enjoy the arts as well as the creativity of others.

“I taught at the school for a couple of months,” said Zrazhaeva. “It wasn’t easy as I had to create a program and make it work.”

“Andrea” (From Cuenca)

After dabbling in teaching art, Zrazhaeva took up painting again. She decided to solely focus on her artwork.

“In my opinion, the power of art lies in giving a person the opportunity to develop without limits,” said Zrazhaeva. “Art fills a person’s life with meaning, stimulates knowledge and creativity, and also allows one to realize their own existence. If you recall, God is called the Creator.”

Her first exhibition was dedicated to boats and faces. Now, it is totally faces.

“Liberty” (A collective image of Ecuadorian women)

“Faces are a huge photo of information for me. From the moment of birth, a person studies the world around them and determines their position in it,” said Zrazhaeva. “Our soul, which makes us alive, consists of thoughts, conclusions, and reactions. Souls interact with each other and with objects of the external world.”

Zrazhaeva feels each of our faces is a powerful tool for expressing our soul.

“You can look at a person’s face and understand what is inside them,” said Zrazhaeva. “I have been engaged in facial dramaturgy for more than 10 years and I can say that one of the accessible ways to understand art is to see your own face in a portrait and critically evaluate how good that portrait is.”

The Ukrainian thinks that it’s wonderful that nowadays there are many types of art.

It is how she met the Ecuadorian sculptor Paul Amadeus Palacio Collmann. His work is internationally known as an outdoor bronze bust of President Vicente Rocafuerte (1834-39) by the sculptor is installed at Hermann Park’s McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas.

“Consuela” (From Guayaquil)

“I wanted to do an exhibition of his work and my work. He only spoke Spanish, and I communicated with my poor Spanish,” said Zrazhaeva. “Paul invited me to his exhibition in Cuenca.”

Zrazhaeva immediately felt a connection to Cuenca.

“When I arrived here, it reminded me of Kyiv,” said Zrazhaeva. “And I immediately liked that they speak Spanish here and not that coastal language.”

Kyiv (Population: 2.9 million people) has over 60 museums to choose from. The arts are a big part of the Ukrainian culture.

“Cuenca is great. The arts are popular here,” said Zrazhaeva. “The culture here is wonderful.”

Her initial impressions of Cuenca had the family moving to Cuenca. They found an apartment near Parque Los Eucaliptos.

“We wondered how it would be like up in the mountains after being at the coast in Ecuador,” said Zrazhaeva.

“It was difficult to breathe here,” said Sergey. “And I had dry eyes.”

Now, he seems to have adjusted to the altitude and the low humidity. Sergey is happy to be in Cuenca.

And Zrazhaeva has adjusted to her studio being in the apartment’s kitchen with paints everywhere.

“It’s a big kitchen!” exclaimed Sergey.

The kitchen has helped Zrazhaeva create 30 portrait paintings for “Rostros del Ecuador” (“Faces of Ecuador”), a national project.

“I already had an event with several works from this project in Quito,” said Zrazhaeva. “Now I am going to hold the opening of the project in Cuenca and then in Guayaquil. The First Lady will also bring her portrait to participate in the exhibition.”

“Faces of Ecuador” is a series of works that gives the viewer an opportunity to look closer, to delve into the soul and to observe in a different way people we already know. Among them are famous and influential people who are recognized for their humanitarianism, cultural heritage or contribution to the present and future of Ecuador.

A signed and dated painting of Mariya Zrazhaeva’s painting. Thirty of her paintings will be part of the “Faces of Ecuador” exhibit that starts September 18.

The grand opening of “Faces of Ecuador,” with Zrazhaeva’s paintings, will take place on September 18, at Salón del Pueblo “Efraín Jara Idrovo,” at Casa de la Cultura.  The exhibition will last for one month until the 18th of October.

“It’s easy to determine if cultural and emotional experiences arise that provide a connection between the object of art and the person,” said Zrazhaeva. “A constant and non-tiring flow of energy emanating from the portrait elevates its cultural value.”
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“Rostros del Ecuador” (“Faces of Ecuador”), September 18-October 18, Salón del Pueblo “Efraín Jara Idrovo”, at Casa de la Cultura, Calle Mariscal Sucre y Benigno Malo, Cuenca, https://www.cceazuay.gob.ec/  

Mariya Zrazhaeva, +380 505662798, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zrazhaeva_art_ukraine?igsh=MWcxMWQ1d3E2empuNA==    

Photos by Stephen Vargha

Stephen Vargha’s second edition of his book about Cuenca, “Una Nueva Vida – A New Life” is available at Amazon in digital and hardback formats. His award-winning blog, “Becoming Cuenca,” supplements his book with the latest information and hundreds of professional photos by him.