Born in Cuba in 1971, Javier Balmaseda studied at the Higher Institute of Art in Havana before moving to Europe. He now lives and works in the Principality of Andorra. His participation in 2013 at the 55th Venice Biennale with the installation “Fixed in contemporary” marks a turning point in his career. The artist, who draws on his personal experiences to bring us to a universal reflection, creates in 2018 the Ruta migratoria today exhibited in the park of Charleval Castle. The monumental work composed of 3,000 ceramic crabs evokes this spectacle of nature where every year in Cuba, from the first rains of spring, the road connecting the cities of Trinidad and Cienfuegos is covered with thousands of crabs that join the ocean to reproduce. This installation echoes not only the artist’s own experience, but also the issues related to emigration and migratory flows, which have always existed and remain major current issues.