Cuban priest, sculptor and world-renowned muralist Salvador Gonzalez Escalona is perhaps best known for transforming a Havana alleyway from a garbage-riddled path into a vibrant cultural and spiritual vortex. The Callejon de Hamel, located in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of the Cuban capital, explodes with radiant murals, impressionistic art and Sunday-morning rumbas. By strengthening the ties that bind art, religion, music and dance, Escalona has drawn attention to the pre-Christian roots of the Afro-Cubans and renewed a sense of pride in the neighborhood's collective cultural past. Escalona's work breaches boundaries. He has even cut through the political tension between the U.S. and Cuba, creating art for American urban communities in an effort to foster cooperation and understanding among the people of these two nations.