Beloved former CIA professor Cintron celebrates 104th birthday

Image: Longtime CIA faculty member José Cintron, center, is surrounded by family during his 104th birthday party at Danbury Senior Living in Broadview Heights, Ohio. 

Birthdays are joyous occasions. When you’re celebrating a century, that joy grows, well, 100-fold. That was certainly the case for longtime Cleveland Institute of Art faculty member José Cintron, who recently celebrated his 104th birthday surrounded by four generations of family, from son David Cintron and daughter Vicki Pandrea to great-granddaughter Marie. 

Cintron’s joy grew even greater at the mention of CIA. After all, not only did he graduate from the College in 1954 (when it was still known as Cleveland School of Art), he spent 50 years teaching at CIA from 1956 to 2006—along the way earning a prestigious Viktor Schreckengost Teaching Excellence Award. 

Cintron’s face lit up as he waxed nostalgic about his time at CIA. He reminisced about the old buildings, but his fondest memories were reserved for his former students. 

“I loved teaching—being able to bring out the talent of my students and seeing them progressing by following my teaching,” Cintron says. “It takes good students to make a good teacher, and I had a lot of good students who make me—I hope—a good teacher. I got inspired by them.”

Present-day CIA professor Lane Cooper taught alongside Cintron in the Painting Department from when she started in 2001 until Cintron’s retirement in 2006. 

“Everyone at the school knew him. He was a legend,” Cooper says. “Students loved studying with him, and his classes were always very popular. 

“José was a monument to the love of making,” Cooper continues. “The students really respected him for his commitment and passion for his craft. He modeled what it means to love what you do and to be committed to a practice. There are literally generations of CIA alums who saw firsthand, in José, how to translate their abstract idea of becoming an artist into being an artist in an ongoing committed fashion.” 

Many of Cintron’s former students agree that he had a significant impact. When CIA first shared news of his 104th birthday on social media in early August, many responded. Enjoy some of those responses. 

Lessons still treasured 

Happiest birthday to José! I was one of his students in 1983, I do believe. I ended up carrying 21 credit hours just so I wouldn’t miss being able to take his class as he was going to be on sabbatical my last year! I learned invaluable lessons about drawing and light from him that I still treasure to this day. (What) an amazing man and so grateful the Earth has had him for 104 years! 
Lynn Gaines ’84 
Illustration 

Hooked on portraits 

For me, CIA was José Cintron. I had a portrait or life drawing class with him for every one of my five years there. My very first class at CIA was Freshman Life Drawing. His gesture drawing lessons were mind-blowing, and I just felt like this is where I belong and this is what I want to do. This was also my first drawing class with a nude model … which I loved … no clothes to draw. At the end of that first seven-hour drawing day, he asked us to put our better drawings into a pile, which he then separated into three piles. Since I was very new to gesture drawings, I didn’t know what was good or not, so I wasn’t sure whether the pile mine were in was the “best,” “good” or “needs improvement” pile. I was thrilled that he had put my drawing into the “best” pile and was hooked for ever after. Painting people would be what I do. When I paint, I still hear Mr. Cintron’s voice saying things like, “Freshen the color,” “heaven in the halftones,” “for every drawing you do, you develop; for every drawing you don’t do, you don’t develop.” I have lots of these gems written on the drawing board from art school that I still have today. 
Judy Takács ’86 
Illustration 

Meaningful and inspirational 

I remember his class as a magical place. Jose would speak meaningful exhortations and inspirational lines while insisting on quiet diligence, observation and effort. 
Scott Bowen ’90 
Painting 

Great teachers inspire 

José Cintron was so inspiring. So much so, when he spoke about the masters, and how daVinci would draw cadavers to learn the human anatomy, a few of us first-year students decided to sneak into the cadaver room at the CWRU medical school with sketchbooks. Yes, we got caught and were banned from setting foot on the premises. I tell this story often—not to brag of how dumb we were in college, but how a great teacher inspires. Happy birthday! 
Arnel Reynon ’93 
Illustration 

Impactful and profound 

José Cintron was one of the best professors I’ve ever had the honor of studying with. He truly impacted my way of thinking about art in a profound way. Sending my best to Professor Cintron! 
Susan Danko ’98 
Painting 

Most influential teacher 

Happy to see this! Happy birthday to Mr. Cintron. He is the most influential teacher I had at CIA. Every day I think about his encouragement to draw something every day—and keep up the Art Spirit! Anytime I told classmates that he was my Drawing I teacher, they would tell me that I was lucky. At graduation, he gave me this note that I cherish in my graduation photo album. 
Desiree Oza Zajacz ’03 
Graphic Design 

Amazing and inspirational 

Best teacher I ever had. I always looked forward to his class. What an amazing and inspirational teacher and artist. 
Rachel Colosimo ’06 
Industrial Design