Fleitas studied Art History in the University of Havana while he worked as Chief Graphic Designer for MINFAR Studios Film Department and later as their Documentaries Manager for Tourism.
While in the United States, he continued his art as well as directorial work, now transitioning into television with the two leading Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Univision.
[2] In 1995 he graduated from the University of Oklahoma and also participated in National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) 35th Television News and Video Production Conference sponsored by Sony.
During his time with Venevision and Univision he directed a number of their most popular programs including ¿Quién Tiene la Razón?, Tu Desayuno Alegre, Escándalo TV, and Casos de Familia as well as soccer and boxing sports coverage.
[5] Despite this, his work in the arts remained secondary to his main career and profession as a media executive in the radio, film, and television industries for much of the following three decades.
[9] Fleitas was again invited to participate in the 2010 exhibition, held during Miami Art Week, which was well-received drawing large audiences.
[1] Fleitas also draws influence from Cuban Vanguardia artists Victor Manuel, Mariano Rodríguez, and Mario Carreño.
[1] Fleitas often depicts Cuban-associated scenes such as tropical landscapes, roosters, female nude studies, and still lifes with vivid and saturated color to enhance vibrancy.
[25] In interviews Fleitas expanded on this, describing these works as “a tribute to the sacrifice of Latin women, who are forced to modify their image so as to compete in a world marked by limited beauty canons.” [27] In contrast with these abstracted works, his Gallo (rooster) series, focuses on roosters, a quintessential symbol of Cuba, that are frequently done in large scales with an intricately detailed style, often offsetting the hyper-detailed representations of the roosters in black-and-white sketching with selective color usage, evoking his photographic work.
When interviewed by El Nuevo Herald for the 2018 “Rooster Gallo Galo Gallus” exhibition at the Milander Center for Arts, Fleitas explained the inspiration behind his Gallo series to be “I have wanted to represent this animal as a bird with great strength, courage, respect, admiration and power.”[28] To this end, each work in the series features only a single color and is paired with intense underlying drawings to communicate a bold, streamlined effect.
[28] Fleitas also explained that his figurative depictions of roosters drew historical inspiration from gladiators in a symbolic reference to their popular use in cockfights throughout Latin America.
In describing his general creative process, Fleitas has said "To me painting has always been a great mystery, like a secret and something I've always loved [...] I don’t measure myself – I express myself.
Fleitas' first fine arts award came in 1982 when he won a place to tour twelve Latin American countries in the 1980s for his photography series Farmers of the Sea.
He also won 6th Prize for his series Happy Children in the international Peace World Photographers Exhibition in Poland among hundreds of global entries.
[Fleitas] is a detector of essences.” [30] Fleitas was included in the Irreversible project magazine along with Pablo Cano, Miguel Rodez, and other leading Miami artists [33][11] and has been covered by the Miami Herald,[11] Hello Magazine,[32] and several Spanish media outlets including El Nuevo Herald and Voz de America.
[1][28][34][35] His art is also featured in literature and books of Cuban art, including Havana in My Heart: A Celebration of Cuban Photography, (republished in English and French in 2004),[14] and Mujer Desnuda (2012)[36] In September 2024, a piece from Fleitas’ Gallos series was accepted into the permanent collection of the Alvin Sherman Library, one of the largest libraries in the state of Florida, as part of the Marta Permuy Legacy Collection.
[37] The library’s permanent collection features work by other established artists including Salvador Dalí, Peter Max, and Dale Chihuly.