Career
With no academic education he is considered a self-taught artist. Leyva has had many exhibitions, among them Wifredo Lam. Retratos at Ministerio de Cultura, Havana, Cuba, 1980.
In 1984, he presented Tres Fotógrafos Cubanos at Capilla del Hotel Presidente, Oaxaca, Mexico.
In 1988, he presented Mario Díaz: Fotografías at Centro Cultural San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina and in 1992 Direct from Cuba at the Raleigh Studios, Hollywood, California, United States of America. He participated in Interpress Foto’79 at the Pabellón Cuba, Havana, 1979 and in Soirée Latinoamericaine. Rencontres Internationales de Photographie in Arles, France.
He was also included in Las Americas: Towards a New Perspective at Gallery 1199, New York/Longwood Gallery, Bronx, New York, United States.A. in 1987. In 2002, he presented some of his works at Cuba 1960–2000.
Sogno e realitá at the Italian Foundation for Photography, Turín, Italy.
