Santurce Es Ley.

Photo: Murals on a building in Santurce.

Monday's excursion was so visually overwhelming (in a good way) and also had a particularly personal discovery for me.

First, in the morning, we had an incredible class with Dr. Maria Elba Torres, who's a co-creator of the CAUWW program, and a foremost expert on Puerto Rican art history. She showed us slides of images and explained to us about the different perspectives on, and aesthetics of Puerto Rican art - from the institutionally accepted Spaniard/European, and the American to the lesser known and documented Antillean/Caribbean aesthetic. The latter of which she has been researching, documenting, writing and teaching about, as it is her specialty as an art historian and educator. 

My classmates and I then piled in to the van for a trip to Santurce to meet with a local artist there named Javier Cintron. Javier is one of the artists that works with the event Santurce Es Ley (Santurce is Law), which invites artists to create public murals all over town. And with that, the whole town is COVERED in huge and amazing art. It's really quite a sight to see. Javier took us on a tour all around to view murals that were created by fellow artists, as well as himself. One of the most poignant things that Javier said, which stuck with me was that the public mural movement in Santurce has become so strong and relevant that it alleviated the need for artists to rely on the acceptance of institutions like art galleries or museums. It allows them to have a voice and get their authentic messages out and impact upon the community. 

This visit had a particular relevance for me because my father actually lived in this city for some time (being born in the farmlands of Humacao and moving to Santurce for some time before immigrating to New York City). I hastily called my dad to ask him what street he lived on and as serendipity would have it, he lived on Monserrate street,  the same street as Javier! After our mural tour, Javier welcomed us into his home which was interesting since a part of his work is to illustrate the old houses of Santurce (one of which he lives in), and interesting for me too, since it's a part of my own family's history.

(There are lots more pics of the art of Santurce on my Instagram: @whippedhoney.)

Javier Cintron in front of Bikismo's mural in Santurce

Javier in front of his house

CAUWW with Javier in front of one of his murals

A long day in Ponce.

Photo: Public art in the square in Ponce. 

We drove across the island on Saturday morning, through the mountains, to Ponce. I had heard that there's a drought going on here in Puerto Rico, but nowhere was is more evident to me than when looking over the dry countryside and farmlands. Arriving in Ponce, we were once again in a metropolitan setting, near the sea.

We arrived at the studio of renowned artist, Antonio Martorell for a tour. He first had us look around his space full of a vast array of works and mediums. We sat out back, in his work space near the garden, and he imparted some wisdom on us before walking us through the gallery again to explain some of his lovely pieces.

Antonio joined us for lunch at a nearby restaurant by the same called El Ancla (the food was delicious!) and then we parted ways. Next stop was Museo de Arte de Ponce to see a retrospective on multidisciplinary artist, Jack Delano: 100 Años. From photos documenting Puerto Rico in the 1940s (juxtaposed with his photos from the 1980s), to book illustration, film production and music composition, the retrospective was inspiring.

From there, we made a pit-stop in the center of town to grab some ice cream and we saw a public art project: a bunch of lion statues (as the lion represents Ponce) decorated by various Puerto Rican artists (very similar to the cow statue project that was in NYC a few years ago, which I was not a big fan of).

On our way home we went into a residential area of Ponce where there is a homage to the great salsero, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez. With a mini-museum full of album covers and photos, a party space, two outdoor stages, (as well as an altar area in the back for El Conde) I can only imagine what kind of parties they hold on that street, which was officially named for the hometown legend. 

After that, we dropped off our fearless leader, Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, at the Afro-Latino Festival, where she would be receiving an award later that night. We took the long drive back to campus, under the stars, as it was already getting quite late.

(For more photos, check out my Instagram: @whippedhoney.)

Our fearless leader: Dr. Marta Moreno Vega

Artist, Antonio Martorell in his home studio

Jack Delano retrospective at Museo de Arte de Ponce

Homage to Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez

A day in Loiza and Piñones

Photo: Sculpture and paintings in Samuel Lind's home studio

What an extraordinary day we had, traveling to the towns of Loiza and Piñones today. This is an area of Puerto Rico which is primarily populated by people of African descent, and maintains much of the culture and traditions within, such as bomba and plena music and dance. 

First we were welcomed into the home studio of artist, Samuel Lind. As a part of this community, Samuel highlight so much of the beauty in Loiza by way of documenting the people and their traditions. His work spans from painting to sculpture and silkscreen and every corner of his two- story home studio is covered in artwork. 

From there, we went across the street for a quick visit to the artisan shop of Castor Ayala, who's famous for making the masks used in Puerto Rican festivals. Next we went for a "quick" bite at a beachside cuchifrito spot called Kiosco Boriqua (which took forever, but was well worth the wait). We wanted to make a detour to the beach, but ran out of time as we had an appointment in Piñones. 

We went to the Cooperativa Piñones se Integra (COPI) and met with the founder, Maricruz Rivera Clemente. She spoke with us about her activism through art and how COPI strengthens the community through sustainable development, offers ecotourism and is also a center for bomba and plena performance and classes. 

(For more photos, go to my Instagram @whippedhoney)