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miércoles, octubre 03, 2007
When East L.A.'s Garfield High School auditorium was destroyed in an arson fire earlier this year, it took with it countless awards, photos, and memories of a blue collar community that holds these honors so dearly.
One of the photos that survived the blaze intact, however, was that of Los Lobos member Cesar Rosas, "wearing his characteristic dark glasses and impassive expression, like a silent witness to the destruction." Rosas took it as a sign. Next month Los Lobos will perform a benefit concert to raise funds to rebuild the classic auditorium, which sustained $30 million in damage on May 20 when a misguided student set fire to the classic structure. All four members of Los Lobos graduated from Garfield high. An LA Times article describes the special place held by Garfield in the community: Almost every school has its legacy and allegiances. But Garfield -- best known for math teacher Jaime Escalante and his overachieving class portrayed in the film "Stand and Deliver" -- has a special significance for the hard-working, Mexican American community it serves. Many see the school as a secure haven in an unpredictable environment. For many more, the school has been the path to social mobility. Click here to read the full LA Times article and find out who else will be performing at the benefit concert. Escrito PorCristina Noriegaa las 09:08 AM| 0Comentarios
miércoles, octubre 03, 2007
Murals, posters, fliers, products, posters...passion.
I’ve always been intrigued by the bold graphics of pop art, which is why “¡Sensacional! Mexican Street Graphics", a new exhibit at the Massachusetts College of Art’s Paine Gallery, stopped me dead in my tracks. According to an article on ThePheonix.com the show: ...is a funhouse of brilliantly clunky handmade Mexican street art. If you find the gallery scene lacking in pictures of gremlins eating ice cream, masked Lucha Libre wrestlers, and R2-D2 serving pizza, this is the show for you.  Made possible by Tricle Editiones in Mexico City and San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, what began as a book project turned into the full-fledged exhibit (which has already visited Scotland, New York, and Pasadena.) There is something personal, charming, and gloriously fun about the the organic, hand-made creations in the show, which provide a refreshing break from the too-perfect graphics modern technology has created. The artists are real people, the art is functional, public and accessable. As the museum web site describes: The artists of this exhibition are known as Los Rotulistas (sign painters), anonymous creators without technical training, who produce their work at once, without preliminary sketches or planning. Sometimes the results are ugly, sometimes they are hilarious, charming, or beautiful. This spontaneity creates a visual richness that is a delight for the eyes. Escrito PorCristina Noriegaa las 08:34 AM| 0Comentarios
martes, octubre 02, 2007
I stumbled upon this mural painted on the side of Mario's Mexican Restaurant in Los Angeles, California:
 No simple clothes or braids here; this modern woman wears a sexy dress as she makes tortillas in a primitive outdoor setting. Thoughts? Escrito PorCristina Noriegaa las 08:20 AM| 0Comentarios
lunes, octubre 01, 2007
According to a Reuters article, the immigration debate has affected the health of regional live Mexican music. Suffering in particular are underground dances known as "bailes," which are the heartbeat and key to promotion of musical events. Ticket sales are down, and promoters are concerned.
Stepped-up enforcement is creating a climate of fear, and fear is what is keeping people in the shadows. DUI officials have even been set up outside concert venues and nightclubs, ready to detain anyone who does not have a valid driver’s license. According to the article: In state after state, promoters say that burgeoning Mexican populations in towns little and big have hunkered down, out of sight and out of public events, to avoid confrontations withstepped-up immigration law enforcement. Fear has, by all accounts, made a significant dent in the lucrative regional Mexican market, with audiences often leery of attending the weekend shows that are the bread and butter of this music genre. Tell us what you think; will the bailes recover? Escrito PorCristina Noriegaa las 09:16 AM| 0Comentarios
domingo, septiembre 30, 2007
The government of Argentina has pledged to rescue a mural painted by famed Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. Soon, it will be moved out of storage, mounted in downtown Buenos Aires, and restored to its original splendor.
A Sunday LA Times article described the strange history of "Plastic Exercise", initially painted in a basement: The mural, covering more than 2,000 square feet, was sliced into half a dozen sections, encased in metal and wood frames and yanked out by cranes in 1991. It was placed in metal shipping containers, loaded onto trucks and exiled unceremoniously to an outdoor industrial lot. There it has sat for 16 years, and still sits today, amid labyrinthine lawsuits and disputes about ownership. Unlike most of his works, which include socialist imagery, "Plastic Exercise" is a tribute to Blanca Luz Brum, the poet Siqueiros fell madly in love with and married in 1932. Although the marriage crumbled after four tumultous years, there is no doubt that the pair loved each other deeply. Brum described their relationship as follows: "I don’t believe that other human beings, man and woman, have loved each other with so much force, so much pureness and magnitude". According to the article, the piece speaks volumes: "He was saying: ’I am painting you, I am glorifying you, I am possessing you. You are mine forever,’ " said Hugo Achugar, author of "False Memories," a novelized biography of Brum. "It’s as though he were putting her in a cube, putting her in a box, confining her, even as he knew he was losing her." Here it is:  Escrito PorCristina Noriegaa las 08:48 PM| 0Comentarios
jueves, septiembre 27, 2007
According to an AP report, an exhibit at Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) will honor famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera when it opens this Friday, September 28.
Of special interest is "Glorious Victory", a mural thought to have been lost half a century ago. Recovered in Moscow in 2000, the mural depicts U.S. abuses against the Guatemalan people on one side; an unfinished section on the other side is believed to show workers being exploited in U.S. factories. Here's a pic of "Glorious Victory":  In total, 170 works of art will be featured in the Palacio's exhibit, including 23 murals and many sketches, outlines and drawings.
Escrito PorCristina Noriegaa las 02:56 PM| 1Comentarios
jueves, septiembre 27, 2007
A vibrant mural honoring Latino workers graces a building in Chicago’s predominantly-Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen:
 Escrito PorCristina Noriegaa las 09:20 AM| 0Comentarios
jueves, septiembre 27, 2007
In the world of neo-surrealism, a reclusive, little-known Mexican artist named Enrique Chavarría is gaining noteriety nearly a decade after his death. "Enrique Chavarría: Surrealism and the Fantastic", a new exhibit at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas, showcases 28 paintings by the reclusive artist, who seldom exhibited work during his lifetime.
 While he may not be widely known, former Florida first lady Columba Bush is a fan. A single collector and personal friend of the artist--Dr. David Prensky--owns the artist’s entire body of work, which was first exhibited in public only 5 years ago. Chavarria’s work is often difficult to interpret, but an article in the Dallas Morning News gives us a taste: When Mr. Chavarría does a self-portrait, he depicts himself as a wooden town with a face for a door. A woman with a butterfly mask plays a harp strung with a spider web in an upper window. The tower stands on an unstable stone jetty and a tree trunk with human legs rides a unicycle in the foreground. It’s a world that teems with creatures of the imagination. There are snakes with human heads, a boat with a female torso for a sail, a walking broomstick with a winged woman for its body. There are demons and angels, Christian saints and alchemists, and, in what must be one of the best titles in some time, Goblins Fishing for Comets. See more of Chavarría’s artwork here.Escrito PorCristina Noriegaa las 08:14 AM| 0Comentarios
miércoles, septiembre 26, 2007
MTV has launched a new web site that goes beyond the usual music and entertainment programming the network is known for.
The new Tr3’s "Voces"--or "Voices" in English--focuses largely on immigration-related issues, but also provides useful resources to Latino youth pursuing higher education. The dynamic web site site encourages young people to get involved, offering weekly immigration polls plus fun contests and promotions that let young people show their creative side. It also features user-generated video clips of young people voicing their opinions. According to the VOCES official web site: As part of our mission to provide a voice to young Latinos in the U.S., and in response to the alarming rate at which Latinos are dropping out of high school, MTV Tr3s has formed Voces, a multi-platform campaign that aims to empower Latino youth to graduate high school prepared for college and beyond. There’s no excuse to not get involved! Escrito PorCristina Noriegaa las 08:31 PM| 1Comentarios
martes, septiembre 25, 2007
Today, "George Lopez: America’s Mexican" was released by Comedy Central Records. But you won’t be able to buy it in stores until October 8. That’s because Lopez is the network’s first performer to have a record released digitially before it hits retail shelves.
Escrito PorCristina Noriegaa las 01:52 PM| 1Comentarios |
