08/05/2013 The Arts Issue.

AUGUST 5, 2013 www.HispanicOutlook.com VOLUME 23 NUMBER 20

Kahlo in New Exhibit Spanish Old Masters at the Met

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Once upon a time immi-gration to the U.S. was abig thing. People fromall foreign territories came tothis land to share with theoriginals, the NativeAmericans. In a way, it con-tinues to this day: Were basi-cally still a nation of immi-grants but with an Americanimprimatur.

The inscription on theStatue of Library by authorEmma Lazarus, says Give MeYour Tired, Your Poor, YourHuddled Masses Yearning ToBreathe Free, The WretchedRefuse Of Your TeemingShore. Send Those Homeless,Tempest-Tossed To Me.

You might think that todaysomething has been lost inthe translation.

Uncle Sam no longerseems to be in a welcomingmood. Hes now more intosearching the country far andwide to determine whos wel-come and whos not andbooting out those who arent.

The Obama administra-tion, once considered a sym-pathizer of immigrationreform, particularly where itinvolved Latinos, claims thedistinction of deporting moreillegals 1.5 million in its

first term than any previ-ous administration.

It deported 225,390 in fis-cal 2012 but says most werethe criminal type or neer-do-wells who wouldnt be wel-comed anyway anywhere.

About that noble phrase ofgive me your tired, Theproblem now is that we dontknow what to do with somany immigrants and theissues they bring with them.

Once we welcomed all.Now were getting prettypicky about whom we let in.The biggest group of depor-tees is the illegal Latinos.

Of the 11 million or soillegal residents in the U.S,8.9 million are from Mexico,Central America and theCaribbean. Less than 1 mil-lion are from the other LatinAmerican countries.

Congress is now involvedin producing immigrationreform but as the days go by,there may be a lot of politicalskirmishes and posturing anddistortion of the issues thatmake the passage of anymeaningful reform moreproblematical and invasive.

What makes all this themore interesting are the play-ers and, naturally, the politicsthey bring into the issue.

The main actor in thissocial drama is first-termsenator, Marco Rubio, ofFlorida whose parents immi-grated Rubio would preferthey be known as CastrosCuba refugees which they arenot to the U.S.

Rubio, who had an all-American upbringing has

taken up the cause ferventlyand though only a junior sen-ator, is a member of theGang of Eight Senate com-mittee which drew up immi-gration overhaul legislationwhich the upper chamberpassed, 68-32.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y who led the Gang of 8 predicted the House wouldapprove the legislation whichprovides a 13-year path tocitizenship but first securingthe border along with a hostof demands on the path tolegalization.

Detractors, mostly in thelower chamber, say it willhappen when the fat ladysings.

It didnt take long forRepublican House Speaker,John Boehner, to kiss off theSenate legislation as fluff andbluster that still needs to bereconciled with a Housemeasure which may put adamper on the euphoriaamong the senators whoseem confident that finallythe immigration issue hasbeen clearly defined andclearly resolved.

Boehner said, I issued astatement that I thought waspretty clear, but apparentlysome havent gotten the mes-sage: the House is not goingto take up and vote on what-ever the Senate passes. Weregoing to do our own bill.

Surprisingly, or maybe notsurprisingly, another firstterm Cuban senator fromTexas, Republican Ted Cruz,opposes the legislation inthe name of humanity saying

the Gang of 8 legislation failsto secure the border and hasproposed a system that per-petuates human tragedy.

I think he means a lot ofpeople, illegals, drug dealersand whatnots are gettingkilled doing whatever they doalong the U.S.-Mexican bor-der.

Even Jeb Bush, a prospec-tive presidential candidate in2016, got in on the act sayingRepublicans must stop beingan obstacle to immigrationreform saying, among otherthings, immigrants are morefertile and they love families.

That prompted New YorkMagazine to tweet, Give usyour tired, your poor, yourmore fertile immigrants.

Once Upon ATime

PoliticalBeatCarlos D. Conde, award-

winning journalist and com-mentator, former Washingtonand foreign news correspon-dent, was an aide in theNixon White House andworked on the political cam-paigns of George Bush Sr. Toreply to this column, [email protected].

by Carlos D. Conde

4 H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K 0 8 / 0 5 / 2 0 1 3

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MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

AUGUST 05, 2013

Muralist RalValdez Makes the Community HisCanvas by Frank DiMaria

8

Kahlo Inspires and IntriguesAudiences inNew Exhibits by Marilyn Gilroy

Exhibit Reveals Influence of Latino Migration inSoutheastern Connecticut by Gary M. Stern

Spanish Old Master Paintings Re-Installedat the Met by Michelle Adam

NALIP Supports Hispanics inVisual ArtsCommunity by Diana Saenger

You can download the HO app

10

13

19

21

DEPARTMENTS

Uncensored by Peggy Sands Orchowski 23

Book Review by Mary Ann CooperA New American Family: A Love Story

7

Targeting Higher EducationArtistic Madrid by Gustavo A. Mellander

IInntteerreessttiinngg RReeaaddss 7

PPrriimmiinngg tthhee PPuummpp...... by Miquela RiveraHope is Everything

Back Cover

Executive Editor Marilyn Gilroy

Managing Editor Suzanne Lpez-Isa

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Mary Ann Cooper

Administrative Assistant & Subscription

Coordinator Barbara Churchill

Washington DC Bureau Chief

Peggy Sands Orchowski

Contributing Editors

Carlos D. Conde, Michelle Adam

Online Contributing Writers

Gustavo A. Mellander

Art & Production Director

Avedis Derbalian

Graphic Designer

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Angel M. Rodrguez

Article ContributorsFrank DiMaria, Marilyn Gilroy, Miquela Rivera, Diana Saenger,

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Political Beat by Carlos D. CondeOnce Upon A Time

3

16


have all heard the expression art for arts sake. It seems to imply that there is no otherpurpose for art than its aesthetics. Unfortunately, this narrow view prompts calls for austerity when it comes to funding andexpanding art education programs not only in K-12 classrooms, but in colleges and universities as well. Its no secret thatwhen it comes to funding higher education and K-12 programs, sports trumps the arts. On the college level, sports cangenerate big money for schools for everything from media licensing to hosting lucrative regional conferences. As for art, itreally does have to exist on its own for its own sake.

This is the time of the year that Hispanic Outlook celebrates art not just for arts sake, but for what it contributes tosociety. For Latinos art has been the customary way to pass along traditions, history, aspirations and frustrations. This hasbeen reflected in the old masters on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the dramatic Latino MigrationExhibit in Connecticut, as well as the works of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera all of which are lauded in this issue. But notall great Hispanic art can be found in museums. Ral Valdez makes neighborhoods the canvas for his art as a means ofgalvanizing ethnic communities. Hes featured in this issue as well. Perhaps we should revise the expression art for artssake, to art for all our sakes. That is a more accurate portrait of the value of art in society especially Hispanic society.

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Theauthor of Punished:Policing the Lives ofBlack and Latino Boys,Victor Ros, grew up in the ghetto ofOakland, Calif. in the 1980s and 90s,so when he speaks about how youngBlack and Latino men are treated inthose neighborhoods he knows ofwhat he speaks. A former gang mem-ber and juvenile delinquent, Ros wasone of the lucky ones. He managed toavoid the tragic outcomes many of hisfriends experienced and earned aPh.D. at Berkeley and returned to Oakland to see if he couldshed light on what life is like for inner city young Latino andAfrican-American boys. Imagine how a sense of self in themidst of crime and intense policing can be distorted.Punished reveals how very difficult the lives of these youngmen are not only on streets where they face punitive policies,but also in their schools, communities, and a world wherethey are constantly policed and stigmatized.

The author studied a group of 40 delinquent Black andLatino boys for three years. These boys found themselves in avicious cycle, caught in a downward spiral of punishment andincarceration as they were harassed, profiled, watched, anddisciplined at young ages, even before they had committed anycrimes, eventually leading many of them to fulfill the destinyexpected of them.

Ros says he attempted to understand the processes bywhich marginalized boys become enmeshed in punishment.He argues that a system of punitive social control held a gripon the minds and trajectories of the boys in the study. Whatthis study demonstrated, he wrote, is that the poor, at least inthis community, have not been abandoned by the state.Instead, the state has become deeply embedded in their every-day lives, through the auspices of punitive social control.

The authors aim is best expressed in his own words. Myambition in this book is to show the failures of criminaliza-tion, the failures of using harsh, stigmatizing, and humiliatingforms of punishment to correct and manage marginalizedyouths, as well as to highlight the consequences that thesemethods have on young peoples trajectories, Ros wrote.

Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys ispart of the New Perspectives in Crime, Deviance, and LawSeries published by NYU Press. It has received the 2012Best Book Award, Latino/a Sociology Section, present-ed by the American Sociological Associationwas a 2012 Finalist for the C. WrightMills Book Award presented by theStudy of Social Problems.

Reviewed Mary Ann Cooper

Punished: Policing the Livesof Black and Latino Boysby Victor M. Ros2011, 237 pgs. NYU Press, ISBN: 978-0814776384. $21.00. paper.

IInntteerreessttiinngg RReeaaddss

Csar Chavez and the United Farm Workers MovementBy Roger Bruns

Csar Chavez and the farm workers movementstill inspires a sense of pride and purpose amongLatinos fighting for personal rights, political power,and economic well-being. Many young volunteers inthe farmworkers movement continue to fight forprogressive causes today. This book shows how these

migrant workers found a champion in Chavez and the UnitedFarm Workers Union and how social and political change cansometimes result from the vision, leadership, and commitment ofa few dedicated individuals determined not to fail.

2011. 198 pgs. ISBN: 978-03133-86503. $35.00. Cloth.ABC-CLIO Books, Santa Barbara, Calif. (800)368-6868,www.abc-clio.com.

Coda: A NovelBy Rene Belletto, translated by Alyson Waters

Playing with the expectations of the reader,Belletto constructs a logical puzzle that defieslogic, much like the almost-perpetual motionmachine invented by the narrator of this noveland his father. What sets the story in motion is apackage of frozen seafood. This triggers a series

of events, from the storytellers meeting with Fate disguisedas a beautiful woman, to the kidnapping of his daughter, tohis amorous reunion with the younger half-sister of a highschool friend, to the elimination of death from the world.

2011. 88 pgs. ISBN: 978-0-8032-2441-4. $13.95. Paper.University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Neb., (402) 472-3581. www.facebook.com/NebraskaPress.

The Riddle of Cantinflas: Essays on Hispanic PopularCulture

By Ilan Stavans

Ilan Stavanss collection of essays makes areturn with 21 colorful essays and conversationsthat deliver Stavanss trademark wit and provoca-tive analysis. He writes with incisive intelligenceabout such luminaries as Cantinflas, SandraCisneros, Subcomandante Marcos, the artist Jos

Guadalupe Posada, and the pop singer Selena, as well asabout Latin American political figures.

2012. 224 pgs. ISBN: 978-0-8263-5256-9. $27.95. paper.University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, N.M., (505)277 2346. www.unmpress.com.

by Frank DiMaria

ARTS/PROFILE


When muralist Ral Valdez paints one of his works, itsnever about him its about the community. During theprocess he and community volunteers canvas theneighborhood, going door-to-door asking residents what theywant to see every day, what they want to live with. I didnt getthis from anyone. In 1974 I decided to do a little old mural.We were doing it in a neighborhood. So I got a little grouptogether and we took off. I said, Go knock on those peoplesdoors, and tell them were going to be doing this and theyregoing to be seeing it every day. That was my approach fromthen until now, says Valdez.

Ideas about a mural are not all that Valdez and his volun-teers solicit. They also encourage community members toassist with the entire process. We ask, What can you do? Canyou paint? Can you draw? Are you a carpenter? Can you maketacos? People can contribute and be a part of the wholeprocess, says Valdez.

The process of creating a mural, in some ways, is moreimportant than the finished product, at least for Valdez. Whenvolunteers participate in creating a work of art, one they willlive with for years, the mural becomes theirs. Its about own-ership, he says.

Valdez has been creating community murals for about 40years, and its not unusual for 300 or more volunteers to takepart in the process, especially when he works with schools.Years later I get 40-year-olds coming around and saying I

painted that, or theyll say Do you remember me? I paintedhere back in 1981. These guys have big old beards and grayhair, says Valdez.

Since painting his first mural in the mid-70s, Valdez esti-mates that he has painted about 50 murals in several statesand abroad. Thats not that many, I work slow, he says. Mostall of his murals are embraced by the communities in whichthey reside. One was so beloved that its demolition spawned amass protest from residents of the community.

In 1977, Juarez-Lincoln University commissioned Valdez topaint some murals inside and outside of one of its buildings thatstood on the corner of Csar Chavez Street and InterstateHighway 35 in East Austin. He named the one he created on theoutside Los Elementos or The Elements. It could be seenby anyone heading south on Interstate Highway 35, says Valdez.

When the university relocated in 1984, the building wastorn down along with Valdezs murals, but not without a fightfrom community members. The building was a universitybought with federal funds, I wont get into any details, I mightbe wrong, but it was sold illegally, I think. I could be totallymistaken, which Im not, says Valdez.

To Valdez and members of the community it was more thanthe demolition of a beloved work of art, it was about the gentrifi-cation of a neighborhood. At the time of the demolition Austinslocal news covered the story. Many of those who came out toprotest were fearful they would be squeezed out of their own

neighborhood as more and more homes andcommunity centers were demolished to makeway for commercial properties. They felt vic-timized by commercialization. One womaninterviewed by a local news outlet at the timesaid she was saddened to realize there arepeople in the world who do not believe thatHispanics have a culture and should not existat all. Some Hispanics felt the demolition ofthe mural was a slap in the face.

People were displaced after (the demo-lition). Right now its turning into a messthere. People lost their homes, people died,a lot of elderly people didnt survive thisrelocation. This is serious community stuff.Its not about murals, its about communi-ties and people. Its about representingpeople, says Valdez.

On the day the city brought its wreckingcranes to demolish Valdezs mural, mem-bers of the community came out in droves

Muralist Ral Valdez Makesthe Community His Canvas

Controversial images found in murals by Ral Valdez have created important dialogues in communities.

to protest, and with protesters came thepolice. Traffic backed up for miles as peopleabandoned their cars in the middle of thestreet to join in the protest. Protesters linedCsar Chavez Street carrying placards decry-ing the demolition and waving Mexican flags.People were up in arms after they found outthat this building was going to be destroyed.People were not saying Dont tear down thebuilding, they were saying Dont tear downour mural, Valdez says emphasizing theword mural. In my view it was kind of asuccessful thing...it was an affirmation that Iwas actually painting for the community,says Valdez.

Currently an IHop sits on the former siteof Jurez-Lincoln University, a fact thatmakes Valdezs skin crawl when he thinksabout it, he says. I think its really impor-tant that we pay attention to what peopleactually think or value - family and that kindof stuff - instead of being taken over by the big guys, bankersand whatever. This is human history, says Valdez.

Los Elementos was not the only Valdez mural that causedcontroversy within a community. When Bastrop High School inBastrop, Texas, outside of Austin, commissioned him to createa mural in 2003, Valdez charged the students of Bastrop todevelop a theme for the mural. They came up with universalbrotherhood and peace. A very positive kind of a thing, saysValdez. Students researched the theme and provided Valdezwith ideas for the iconography. The mural presents unifyingvisions of children of different ethnicities reaching out to oneanother. The Chinese culture is represented by the Buddhaand the Indian culture is represented by Shiva dancing on thedemon of ignorance. In addition it features images that

remind residents of the towns unpleasant history, with scenesof a Mexican and Comanche raid and slaves working in a cot-ton field. Ultimately, says Valdez, the students came up with theidea and painted the entire mural.

Being proud of their mural, the students of Bastrop Highinvited resident Lauren Hansell, a parent who was home-schooling her children at the time but who would visit theschool on Fridays to encourage students to pray at the flagpole,and go into the school to see the mural. She took them up ontheir offer and was none too pleased with the work. Whoa,we got to end this, she said. Because Shiva is celebrating abor-tion and a whole bunch of other stuff, says Valdez.

Convinced the mural was blasphemous, she went to theschool board to convince them the same, saying that it repre-

sented a new age idea of peace and unitythat could be confusing to Christian students.She really worked hard at trying to get itremoved. They asked me to come by for aschool board presentation. I went but (Irefused to speak) let the teachers and thestudents talk. Its not like I cant talk orexplain myself, I wanted them to own it. Andthey did and they did a fine job, says Valdez.

The Bastrop school board voted to keepthe mural. As Valdez puts it, the students ofBastrop High painted a cultural presenta-tion that was not religious in nature at all.

For nearly 40 years Valdez, who spenttwo years fighting in Vietnam, has beenpainting for communities, using his talentto tell the stories of those communities.The important thing is to seek truth. Itscrazy what is going on now. We need anexplanation for wars. You cant just go towar and kill people for nothing... We needhuman respect and dignity, says Valdez.


The A.B. Cantu/Pan American Recreation Center hillside stage mural, originally painted in 1978 by Ral Valdez and later restored in 2012.

Murals created by Ral Valdez project a theme of unity and inclusiveness.

by Marilyn Gilroy

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo continues to capture the pub-lics imagination with her paintings, politics and person-al style which is why she is once again the subject ofmajor museum exhibitions and media attention.

It has been decades sincethe advent of Fridamania, atrend that began in the 1990sbut received a big boost in2002, when the biographicalmovie, Frida, was released inwhich Salma Hayek playedKahlo. That movie and subse-quent art events, booksand articles raised Kahloto almost a cult status.Famous personalities begancollecting her work, includ-ing Madonna, who said sheidentified with Kahlos painand sadness. The U.S. postalservice put Kahlos image ona first-class stamp, makingher the first Hispanic womanto receive such an honor.

This year, art historiansand curators are takinganother look at how Kahloslife and work still influencesnew generations of artists andhow her beliefs aboutMexican politics affected herpainting. During her lifetime,Kahlo created approximately200 paintings, drawings andsketches reflecting her expe-riences in life, her physicaland emotional pain, and herstormy relationship with her husband, the Mexican painterand muralist, Diego Rivera.

Earlier this year, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, in col-laboration with the Art Gallery of Ontario, organized a major

show of works by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, calling themthe two central figures of Mexican modernism. The exhibit,Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting, featured morethan 120 works primarily drawn from the collection of

Mexicos Dolores Olmedo aswell as the Jacques andNatasha Gelman Collection ofMexican Art.

According to exhibit cura-tors, the myths that surround-ed the two artists during theirlifetime arose not only fromtheir significant body of work,but also from their active par-ticipation in the historicalhappenings of the time.

Their art speaks of afierce loyalty to and pride inMexico, the ideals of the1910 Mexican Revolution andtheir commitment to the con-ditions of the common man,said Michael E. Shapiro,director of the High Museumof Art.

The exhibit paired worksby Kahlo and Rivera chrono-logically and according tothemes, including maternity,Mexican identity and portrai-ture.

Frida & Diego alsoexamined the ways their workcontinues to influenceMexican artists, with twoFrida- and Diego-inspiredreading rooms designed by

award-winning contemporary Mexican designers, HectorEsrawe and Ignacio Cadena. One reading room design featureda bold red version of Kahlos unique bed, while the other fea-tured a colorful and whimsical yellow installation inspired by

ARTS/PROFILE


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the game of musical chairs. Like previous museums that presented Kahlo exhibits, the

High enjoyed a robust public response. The exhibition hasbeen very well received by our audiences, and weve wel-comed more than 130,000 people to the museum, saidMarci Tate, public relations specialist at the High. Schoolgroups came through the High to see the exhibition everyweek, and our school group attendance exceeded 30,000.Our opening party held last February was our highest attendedopening event ever, with over 2,600 guests.

That wil l come as no surprise to those who haveobserved the growth in Kahlos popularity and its subse-quent effect on museum attendance. As the Kahlo phenome-non continued to grow in the past decade, it attracted newaudiences to art exhibits. The attention brought with itrenewed critical analysis of Kahlos work and also spawneda flood of merchandising.

When Kahlo was included in a 2002 exhibit at the NationalMuseum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), along with artistssuch as Georgia OKeeffe, the show drew large crowds, includ-ing many younger people. Those who visited the gift shopssnapped up memorabilia and items related to Kahlos style ofdress. Likewise, when Kahlo was featured in museum exhibitsin Texas and Arizona, gift shops reported brisk sales of Kahloposters, dolls, tote bags, watches, mirrors and photos.

The 2013 High exhibit followed that pattern. We had adedicated gift shop for the exhibition, and the shops itemswere very popular with our audiences, said Tate. Our giftshop sales exceeded its goal.

While the High focused on Kahlos works of art, a currentexhibit in Mexico City examines her unique look and stylewhich includes her iconic unibrow as well as a wardrobethat influenced designers such as Gaultier, Givenchy, andAlexander McQueen. The yearlong show displays a collectionof Kahlos long flowering skirts, dresses, clothes, jewelry andshoes that have been stored for nearly 60 years. The exhibit,Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida Kahlo,is on display until November 2013 at the Frida Kahlo Museum,also known as Casa Azul.

Circe Henestrosa, exhibit curator, said the clothes andaccessories show how Kahlo built her fashion identity throughdisability and ethnicity. Kahlo used corsets, leg immobilizersand prosthesis to deal with a variety of problems caused by achildhood bout of polio and a bus accident when she was ateenager. Kahlo used dresses in a variety of ways, saidHenestrosa in an interview on ABC/Univision. They hid herdisabilities but also portrayed her Mexican heritage and sym-bolized her power.

In conjunction with the exhibit opening, Vogue Mexico fea-tured Kahlo on the cover last November. The issue had a spe-cial section showing designs inspired by Kahlo as well as anarticle about her style.

The media splash surrounding Kahlo was in evidence dur-ing Madrid Fashion Week, in which designer Maya Hansenpresented an entire spring 2013 collection inspired by Kahlos

vibrant colors and patterns. Hansen dressed her models tolook like Kahlo with some of them sporting the famous uni-brow. Critics have observed that the homage to Kahlos naturallooks is ironic, given that in many cultures, the prevalence ofhair removal and plastic surgery among women has continuedto soar.

Although many critics have found it impossible to separateKahlos life from her art and clothing, several have bemoanedthe mass marketing of Kahlo, saying that it interferes with theappreciation of her work. In her book Devouring Frida: TheArt History and Popular Celebrity of Frida Kahlo, authorMargaret Lindauer questioned the entrenched narrative ofsuffering that was constantly used to interpret Kahlos work.Lindauer offered an analysis that separated the significance ofKahlos work from the myths that surrounded her.

On the other hand, Hayden Herrera, who wrote Frida: ABiography of Frida Kahlo, said Kahlo probably would havebeen amused by the hoopla, especially seeing her image on T-shirts, sweatshirts and mousepads. Fridas become SaintFrida and people want to have a little piece of it so they have alittle physical thing that has her image on it, said Herrera ona Public Broadcasting System (PBS) program about the lifeand times of Frida Kahlo. I think she would have just rolledover in her grave laughing at this thing.


Kahlos Life and StrugglesThe life of Frida Kahlo is often described as tumultuous

due to health crises, personal upheavals and politicalpassions.

Kahlo was born in 1907 in Coyoacan, near Mexico City,although later in life she often gave her birthdate as 1910so it would coincide with the beginning of the Mexicanrevolution.

Kahlo was plagued with health problems from the time shewas a child. At the age of 7 she contracted polio which left herright leg shorter and weaker. The biggest blow to her healthcame when she was 18 and was involved in a bus accidentleaving her with severe injuries to her pelvis, spine, collar-bone and ribs, as well as fracturing her right leg and crushingher right foot. She turned to painting because she was bedrid-den for a year and became very bored.

At one point as she was recovering, she reacted to herinjuries by saying: I am not sick. I am broken. But I amhappy as long as I can paint.

Because she was isolated at this time, much of her workwas self-portraits which included her famous unibrow, plenti-ful facial hair and a very visible moustache. Critics have notedthat in many of the portraits, Kahlos face looks impassiveand mask-like. When asked why she painted herself so muchshe said: I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone,because I am the person I know best.

As a young woman, Kalho joined the Mexican CommunistParty and met Diego Rivera who was painting murals at thetime. They eventually married in 1929 when she was 22 andhe was 42. By all accounts, it was a turbulent and unconven-tional marriage in which both had affairs, including Kahlosaffair with Leon Trotsky and Riveras liaison with Kahlos sister.They divorced in 1939 and remarried the next year.

Rivera had an impact on Kahlos painting and encouraged

her to pursue a career as an artist. Her work was deeply influ-enced by Mexican culture which is reflected in the bright col-ors, primitive styles and inclusion of symbols from Mexicanmythology such as the monkey.

Near the end of her life and after many operations, Kahlowas in mental and physical pain. Her health deteriorated asshe became more dependent on pain killers and alcohol. Shedied at the age of 47 in 1954. Her ashes are on display in apre-Columbian urn at the Casa Azul.

Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes (1928-2012) often spokeof his admiration for Kahlo because she found a way of paint-ing pain of permitting us to see pain and in so doing,reflecting the pain of the world.

She is a figure that represents the conquest of adversity,that represents how against hell and high water a personis able to make their life and reinvent them and make that lifebe personally fulfilling, he said in 2005. Frida Kahlo in thatsense is a symbol of hope, of power, of empowerment, for avariety of sectors of our population who are undergoingadverse conditions.

Fuentes called some of Kahlos paintings portraits of hersoul, much like Van Gogh and Rembrandt revealed themselvesin painting themselves.

Kahlos paintings continue to mesmerize museum-goers.Some of Kahlos portraits are currently on display as part ofthe Museum of Modern Arts exhibit, Van Gogh, Dali andBeyond: the World Reimagined, in which she is described asan artist who reinvented portraiture in her time.

Kahlos art still resonates with the public, but Hayden Herreraspoke of her special legacy for other painters. She gave otherpainters permission to be personal and to be autobiographicaland to deal with the body in a very open way and also to use fan-tasy in a way that sort of digs into the self, he said.


In conjunction with the exhibit

opening, Vogue Mexico featuredKahlo on the cover last November.

The issue had a special section

showing designs inspired by Kahlo

as well as an article about her style.

Exhibit Reveals Influence of Latino Migration inSoutheastern Connecticutby Gary M. Stern

Unlike museums in Houston or Miami, which frequentlyshow Latino artists, the Windham Textile and HistoryMuseum, located in Windham, Conn., in the southeasterncorner of the state is not known as a major force in Hispanicart. But when Windham Textile and History Museum joinedwith Eastern Connecticut State University to present TheLatino Migration Exhibit, it put the spotlight on the Latinoculture and its migration to and within the U.S. The showlaunched in spring 2013 and runs until early December.

Because Windham was once the site of major textile millsand poultry plants, it attracted scores of Latino workers, most-ly from Puerto Rico in the mid-1950s. This show documentsthe cultural, religious, political and economic life of Latinoimmigrants. It displays a story about why working classLatinos arrived in America.

Eastern Connecticut State College is a public college. Of its5,440 students enrolled in the 2012-13 semester, 75 percentreceive financial aid. Its student population is 74 percent White,8 percent Hispanic, 6 percent African-American and 2 percentAsian-American. Its most popular majors are psychology, pre-education, business administration and communication.

The college and Windham Textile and History Museum areclosely linked. Eastern Connecticuts president Elsa Nnezserves on the Museum Advisory Board, and the museumsexecutive director, Jamie Eves, is also an adjunct in the historydepartment. Other professors have served on the museumsboard and several Eastern Connecticut history majors haveconducted research there to complete senior seminar papers.Students also have participated as interns, obtaining threecredits for their involvement.

The impetus for the Latino Migration Exhibit sprang fromthe Windham Textile and History Museums board. In 2011, itpresented a show on Polish immigration, which drew a posi-tive reaction from the museum-going community. The boarddecided it would offer an immigration show every two yearsand felt that highlighting the very active Latino communitywould be fitting. Anna Kirchmann, a museum board memberand faculty member at Eastern Connecticut State, suggestedRicardo Prez, a professor of sociology, anthropology andsocial work at Eastern Connecticut who specialized in migra-tion, as guest curator.

Eastern Connecticut also played a critical role in sponsor-ing the Latino Migration Exhibit. Because the Windham muse-

um has a limited budget, Elsa Nnez, president of EasternConnecticut, stepped in and secured funding to ensure thatthe exhibit could proceed. In fact, the university furnishedabout 85 percent of the funding, provided equipment, andsupplied video clips.

Spotlighting immigrants is fitting for Windham, explainsEves. Its incredibly diverse. We counted 26 different ethnicgroups in the town, he says.

Many Latinos have discovered the museum, often for thefirst time. Previously they saw the museum as presentingAnglo work and celebrating the gilded age. Now they see howtheir history fits into the overall history of Willimantic (the

ARTS


area where the mills were located). They didnt think theirethnic group had been here long enough to be consideredhistory, Eves says.

Yet Eves stresses that the exhibit revolves around Latinomigration, not immigration and that distinction is noteworthy.Immigrants are people who moved to another country from aforeign land, but Puerto Ricans are Americans. They werejust moving to the U.S. or migrating. I moved to Windhamfrom Maine; theres no differ-ence, he says.

As you enter the exhibit, itbegins with an overview of Latinomigration to the region. All thecaptions and history are written inEnglish and Spanish, making it afully bilingual experience.

Much of the exhibit revolvesaround video clips, lasting five toseven minutes and focusing onfour key areas: Latino migration,economic life, political involve-ment and religion. Prez conduct-ed many of the interviews includedin the video and captions werecomposed by Jaime Gmez, a pro-fessor of communication atEastern Connecticut.

Many immigrants wereCatholic, but some believed inspirits. The exhibit also contains avariety of religious artifacts includ-ing crosses, costumes, and exam-ples of Three Kings Day, a holidayin Puerto Rico.

Many of the photographsdepicting the inside of the plantswere taken by professional pho-tographers hired by the mill forpromotional purposes or safetybrochures. In addition, The Centerfor Puerto Rican Studies, locatedat Hunter College, provided a variety of artifacts and photosfrom its collection.

One day when the museum was closed, but Jaime Eves wasinside, he heard a knock on the museums door, and encoun-tered a woman accompanied by her husband. The woman wasvery animated and seemed desperate to visit the exhibitbecause someone had seen her father in one of the videos,working at a factory. Spellbound, she entered and spent timewatching her father interviewed in a video.

The exhibit also has proven to be a lure to elementaryschool students who go on special tours. Since local history isa major theme in the third-grade curriculum, its attracted a

plethora of class visits. Our view of immigration is that its a dynamic process that

started in the 1950s and has been maintained until the pre-sent, Prez asserts. Although Puerto Ricans were the domi-nant group that transplanted to Connecticut, the regionattracted a diversity of Hispanics including Mexicans,Guatemalans, Panamanians, Dominicans and Colombians.

Prez notes that the influx of Puerto Ricans to Connecticutintensified around 1954 and1955. Most were recruited first bychicken processing plants andlater textile firms. It was also thedecade when immigration fromPuerto Rico to the U.S. peaked,says Prez, a Puerto Rican native.Puerto Ricans were recruitedbecause they were alreadyAmerican citizens and presentedfew obstacles in immigrating tothe U.S. They didnt even require avisa to enter the country.

Most of the Puerto Ricans whoimmigrated into the U.S. wereteenagers, 17 to 19 years old,Prez says. Some were married,but most had no experience intextile or meatpacking. At thetime, the Puerto Rican economyprimarily was agrarian, and manyof these teenagers were having adifficult time finding work.

Their intention to come to theU.S. was to find employment, evenif they accepted low-paying jobs,Prez said. At least it was work.

Some of the Puerto Ricanteenagers also were trying to unitewith family members who hadalready transplanted to the U.S. tofind work. Brothers or sisterswrote letters telling them that jobs

were plentiful, and life was better in the U.S. than in theislands, Prez suggests.

Women in particular were interested in forging a new life inthe U.S. Many of their parents were very strict, maintained atight rein on them, and prevented them from asserting theirown freedom. Some female immigrants had been abused bytheir husbands or boyfriends and wanted to be liberated fromthe humiliation. For women it was an opportunity to leavethose conditions, Prez said.

But conditions in the meat processing plants were danger-ous. After the chickens were slaughtered, workers operatedon a conveyor belt, cleaning and eviscerating the poultry.


Jamie Eves

Workers had to slice the chicken quickly and could cut orslash their fingers with the knives. It was a messy, bloody,smelly environment to work in, Prez notes. In fact, when thetextiles plants started opening, many Latinos gravitated thereto find work in them since it was safer and cleaner than meat-packing plants.

In the textile mills, much of the work involved dying orspinning cottons. But Latinos also worked at General Cable, alarge cable company.

Over the years, manufacturingin Connecticut subsided due tocompetition from overseas. Thechicken processing plants startedclosing in the early 1970s and thelarge American Textile plant foldedin 1975.

Life wasnt easy for immigrantworkers. Most lived in nearbyboarding houses. Many faced dis-crimination since they were con-sidered the new immigrant on theblock. Ironically, Windham had ahistory of attracting immigrantsfrom Poland and French Canada,but these immigrant groups feltthe Latinos were coming to taketheir jobs and resources, Perezsaid.

At work, many Latinos werealso subjugated. Most werent con-sidered for promotions oradvancement. In schools, manywere humiliated because of theiraccents or inability to speakEnglish clearly. Some demanded tolearn Spanish in school but wererebuffed.

The exhibit is aimed at bothLatinos and Anglos, Prez said. Itis also trying to overcome thestereotype that all Latinos are oneunified group of Hispanics. Latinos are not monolithic orhomogeneous, says Prez. There are differences betweenPuerto Ricans and Mexicans in terms of their history, culture,cuisine and religious expression. When Prez has visited theexhibit, he has observed many Puerto Ricans and Mexicanstrying to identify and locate their history and culture repre-sented in it.

Anglos too often considered Latinos as one unified group,overlooking the ethnic, geographic and cultural differences,which are demonstrated in the exhibit. Many Anglos donthave a clear understanding about who Latin Americans are.Everyone from these countries is different, but theyre often

considered just Latino or Hispanic, Prez says. That percep-tion was reinforced by the term Latino which was coined bythe U.S. Census to create one unified group to rank and count.

Despite the fact that most of the manufacturing plants thatrecruited Latinos have faded in Windham, the influence ofLatinos in the local culture survives and thrives. Prez says,according to the 2010 Census, Windhams population of17,700 is approximately 40 percent are Latino. The fact that

so many Latinos stayed indicatesthey created an enclave, a commu-nity, a neighborhood. They havetheir roots here; they got marriedand had children, says Prez.

Some Latinos continue to workin the General Cable or UnitedAbrasive factories. Mexican immi-grants were recruited for aFranklin Mushroom factory butthat closed in 2006. Many Latinosare employed in the service indus-try, working at local Mexicanrestaurants. Ironically, severalPuerto Rican eateries opened, butonly one survives. Scores ofLatinos also work in the healthcare industry at WindhamCommunity Hospital.

Overall, Prez says Latinoimmigrants exerted a majorimpact on the region. Latinoshelped develop Windham from afactory or mill town into a thrivingcommunity. That is why this exhib-it is so important.

The exhibit created a focalpoint of discussion about themigration experience, which themajority of people in the commu-nity have had, either throughthemselves or their parents orgrandparents, Eves says.

Another aspect was revealing that the experience of Latinosmoving to Windham was no different than the previous groupswho came to find work and a better life, Eves says. Moreover,the exhibit has exerted a positive impact on the local Latinocommunity. They feel proud about what these intrepid PuertoRican and other immigrants experienced while adjusting andadapting to a new country. Many Latinos have been stereo-typed negatively, Prez says. But this exhibit sets the recordstraight by emphasizing their accomplishments.


Ricardo Prez, professor of sociology, Eastern Connecticut State University


Artistic Madrid Artistic Madrid by Gustavo A. Mellander

Like many college students I wanted to visit Europe - but Inever did. Finally, when I was an academic dean at InterAmerican University in Puerto Rico, I undertook thatdreamed of trip.

First, I made an obligatory trip to visit my fathers relativesin his native Sweden. Then I hopped over to La Madre Patriato explore my grandmothers Seville. The trip was capped offwith a few days stay in Madrid; I was very impressed.

In 2005, I returned to spend a whole week in Madrid. Iwrote about my adventures at El Prado for The Arts issue ofHispanic Outlook in August of that year. Pleased with my trip,I longed to return to majestic Madrid for more than a week.Finally a few months ago, I returned to explore Artistic Madridfor a full 30 days.

Barajas AirportOne is immediately impressed with Madrids commitment

to the arts as one walks through its airport: Barajas. It is thenations busiest airport servicing millions every year.Artistically the airport is a beautifully designed modern build-ing. Inside it is creatively enhanced with winged curved wood-en ceilings which capture the glory and metaphors of flight.

Impressive ArchitectureAfter a 20- minute ride into town one is struck by the beau-

ty of Madrids streets and its boulevards. They are clean andinvariably tree-lined with convenient benches throughout.Restaurants place flowerpots on their sidewalks, which adds afestive aura to the citys ambience. A cold beer or a glass ofwine, numerous varied Tapas and exquisite dining are readilyavailable throughout Madrid.

Although Madrid has many modern buildings, most uglyones none more so than the United States Embassy

Madrid also has an unending wealth of historic beautiful state-ly buildings. Many were at one time private residences but arenow public buildings such as museums and governmentoffices. They are very tastefully preserved, well-scrubbed andthey glisten in the sunlight.

The wide variety of Madrids impressive architecture hasled to the city being dubbed the city of a thousand faces. Inthe early 18th century the French Bourbon architecture waspopular as exemplified in La Puerta de Alcal. Massive andsculptured in granite it was the gateway into the city. It is afavorite sight for Madrileos at night when it is bathed byflood lights. A prominent office building, the Banco deEspaa, the nations central reserve bank, is housed in agigantic building with three faades. Of note as well is therichly ornate Art Nouveau as preserved in the SociedadGeneral de Autores de Espaa building

La Gran Via boulevard offers a row of ornate and beautifulbuildings all elegantly preserved. Further on, richly carvedfacades and at times ostentatious buildings surround OldMadrids Plaza Major. Nearby one can also visit the royalpalace. All of these and many other architectural treasures areeasily accessible by the citys excellent bus service and rovingtaxis. And of course compressed Madrid lends itself to walk-ing tours. In short, Madrid is beautiful and convenient toexplore.

Paseo del ArteMany palatial buildings with their unique beautiful facades

have spectacular interiors as well and most are open to thepublic. The Ayuntamiento of Madrid is a perfect example. Itsmarble columns, ornate carvings and ceilings that never seemto end are breath-taking. The Ayuntamiento also hosts a five

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TARGETING HIGHER EDUCATION

El Prado


star restaurant with a balcony facing a large circular fountain,Fuente de Ciebeles. Massive avenues shoot out as busy spokesfrom the fountain. One of them is the Paseo del Arte.

That fabled Avenue of Art envelops a wide, tree-lined boule-vard park where Madrileos have strolled for hundreds ofyears. It is just a few blocks long and leads directly to theworld famous Prado, Reina Sofa and Thyssen-Bornemiszamuseums.

Along the way one encounters another large fountain, theFuente de Neptuno. Just a block off the Paseo del Prado onecan visit two of Madrids most architecturally impressivehotels: the Ritz Madrid and the Westin Palace. Their glassdomed rotundas rooms afford an opportunity to have tea andgaze at the massively exquisite architecture.

The Thyssen-BornemiszaJust a few blocks from the Cibeles Fountain one comes

upon the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Housed in a Neo-Classical former residence built in 1806 many scholarsbelieve this museum houses the worlds most important pri-vate art collection. It was created by Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and covers the history of Western art from theearly Flemish and Italian painters to 20th century Pop Art.The Spanish state bought it in 1993, and it is a strong com-plement to the Pradoand Reina Sofa muse-ums all within walkingdistance of one another.The Thyssen adds 20thcentury internationalartists and complementsthe Spanish ones atReina Sofa.

The Thyssen providesthe evolution of the histo-ry of Spanish art. Itsmedieval works areespecially outstanding,with a highlight beingVan Eycks Diptych ofthe Annunciation andPetrus Christus OurLady of the Dry Tree.Holbeins celebratedportrait of Henry VIII isalso displayed. Laterworks include a collec-tion of Impressionist andpost-Impressionist exam-ples, notably Degas Swaying Dancer, several Van Goghpaintings as well as Czannes Portrait of a Farmer.

The 20th century is represented by Picassos Man with aClarinet and Harlequin with a Mirror, thought by some torepresent the artist himself. Other celebrated names from the20th century include Mir, Dali, Bacon, and Pollock.Particularly chilling is Edward Hoppers Hotel Room, whichportrays urban isolation.

With such a wealth of art, it is not surprising that this mag-

nificent museum attracts almost 1 million visitors every year. Itfurther makes Madrid the envy of the art world, since the cityoutbid everyone else for the collection, including the GettyFoundation. Presently valued at a $1 billion, the collection wasbought for $350 million. Its presence in Madrid provides yetanother example of elegance and devotion to the arts inSpains capital.

There is a lovely restful garden at the entrance. A warning:there are very few benches in the galleries or in the lobby. Thestaff is informed and courteous. The caf/restaurant has amagnificent view of the garden.

Reina SofaAs one leaves the Thyssen and turns right one is walking

along the same boulevard that brought us to the Thyssen. Aleisurely 15-minute stroll leads to one of the newest museumsin Madrid.

The Museo Reina Sofa is really different because its veryexistence is based on a redefinition of the function of muse-ums. It boldly presents an alternative to historic models.

It was conceived as a place to generate opportunities forsociability and discussion in the public sphere. The Museumtries to create a model of resistance to a society where con-sumption and merchandise predominate. The museum

strives to develop new forms of intermediation and encour-ages active spectators.

It challenges the central- peripheral dynamic and the uni-vocal vision of art history. Art history is no longer written as if itwere comprised of large continents, but rather as a kind ofarchipelago in which varying relations emerge in an ever-changing cartography. In plain English, the forms of moderni-ty previously considered subordinate are able to fully expresstheir complexity and spectators are expected to participate.

Museo Reina Sofa

Artists previously considered secondary or derivative nowhave their own voice and thanks to new links of solidarity withintellectuals, they challenge the rules long-established in theWestern European world.

The museums collection is unique. Works are selected tocreate intertwining narrations that take the form of archives.Aesthetic autonomy is diluted by the inclusion all on the samelevel of documents, artwork, books, journals or photographs.All this gives rise to alternative narrations that provide viewersknowledge, aesthetic experiences and the possibility of compre-hending a historical moment in a whole new fashion. The ideais to create an archive of archives that gives voice and capacitywith which to archive, rethink and narrate history.

Another of the museums goals is to foster the writing ofhistory from the bottom up. To achieve this, the museumproposes an educational formation that eliminates hierarchiesand highlights the revitalizing power of culture. That is basedon the conviction that each one of us knows how to rediscoverand redefine knowledge. As an aside, I have a Ph.D. in historyand months after my visit, I am still scratching my head overall this contorted language and the museums goals. If nothingelse this museum makes you think.

Works of art have been chosen to represent commonground for the artist and the spectator. That will, it is hoped,facilitate a relationship with others and with an environment

perceived not as belonging to someone else but rather asones own. The purpose is to enable the public to see our-selves both as subjects and as objects of the perception of oth-ers, thus creating a new, liberating space for sociability.

As if all that mind-boggling was not enough, the museumstrives to be a place for debate and research through seminarsand university programs. The interaction, which is neitherunduly influenced nor hierarchised, between education andthe array of activities and exhibitions, the collection, and pub-lic programs, is all sponsored by the museum.

One doesnt get the feeling of a regular museum but itsintellectual vitality is ever so evident and electric.

The PradoAs mentioned before I wrote a column for Hispanic

Outlook in August 2005 about my visit to the Prado that year.Further, another full-length article about the Prado appearedin Hispanic Outlook during the last 12 months. So, although Ivisited the Prado during this trip, I will not go into great detail.

Suffice it to say the Prado is one of the worlds premier cul-tural attractions. One that is not to be missed. The name origi-nates from the former market gardens that existed there. Theywere known as the prado or meadow. The royal family hadbeen impressed with the Louvre in Paris and wanted to estab-lish a similar collection in Madrid. The result today is severalthousand works, with a recent modern extension allowingmore of them to be displayed.

Works by great European masters such as Velzquez, Goya,Raphael, Rubens, and Bosch are housed in an 18th-centuryNeo-Classical building that opened as a museum in 1819.

The sheer scale of the collection makes it daunting, so it isuseful to arrive with a few of the highlights in mind and con-centrate on those. Perhaps the most famous painting isVelzquezs Las Meninas, showing princess Margarita andher two ladies-in-waiting as well as the artist himself withpaintbrush and palette in hand. Another of his famous works,The Triumph of Bacchus, portrays the god of wine with agroup of revelers.

Another major artist of the Prado is Goya, whose depiction ofnudity in the painting The Naked Maja led him to be accusedof obscenity. His works make up such a large part of the muse-um, that a statue of him stands outside the main entrance.

The museum shop is worthy of a visit, as is acquiring anArt Walk ticket (El Paseo del Arte) that also allowsentrance to the Thyssen Bornemisza and Reina Sofa muse-ums. An even better option is to purchase the Madrid card,since this also gives you entrance to dozens of other museumsand sights, and allows you to avoid the frequently extremelylong lines at the Prado.

Bottom line: Madrileos are very proud of their beau-tiful city and frequently exclaim - Depues de Madrid - elcielo. They have a point.

Dr. Mellander was a college president for 20 years.


El Greco


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SSppaanniisshh OOlldd MMaasstteerr PPaaiinnttiinnggss

RRee--IInnssttaalllleedd aatt tthhee MMeett

SSppaanniisshh OOlldd MMaasstteerr PPaaiinnttiinnggss

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by Michelle Adam

Thispast May, New York Citys MetropolitanMuseum of Art reopened its newly reinstalledcollection of the European Old Master paint-ings the first such renovation since 1951 and reinstallationsince 1972. More than 600 paintings of works by Rembrandt,Rubens, Vermeer, Velzquez, and Goya, among others, nowpermanently hang side by side in a gallery space that hasincreased by one-third of what previously was available in sep-arate spaces.

Among the European painters are the Old Spanish Masters,such as Diego Rodrguez de Silva y Velzquez, Francisco deGoya, El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos), and Jusepe deRibera , whose 35 to 40 works span the same time period asthe other European painters, from 1250-1800. The Spanishcollection was in spaces that were not ideal for it and theywere also separate from each other, explained XavierSalomon, curator of Southern Baroque paintings. The early16th and 17th century paintings were in one part of the muse-um and the 18th in another. We now have three rooms, onenext to the other, with more space for more pictures to bepresented in a more coherent way.

While Salomon admits the Metropolitans collection cantrival that of the Hispanic Society or the Meadows Museum inthe United States, it is able to show well the works of specificartists like Goya, El Greco, and Velzquez. The museum begancollecting its art from the very beginning in 1871 alongwith that of other international artists. It received donationsfrom individuals, such as works by El Greco, through theHabermeyer Collection. More recently, the Met has beenacquiring art by Ribera, a Spanish painter who lived from1591 to 1652. His earlier pieces were unidentified sitting ina pile of a collection of anonymous pictures until about ayear ago when they were discovered.

The two most significant acquisitions in our collection are

The Portrait of Jun de Pareja by Velzquez acquired in1971 and now this large Ribera of this past year, saidSalomon. Jun de Pareja is arguably the most importantVelzquez in America. Its of his Moorish slave that he freedand who served as an assistant in his workshop. And Ribera isa recent discovery in the world of art history. His paintingshave become very desirable. Museums are trying to buythem.

Riberas works, and those of other Spanish artists, are nowcurrently on display as part of the reinstallation. Some of theseare on loan or available for the first time to the Met, includinga Ribera portrait of the Count de Monterey, currently on loanto the museum from a private collection. The Met also is bor-rowing Goyas still life of two dead hares (rabbits). AZurbaran painting of Saint Benedict that has been in storagefor a long time will finally come out because theres space todisplay it. In addition, a portrait of the Duke of Modena byVelzquez is on loan for the first two months of the show.

All of the old Spanish masters paintings are considered apart of the Baroque period. Yet, the artists displayed areunique in their own way. The Spanish Baroque includes acombination of different individuals, said Salomon. In 300years of Spanish art, you go from the Renaissance and theInquisition to modern art.

The Spanish artists of this time include El Greco, who livedfrom 1541 to 1614. Called the Greek because he was bornin Crete, he was known for painting more mystical, spiritualworks, many of which included biblical renderings or sceneswhere the landscape of people was elongated. Velzquez, onthe other hand, lived from 1599 to 1660, and was one of themost admired European painters of all time. A leading artist inthe court of King Philip IV, his works later became a model forthe realist and impressionist painters. One of his well-knownpaintings, Las Meninas, is of individuals from the Spanish

court captured as if in a snap shot, with the painter and hiscanvas in the background (the Met has two paintings of theMeninas series).

Another Spanish painter, Goya, who lived from 1746 to1828, was considered one of the most important Spanishartists of the late 18th and 19th centuries. His paintingsstarted as more lighthearted, but then became deeply pes-simistic. Also a court painter, Goyas darker works displayedthe horrors of war when Spain struggled for independencefrom France.

The art of El Greco is different from the art of Velzquez.You get modern-like bright colors with a loose way of paintingwith El Greco and with Velzquez, it is more of a psychologicalportraiture of looking into the soul of the person in front ofhim, said Salomon. Goya has a more modern way of paint-ing. Impressionist artists looked toward artists like Goya. Histechnique is a loose way, simply done and effective. AndRibera is more Italian in his style because he worked in Italymost of his life. He becomes a bridge between the Spanish andItalian art in that period.

The paintings that make up the Spanish Old Masters collec-tion at the Met dwarf in numbers compared to the museumsDutch and Italian collection. This is because historically therehas been less interest in Spanish works, but also becauseSpanish paintings tend to remain in Spain.

I think Spanish art is very effective and theatrical and cre-ates an immediate reaction upon seeing, said Salomon,describing the uniqueness of this work. And now that it is

being displayed alongside other European works during thesame time period, people can experience the art with moreclarity and where the works speak to one another well.

You can go from one room to the next and see Spanishpaintings and this is important. You will have a dialoguebetween El Greco and then the Italian art he was lookingat. And with 18th century France section, you can relate itto French Revolution and what was happening to Goya atthe time.

As part of the reinstallation, the Met is offering tours of thegalleries and is distributing publications related to the tours.All the labels of the gallery have been redone and some roomswill have iPod images showing how everything looked origi-nally. The collection database online has also been enhancedand so that visitors can see the description of each paintingand study them in depth.

With summer being the busiest time for the Met, largenumbers of visitors are expected. Salomon, who came onboard with the museum two years ago, arrived within a yearstime of plans for the reinstallation of the European OldMasters paintings. This has taken three years to do, he said,and now, in the midst of tourist season in New York City, thehard work toward this renovation can be enjoyed.


Velzquez Juan de Pareja

Goya Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga - MMA

NALIP Supports Hispanicsin Visual Arts Communityby Diana Saenger

TheNational Association of Latino IndependentProducers (NALIP) is a national membershiporganization founded in 1999 to address theprofessional needs of Latino/Latina independent producers.NALIP has been a pioneer in its efforts to enhance Latino pro-duction and provide ongoing support for Latino independentfilm and video producers. NALIP remains the premiere Latinomedia organization that focuses on the most underrepresent-ed and the largest ethnic minority in the country.

The idea for NALIP started when a Latino non-profit thatwas funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to sup-port Latino filmmakers got defunded, said Bienvenida Matias,NALIPs acting executive director and educator, filmmaker,former executive director of the Association of Hispanic Arts,and former publisher of The Independent.

After a planning committee organized a conference in June1999 titled, The Future of Latino Independent Media: PublicTelevision and Beyond, participants agreed they wanted apermanent organization to continue on with the new ideas.

We didnt know who all was out there or what they needed,Matias said. We realized we had a whole cadre of filmmakersunder the age of 35. People who had gone to film school ortaught themselves how to work on films and saw they couldcross over in the different film genres. This is unlike the dayswhen if you had a job in filmmaking you were stuck in that job.

The NALIP team quickly came together through Latino pro-ducers, activists and educators from around the country witha staff, board of directors, advisors and trustees. Their goalwas to: (1) organize as a creative constituency; (2) take anactive role in defining institutional needs within public televi-sion; and (3) look beyond public television to the new mediaenvironment in which independent programming might findother outlets.

Fourteen years later NALIP is a strong, essential and strate-gic partner in its focus on aiding Latinos in their artisticendeavors. Those interested in participating in a program atNALIP can submit applications on its website. All programsare offered once a year and open to the public.

We have great opportunities, Matias said. Too often,because making a film or documentary can take so long, peo-ple just rush it and put it out there. Then its more of a goodrough cut and not polished because they ran out of money orsteam and dont have a senior producer-type mentor. This iswhat we do a lot of informal mentoring. Unfortunately youdont see those entry level programs that used to be aroundwhere someone could go and work on a film as an assistant toan assistant editor or director. So we try to fill that gap.

Some of their programs include: The Latino Writers Lab, a professional development lab

for mid-career feature and television writers. Latino Media Market, which matches specific projects withfunders, distributors and broadcasters. National Signature Programs, dedicated to improving theskills and relationships of NALIPs members as they advancetheir documentary and narrative projects to production andrelease. The Latino Producers Academy 11-day residential intensivecourse for producer/directors of documentaries and of inde-pendent features; the one-year Latino Artist MentoringProgram (LAMP) designed to give Latino and Native mediaproducers the information and skills they need to realize theirprojects, and, ultimately, effect social change. A three-day program, in partnership with the NEA and CPB,called Doing your Doc: Diverse Visions, Regional Voices. Itprovides mentoring and instruction to filmmakers of color,helping to develop Asian-American, African-American, NativeAmericans, Hispanic and Pacific Islander stories along withregional documentaries that have potential national relevance.

The Latino Media Market (LMM) is designed to bringfunders, studio executives, distributors, dealmakers, agents,mentors and employers together with NALIP members andtheir projects. The organizations April National Conference is

ARTS/ORGANIZATIONS


Bienvenida Matias

a NALIP Signature Program created for NALIP members,focusing on categories such as low-budget features in devel-opment or pre-production, documentary work-in-progressand non-scripted series ideas. The most recent conferenceattracted 675 content creators and supporters.

Many of those supporters include huge corporations, otherorganizations, prominent filmmakers and celebrities. Filmdirector, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor andmusician Robert Rodrguez (Machete, Sin City) is launchingan English-language cable television network with Comcastthat will target Latino audiences. He has worked with NALIPon this project.

I think NALIP is very important so that filmmakers therecan network and get mentors who believe in their work andcan cultivate their talent, Rodrguez says in a video on theNALIP site www.NALIP.org/

Also lending her support via a video on the site is RitaMoreno, actress and Academy-award winner for her role inWest Side Story, and ALMA-award winner for her role in tele-visions Oz.

I think being a part of the NALIP community is an absoluteresponsibility that every, actor, director, writer, producer, andcinematographer should take on, Moreno said. We are ourbest friends, and the only way we get support is through ourown people. Its important that all of us in my professionshould understand you (NALIP) are doing us a great serviceand in order to help us, we have to help you. Those with bignames should join NALIP.

NALIP has had many success stories fostered by its pro-grams. Kimberly Barista developed her documentary JusticeFor My Sister there. The film is about violence against women,and Barista was invited to speak about her film at a UnitedNations convention in Geneva.

Producer/Director/Writer Mara Agui Carter, chairman ofNALIPs board of directors is a documentary filmmaker whojust finished her film Rebel about Loreta Velzquez, a Cubanconfederate soldier turned Union spy in the Civil War. Carterproduces films for PBS and cable television. She is an advocatefor Latino and social issue filmmakers and has won fellowshipsfrom several organizations including the Rockefeller

Foundation. In addition to having her films shown on PBS,Carter was commissioned by The National Parks Department todo an educational film about Velzquez to show around thecountry in battlefield parks, visitor centers and historic houses.

Other Latino/as in the entertainment industry also havebeen honored by NALIP.

We gave a NALIP Lupe Award to Gina Rodrguez for herbreakout role in Filly Brown, Matias said. The award is tohonor NALIPs supporter Lupe Ontiveros and her accomplish-ment as a talented actress and community activist.

NALIP provides a Latino Media Resource Guide, a uniqueonline member directory and reference designed to connectfilmmakers to funders, employers and one another.

Matias leadership style reflects her background in a rangeof arts projects. She says she grew up in an environment inwhich decisions were made by consensus and there was abroad sense of participation to include different voices. Shealso has a track record of excellence in several endeavors.She is currently working on the documentary Coquito! as pro-ducer/director, with producers Tami Gold and Sonia Gonzlez-Martinez. The film is funded by the Latino PublicBroadcasting. Matias was an advisor on the television seriesThe Independent Lens. In short, she knows the ropes of thisbusiness inside and out.

Its a very difficult business she said. Anyone who wantsto be a filmmaker has to have a driving passion for tellingtheir story with a visual matter, and its an expensive business.Even if you are an auteur filmmaker like Robert Rodrguezwho writes the script and does everything he can on a film;you can only sustain that for so long. So you always want todevelop your craft to the next level where you bring in all ofthe other collaborators.

Matias is proud of the outreach and support that NALIP hasachieved.

Long time friendships have been forged through NALIP,she said. When people come here they say it feels like family.Theyre with a community that understands some of the chal-lenges they are facing and the types of stories they want to tell.Theres always someone who wants to inspire you the way thatyou inspire someone else its worth a lot of hard work.


Doing your Doc program at NALIP


by Peggy Sands Orchowski

ARE WANNA BE HSIs DRIVING THE DREAM ACT? Increasingly when I tell a university lobbyist who has come toCapitol Hill on business that I am the Congressional Correspondent for the Hispanic Outlook, they grin and saywere 24.5 percent, or 23 percent or were almost there. Sometimes they even raise an open hand to do ahigh-five. Of course we all know what they mean. Their post-secondary educational institution almost has docu-mented that 25 percent of their undergraduates are (self-identified) Hispanics. Meeting that threshold will quali-fy them to compete for the special Title V fund of some $1 billion as an HSI a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Intheir eagerness to recruit Hispanic-heritage students, increasing numbers of these lobbyists are becoming impor-tant advocates for passage of the DREAM Act in their states and also in Washington, D.C., Dr. Meriah Griego of theUniversity of New Mexico told me. Formulative experiences with race, racism and with DREAMers (college stu-dents who came into the U.S. illegally before the age of 16) can affect how government relations officers framethe DREAM Act discussion, Dr. Griego found in surveys she conducted for her Ph.D. thesis. The more personally

experienced they are with the issues of discrimination and bias, the more they will sympathize not onlywith the DREAM Act (which would legalize and promote an expedited pathway to citizenship for

these students), she said. But they also understand the need for their emerging HSI to focuson the special needs and relationship of Latino students, not on just recruiting them.

SEPARATE CHICANO GRADUATION NO MORE; NOW ITS A CEREMONY TheUniversity of California at Santa Barbara made it official this June. While various ethnic

studies departments continued to gather as they have for years to recognize theirown graduates separately, they could no longer give out diplomas and call the

gatherings a graduation. Instead UCSB signs indicated directions tothe Chicano/Latino Celebration and the Black Celebration. But

all students had to attend the university-wide graduation cere-monies to receive their diplomas.

SPANISH ON THE SENATE FLOOR The competition to show

immigration-simpatico creds isheating up in Congress. Increasinglyrepresentatives from both parties take anyopportunity to speak some sentences in Spanishat press conferences, media events and lobbyingpresentations. But on June 11, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.)former governor, head of the Democratic Party and Catholicmissionary in Honduras, set a new high bar. He read an entirespeech supporting the immigration reform bill on the floor of theSenate in Spanish. It was an historical first though perhaps not entirelyproper. Although Kaine formerly asked the presiding officer if he could do theSpanish reading, Senate rules require that the presiding officer must know what theSenator is saying and must get a simultaneous interpreter (by definition unaffiliated)for the talk (reporters need them as well). Kaine supplied a written translation of hisremarks afterwards. This could set a precedent, of course. Should we now expect a presentationin German? After all, in the 1790s more than one-third of Americans spoke German; the first U.S.Congress even considered printing all U.S. laws in both languages.

JEB BUSHS DIVERSE FAMILY Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, brother of one president and son of another, was inWashington D.C., in May and June seeking to forge an American solution for immigration reform with his new book, a kinder,gentler (despite the title) take on the subject called Immigration Wars. He even supported the legalization of some illegalimmigrants. One reason he gave for his positive support of immigrants (especially the educated kind) his wife is from Mexico,his children are half Latino and his newest daughter-in-law is Iraqi Canadian.

Margaret (Peggy Sands) Orchowski was a reporter for AP South America and for the United Nations in Geneva,Switzerland. She earned a doctorate in international educational administration from the University of California-SantaBarbara. She lives in Washington, D.C., where she was an editor at Congressional Quarterly and now is a freelance journal-ist and columnist covering Congress and higher education.

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Two Faculty OpeningsAgribusiness and Farm Management

Production Economics and SustainabilityDyson School of Applied Economics and Management Cornell University

Cornell is a community of scholars, known for intellectual rigor and engaged in deep and broad research, teaching tomorrows thought leaders to thinkotherwise, care for others, and create and disseminate knowledge with a public purpose.

Anticipated Start Date: August 28, 2014Salaries: Competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. An attractive fringe benefit package is included.Closing Date: Review of applications will begin December 1, 2013 and continue until acceptable candidates are identified.The Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell embrace diversity and seekcandidates who will contribute to a climate that welcomes students of all races, nationalities and genders. We strongly encourage women and underrepresentedminorities to apply.

AGRIBUSINESS AND FARM MANAGEMENTAssistant or Associate Professor; tenure track or tenured position; academic year appointment basis.

Responsibilities: The appointee is expected to establish a distinguished program of research and extension in agribusiness and farm management.Responsibilities will be 50% research and 50% extension.

The successful candidate shall develop a distinguished program that integrates problem-solving research and extension. The research should address some ofthe myriad of issues facing the managers of agribusinesses and farms. These issues might include financial management, labor management, agro-environmentalissues, input and output decisions and commodity and product marketing. The advising of graduate students is expected. The individual may eventually teachcourses in agribusiness and farm management. The incumbent is expected to publish in leading scholarly journals in agricultural economics and related journals.

Opportunities: The faculty of the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management consists primarily of applied economists and managementfaculty who have a long-standing tradition of problem-solving research that relates to issues of interest to decision makers in the public and private sectors atthe state and national level. The College offers excellent collaborative opportunities in both research and outreach with colleagues in production departments.There are opportunities for collaboration with faculty in the Dyson School as well as across Cornell University with interests in management and appliedeconomics.

Qualifications: A Ph.D. in agricultural economics, economics, or applied economics, is required. Applicants must have strong training in management, finance,economics and quantitative methods.

Application: Electronically submit to [email protected], your letter of application addressed to Loren Tauer, Director, Dyson School ofApplied Economics and Management, 210 Warren Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853; vita; personal statement summarizing interests andleadership efforts; reprints of selected major papers; graduate transcript; and names of three references.

PRODUCTION ECONOMICS AND SUSTAINABILITYAssistant Professor; tenure track; academic year appointment basis

Responsibilities: The appointee is expected to establish a distinguished program of research (50%) and teaching (50%) in the economics of agriculturalproduction and sustainability. Among other topics, the research program should address important issues confronting the New York State and Northeastagricultural sector such as sustainable production practices, adaptation to climate change, and the implications of environmental policies. It is expected that thecandidate will develop two undergraduate and/or graduate courses in sustainable production and related topics during the first three-year appointment, addinga third course after reappointment following the third year. The successful candidate will be expected to advise MS and PhD thesis research, and to adviseundergraduates.

Opportunities: The faculty of the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management consists primarily of applied economists and managementfaculty who have a long-standing tradition of problem-solving research that relates to issues of interest to decision makers in the public and private sectors atthe state and national level. The successful candidate is encouraged to collaborate and integrate well with School faculty in the four program areas (Food andAgricultural Economics, Management, Environmental and Resource Economics, International and Development Economics). Potential exists to collaboratewith researchers across Cornell, including scholars in Cornells outstanding programs in economics, the agricultural sciences, natural resources, and theenvironmental sciences.

Qualifications: A Ph.D. in agricultural or applied economics, environmental and resource economics, economics, or a closely related field is required.Applicants are expected to have strong training in econometrics and quantitative methods.

Application: Electronically submit to [email protected], your letter of application addressed to Loren Tauer, Director, Dyson School of AppliedEconomics and Management, 210 Warren Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853; vita; personal statement summarizing interests and leadershipefforts; reprints of selected major papers; graduate transcript; and names of three references.

Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management (AEM)

Find us online at http://hr.cornell.edu/jobs or Facebook.com/CornellCareers

Cornell University is an innovative Ivy League university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students and staff impart anuncommon sense of larger purpose and contribute creative ideas to further the university's mission of teaching, discovery and engagement. Located in Ithaca,NY, Cornell's far-flung global presence includes the medical college's campuses on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and in Doha, Qatar, as well as the newCornellNYC Tech campus to be built on Roosevelt Island in the heart of New York City.

Diversity and inclusion have been and continue to be a part of our heritage. Cornell University is a recognized EEO/AA employer and educator.


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fellowships availableThe Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University awards 50 funded residential fellowships each year designed to support scholars, scientists, artists, and writers of exceptional promise and demonstrated accomplishment.

For more information, please contact:

Radcliffe Application Office8 Garden StreetCambridge, MA 02138617-496-1324fellowships@radcliffe.harvard.eduwww.radcliffe.harvard.edu

The Director of Student Financial Assistancewill establish and interpret college policies andprocedures within the guidelines of fundingagencies to administer various nancial aidprograms. Duties include supervision of staff,development of policies and procedures,coordination of federal and state aid programstudies, and formulation of nancial aidpackages for students at Westchester Countyslargest educational institution.

For details, visit www.sunywcc.edu/jobs. Applicationsaccepted until positions are lled; we are targeting afall 2013 start date. Resumes to Human Resources,Westchester Community College, 75 Grasslands Road,Valhalla, NY 10595; fax 914-606-7838; email Worddocuments to [email protected]. Pleaseindicate position of interest on envelope or in emailsubject eld. AA/EOE.

WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Student FinancialAssistance Director

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR VEGETABLE PATHOLOGISTCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Geneva, NYCornell is a community of scholars, known for intellectual rigor and engaged in deep and broad research, teaching tomorrows thought leaders to think otherwise, carefor others, and create and disseminate knowledge with a public purpose.The successful candidate will develop an internationally-recognized research (60%) and extension (40%) program focused on soil-borne plant pathogens, theirrelationship with other soil-borne microbes and edaphic factors, and how these interactions affect the development and management of plant diseases, with an emphasison root diseases of vegetable crops. The research program could focus on areas such as soil health and sustainability, population genetics/genomics of soil-bornepathogens, and innovative disease management strategies, among other areas. The appointee will also develop a related extension program with a focus on soil-bornediseases of vegetable crops, to include applied and translational research and outreach efforts that will provide a positive impact on vegetable production in New York.The appointee will be expected to interact with the interdepartmental vegetable program work team and soil health team, county and regional Cornell CooperativeExtension educators, and a diverse group of stakeholders that includes New York vegetable growers (conventional, organic, multiple crops) and support industrypersonnel.Salary: Competitive, commensurate with background and experience. An attractive fringe benefits package is available.Cornell University is committed to hiring and promoting a diverse faculty.Qualifications: A Ph.D. in plant pathology, soil microbiology, mycology, nematology, ecology or a closely related discipline. Experience in research, as demonstratedby publication in peer-reviewed journals, is required and prior experience in extension or stakeholder engagement is preferred. Ability to communicate effectively withstudents, colleagues and external stakeholders is critical.How to Apply: Send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, statement of research goals and plans, reprints of selected papers, transcripts, and the names and contactinformation for three references should be sent to Dr. Marc Fuchs, Search Committee Chair. Materials to be submitted electronically via Academic Jobs Online at thefollowing web link: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/2748.Review of applications will begin Sept. 15, 2013 and will continue until the position is filled.Find us online at http://hr.cornell.edu/jobs or Facebook.com/CornellCareersCornell University is an innovative Ivy League university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students and staff impart an uncommon senseof larger purpose and contribute creative ideas to further the university's mission of teaching, discovery and engagement. Located in Ithaca, NY, Cornell's far-flungglobal presence includes the medical college's campuses on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and in Doha, Qatar, as well as the new CornellNYC Tech campus to bebuilt on Roosevelt Island in the heart of New York City. This position is located at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY, 50 miles northwestof Ithaca.

Diversity and inclusion have been and continue to be a part of our heritage. Cornell University is a recognized EEO/AA employer and educator.


College of Natural, Applied and Health SciencesDean

Kean, a comprehensive New Jersey state University, is committed toexcellence and access and to developing, maintaining and strengtheningintera

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