The Fourth Painting

A few weeks ago I started my fourth painting. What character? ...you’ll guess, you’ll be able to tell what it is, since I will be posting images of the process. Painting is not that easy, I don’t have an office or a studio, I do it in my dining room, with two kids running around and sometimes arguing as the run, they are my kids, Camila (10) and Matteo (6), plus the telephones, the tv, and more stuff around me.

But I’m not compalining. Actually, I like it that way, I wouldn’t like to have to hide from my kids in order to be able to paint. If I need to concentrate and focus, headphones and good music will be the solution. Besides, every now and then, one of my kids will stand next to me and tell me how beautifull the painting is looking! ...that’s all the support I need.
Kids are so honest, I know if they hate the painting they would say: “I hate that painting”.

I didn’t paint for a few days, I’ve been very busy, very bisy with other things. But I started back. And I feel that in each one of my paintings I evolve, I expect more from myself, I challenge myself. It is the best way to make this journey of painting most rewarding. This painting is going to take longer than the others, it will have more details.

When I paint I don’t do it for one or two hours, I do It for 4 or 5, for 8 hours. I have to prepare for the time that it will take. Like a long drive. Before I start painting, usually I take a cold shower and drink one or two cups of coffee.

La Turronera (The Turrón Street Vendor)

I can never forget the lady in her purple habit, waiting for someone to buy a portion of her delicious Turrón de Doña Pepa. She does it every year. October is the month.

The delicious “Turrón de Doña Pepa” is a very traditional dessert that’s always present during the month of October, month dedicated to the veneration of El Señor de los Milagros (Lord of the Miracles). The image of the also called “Purple Christ” is taken in procession around the city by a large mutltitude. A very important part of this religious tradition is the purple habit worn by the devotees. This tradition has been around for more than 300 years.

As a child I was taken to the procession a number of times. What I remember is a fusion of mistery, sorrow and forgiveness, I remember the smell of the clouds of incense, and I remember the enormous image of the the Christ moving right through them. And of course I do remember the taste of a Turrón de Doña Pepa after the procession (or during). What you see in this painting is what my memories bring back to me from a place called “my childhood” a place that’s many years away from here.

More information about El Señor de los Milagros: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Señor_de_los_Milagros_(Lima)

More information about Turrón de Doña Pepa: http://www.baluart.net/articulo/el-origen-del-turron-de-dona-pepa

La Anticuchera (The Anticucho Street Vendor)

The “Anticucho” (beef heart Kabob) is one of the most popular dishes in Perú. They are traditionaly sold by street vendors around the cities. It is very tipycal to stop by an “Anticuchera” and have Anticuchos for a quick meal. Anticuchos are normaly accompanied by “Choclo” (corn-on-the-cob) and“PapaDorada”(golden potato). I lived in the district of Jesus María in Lima, and about two blocks from my house, in a corner, a group of Anticucheras would gather every night for some serious grilling. The aroma was as good as the taste, but the aroma had the advantage of being able to travel for blocks around the neighborhood and grab you by the nose to bring you to that corner I’ll always remember. The colors I remember of that scene are reresented very closely in the painting. The green wall, the blue cart, the red and purple clothes, the fire of the grill, I remember very vividly.

El Cajonero (The Cajon player)

The “Cajón” (wooden box) is a very important percussion instrument in the folkloric music of Peru. This instrument plays its most important role in the Afro-Peruvians rythms, which were originated due to the arrival of african slaves to the coasts of Perú during the colonial period. I wanted to communicate the deep emotion in wich this instrument is played. The Cajón is also used in more contemporary music, like the peruvian “Vals” (waltz), in the 1970’s, the cajón is taken to Spain and it is adopted to play an important role in the beautiful Flamenco music. Today, the Cajón is also used in Rock.

If you would like a Cajón, I’m sure you can get it here in the states, for about $100 to $200, they’re nice, very well built. But I would recommend you take a little trip to Perú, enjoy the food, the beaches, the cities, the history and before you get back to your hometown, buy a great sounding real cajón for less than $20.

I started painting a couple years ago. I chose oil as the medium, because I felt that it would be challenging, and yet, flexible. And traditional. I didn’t go to art school, I paint by instinct and my memories are my resources. I spent most of my teenage years drawing cartoons and caricatures, I used watercolor and then a black pen around the edges.

WHY THE BIG PAINTINGS - My wife Estella and I own a peruvian-cuisine restaurant in Miami Beach, named El Rincón de Chabuca (I will explain the nature of the name some other time) the interiors walls of the restaurant are big, and it would take a number of pictures to fill them up, so we decided to get pictures of a decent size.

I began to look for the right images. I wanted big peruvian scenes or characters, but everything I found were images of the mountains (the Andes), everyday scenes of andean people with their llamas, and the women with their baby on their backs. Typical paintings. Beautiful. Nostalgic. But every peruvian restaurant has something similar, besides, I DO NOT IDENTIFY WITH THOSE IMAGES. I was raised in the coast of Peru, Lima, the capital.

As much of a shame that it can be, I’ve never been to the Andes. But in Lima there are as many stories and scenes, and characters that I saw as I was growing up. I wanted images of characters, vendors, musicians, etc, that I remember, and that are very traditional in the every day life in the Lima I lived.

After a long and frustrating search for the right imagery to hang in the walls of my restaurant, I gave up. However, I figured that if at one point in my life, I drew and painted these little cartoons and caricatures on small pieces of paper about 30 years ago, I could tary to do it again, in a much bigger scale.

I chose a format of 3' x 4'. Good size. I didn’t want to try first in a small scale, and then bigger, and then bigger, and then... I wanted to go for the big size from the beginning, and if I failed and the painting didn’t satisfy me, I WOULD JUST THROW IT AWAY!! ...nobody would have to know about this, just my wife and kids.

So I painted “El Cajonero”. I liked it. and people responded very well. That’s how all this started. Hopefully people will like my work. And for the people that think that Perú is all about llamas and andean music I believe that with my images and the stories that come with them I would be able to open their minds a little more.