Peruvian Art. El Heladero (The Ice Cream Man)

“El Heladero” is here. Oil on Canvas 4' x 5'. As many of you know, I grew up in Lima, Perú. And I remember very clearly every summer in which the streets would be invaded by the Ice Cream Men. Like warriors, pedaling or pushing this commercial tricycle they would make sure they found their way to you. The tricycle carried this big ice-box painted in a unmistakable yellow color, you could see them coming from far, far away. They also had this little air-horn that made this peculiar sound and they used to announce that they were around, so if you couldn’t see their yellow cart coming, you would definitely hear they were on their way.

The name of the brand of the ice-cream they carried was D’onofrio. The best and the most popular ice-cream brand at the time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D'Onofrio). They had a huge selection of different flavors and types of ice-cream, and I have to say, they were all really good. During the summer, you would find an “Heladero” in parks, street corners, beaches, etc. and they were either pedaling heir tricycle, or just waiting for you to come and buy ice-cream. There could never be a summer without it’s inseparable companion: El Heladero”.

With this painting I just Finished, I continue with my homage to the characters that are a very important part of my city’s urban history. In my painting, the color of the tricycle and the uniform of the Heladero, are just the way I remember them. Things have changed over the years, and the color of the cart and the uniform have changed.

Hugo.

Hugo La Torre & Peruvian Traditions.

...from left to right: The Matador en Acho (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_de_toros_de_Acho), The Anticuchera (Kabobs street vendor), La Picaronera (the Picarones street vendor), The Turronera (The Turron de Doña Pepa street vendor), and the Cajonero (the Cajón Player)... the next one will come soon. Real soon.

Hugo La Torre.

Peruvian Paintings. Peruvian Art.

...I’ve painted five so far. I’m almost ready to get started on the sixth one. So far I only have the Cajón player (El Cajonero), the Kabobs street vendor (La Anticuchera), the Turron de Doña Pepa street vendor (La Turronera - http://www.amigofoods.com/sanjotu500gr.html), the bullfighter (El Torero), and the Picarones street vendor (La Picaronera). I hope that this group of traditional characters of Lima, the city where I grew up, continues to grow more and more. My intention is to dedicate to you a collection of peruvian paintings you could identify with, or allow you to get to know Perú a little better, or simply this would be a collection of paintings that will bring memories to some of you.

Hugo.

La Picaronera (The Picarones Street Vendor)

My 5th painting is ready. “The Picaronera”. Finally. it measures 4 feet wide by 5 feet tall.
Google “Picarones” to find out some information about this famous peruvian dessert. A few postings ago I included a link that can inform you a little about what the Picarones are, but here it is again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picarones

I was very lucky to buy, many times, Picarones from a “Picaronera” as I was growing up in Lima, Perú. It wasn’t just the taste, it was also the experience of watching this lady prepare the dough, shaping them with a hole in the center (doughnut -like), and smoothly throwing them one at a time in burning oil without making a splash, beautifully done! ...and when they were ready, they would be placed in a plate and bathed with “Chancaca” syrup (http://peru-recipes.com/2008/03/picarones). Delicious!

Peruvian cuisine has reached heights many of us peruvians never even imagined. Nowadays, you can pretty much savor a delicious Ceviche or Lomo Saltado anywhere in this planet, as peruvian restaurants continue to open everyday, everywhere. I’m very sure you can have some delicious Picarones anywhere around the world, served in fancy plates, arranged in a elegant way, Gourmet-style, with the syrup zig-zaging in an artistic form, and may be you can even savor delicious Picarones as you contemplate the Eiffel tower ...like I said, Peruvian restaurants are everywhere.

But what’s important to mention, is that most peruvian fine foods are of very humble origins, dating back to even hundreds of years ago. I would recommend that if you have the curiosity or craving for Picarones, the best place to try them would be in their land of origin: Perú.

If you ever go to Perú, I hope you can find someone that knows well the city you’re in. And I would suggest you ask this friend of yours to take you one night to the best “Picaronera” in town. Chances are they’ll take you to a very popular, very humble part of town where you can have your Picarones in the street, where the only light that shines is the one from the burning charcoal where they’d be prapering your Picarones. And I know for a fact that the Picarones won’t be arranged in a fancy way, and I’m sure they won’t be served in famous-brand-type of plate, but I do know that you will never forget how delicious these famous Picarones are.

Enjoy.

Picarones Ready to Go.

Last week I sketched my “Picaronera” on the 4x5 canvas she’ll be living in. Now the question is how long will it take me to finish it. A great friend of mine, I don’t want to mention his name (David Rosenberg) was taking bets last week on Facebook on how long it'll take me to finish this painting. David said it'll take me 8 months. David, I don’t think it will take that long (thanks for the faith in me buddy).

I’m ready. I gotta move fast, if my plan is to build a body of work (8 to 10 paintings), I better get started now, paint, finish, and then paint some more, otherwise I’ll be 90 years old and still trying to build a body of work. Estella (my wife) and Camila and Matteo (my children), are very supportive, they encourage me to get started and they like what I do, and that motivates me to keep going.

Tonight I paint. I’m very curious. I love the journeys of this paintings, it's like discovering a new character and personality every time. I know my “Picaronera” is there, but I’m not so sure what she looks like. Yet.

Hugo.

La Picaronera. Getting Started.

“The Picaronera” is the traditional “Picarones” maker. Nowadays you can find Picarones in most Peruvian restaurants (yes, we have them in my restaurant). You can find them in fancy establishments, served on beautiful plates, “gourmet style”, also with designs made with the syrup that they come with, nicely and carefully placed in some beautiful structure (even I love that), but the fact of the matter is that the Picarones were created centuries ago and trace their origins back to communities of low social statuses. Picarones started being sold in the streets in little carts, mainly by female street vendors.
(picarones: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picarones).

Today, The Peruvian cuisine is world famous, its taste and enormous variety has taken it to different restaurants around the world. But we can’t forget that a great part of the Peruvian cuisine, like the picarones, was created by people of low income, families that had to figure out how to eat with the little resources they had to survive. Something great came out of those difficult situations, and what started centuries ago has now become an additional reason for Peru being a great country to visit.
Peru is world famous because of its geography and history, but also because of its well known and highly-acclaimed gastronomy, that continues to grow and reinvent itself.

My intention of painting these traditional characters is to illustrate my memories of my my upbringing in Lima, Peru. It is also a way to immortalize these characters, in a sense, a homage to them. Lima is changing, and every day we see less and less of these characters selling their goods in the streets. My goal was to make sure they’re never forgotten. And believe me there are plenty of characters I remember, so I’ll be doing this for a while.

Hugo.

The Bullfighter. Ready. And now what?

Well, after approximately two years, two years! ...of painting, stopping, painting, changing, correcting, being lazy, and painting some more, I finished The Bullfighter. I thought I saw this bullfighter almost finished many times, but I was wrong, it needed more of this, more of that, etc. This bullfighter had fallen forgotten in the back of my mind many, many times. It took so long to rescue him and finish him. I really hope you like it. I finished it a couple of months ago, now it hangs framed, in one of the walls of our restaurant. It is the biggest painting.

What did I learn from all this? ...I learned that I loved painting in this large format (4' x 5'), and I also learned that this is the last time I wait so long to finish something I started.

And now what?
Like I said previously, I finished this painting a few months ago, an this time I’m not going to wait to start a new one.
I will paint again some traditional character or street vendor from the city where I grew up (Lima, Perú), somebody I remember. This time I will go back to some food street vendor. I’m pretty sure this time will be a “Picaronera”, which is commonly a lady that sell “Picarones” which are something similar to doughnuts, with lots of syrup on the top check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picarones

My 4x5 canvas is waiting. White, empty, just waiting to be the home of my next character.

Best regards,

Hugo