A New York City mansion is showcasing an exhibition named after the first title from the novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, which is called ’This Side of Paradise’. Jodie Dinapoli, the director of a non-profit art association, No Longer Empty, said the mission of the exhibition was to try and transform an empty space into a work of art. The association has already exhibited art work in numerous buildings, including the showcase of more than 30 creations at The Bronx’s Andrew Freedman Home.

’This Side of Paradise'features in a historic residence

This special exhibition is an example of the prominence of Latin American Art, which is currently experiencing something of a boom. Boasting some of the world’s most renowned art galleries, New York’s art scene has a strong Latin influence, which is partly due to the city’s large Hispanic population. The art work will be situated in 21 rooms, in addition to 2 dance halls and a corridor in the enormous New York mansion, which is more than 9,000 square metres. The residence itself is famous for being the home of Freedman and a place where elderly people who had lost all of their wealth could reside. 32 artists contributing to the exhibition were authorised to make use of historic antiques that belonged to the building’s previous inhabitants, rather than resorting to banner printing.

Other Latin American Art exhibitions in the USA

Other major exhibitions of Latin American Art in the country include the L.A. Xicano, which features five separate exhibitions showcasing the Chicano art era. Meanwhile, New York’s Museum of Modern Art will be showcasing a special collection from Diego Riviera and other themes based on Mexican social history. The Walter Art Museum of Baltimore in Maryland takes a look at some famous masterpieces from the pre-Columbian era, while the County Museum of Art in Los Angeles will feature two large exhibitions of colonial Latin American art.

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Art can come in many forms and doesn’t always have to involve paint on canvas. Take films, for example. Now I’m not suggesting that “Scary Movie 4” could be considered art – more likely a candidate for burning with gas oil – but many independent movies could and should be considered as works of art in their own right; everything from the cinematography to the musical score, from the costumes to the performances of the actors involve art and Latino movies are starting to get themselves noticed by some of the most influential people in the film industry.

The prestigious independent film festival Sundance is currently taking place in the US. Set up several years ago by actor Robert Redford, his aim was to encourage independent film makers at a time when the Hollywood movie machine had distribution and promotion sewn up, force-feeding us a diet of brainless action flicks and cheesy rom-coms. Many films that have been hits at the festival have gone on to become successful indie films worldwide and have made directorial and acting careers.

This year, Sundance is featuring more Latino movies than ever before. In particular “Mosquita y Mari”, a film on the delicate subject of two teenage girls exploring their relationship with each other, is creating a lot of buzz among festival attendees. Made by that rarest of creatures, a Latina director, the subject was a difficult one for Aurora Guerrero to address as so many people in the generally conservative Latino countries are still unwilling to deal with the subject of homosexuality, either rejecting it outright or preferring to sweep the issue under the carpet. If “Mosquita y Mari” is a success after Sundance, not only will the Latino world have to wake up and realise that homosexuality does exist in their neighbourhoods, but the rest of world will have the pleasure of watching a truly remarkable Latino work of art.

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Art is an essential part of our culture and who we are. Art represents all of the things that are important to us or that play a role in our lives. Art speaks to our dreams and our hopes, and also to our fears and nightmares. Different cultures value different things, and this is often openly represented in the art that they produce.
Art tuition, whether undertaken formally at a university or art school, or whether done under a mentor, can be essential in helping you get back to your roots and ensure that what you’re designing or painting truly reflects who you are and the culture you hail from.
Art tuition can help you hone your skills, use new techniques, and allow you to represent all of those things that are important to you as an individual and as a community member. It doesn’t have to be expensive, either: so lon gas you opt for tutelage under someone who has the skills and expertise needed to be a self-aware, reflective artist, you’ll be getting what you need to hone your skills further.
If you’ve been considering tuition for your art, but haven’t been sure whether or not to proceed, don’t hesitate any longer. Art tuition isn’t an expense: it’s an investment in your future as an artist, and also in your personal history and cultural heritage. Make the most of your artistic dreams by investing in art tuition, whether formal or informal–it’s all but guaranteed that you won’t regret even a minute of it.

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I may moan about my boyfriend most of the time – how he always leaves the toilet seat up, spends too much time and money in the pub with his mates and would rather watch football than talk to his loving and devoted girlfriend – but every now and then he does something so spectacularly wonderful and sweet that I forgive him all his faults in one fell swoop.

It was my birthday last week, and he’d been dropping hints for ages that he’d bought me some new electronic gadget. Great, I thought, another present for me that is really meant to be for him. Come the morning of my birthday he handed me a large box-shaped present. Inside was a smaller box-shaped present and inside that was one of the most gorgeous pieces of contemporary designer jewellery I have ever seen!

Turns out he’d been searching online for weeks to find a designer that creates Latin American-inspired jewellery, and had finally found a lady based in Brazil, but who has a business partner in London. Luckily for him, they also do mail order, or it would have cost him even more money to travel down to London to pick me out something nice! As it is, he wouldn’t tell me how much it cost, but it was the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me. Turns out he was paying attention all those hours I spent going on and on about how much I love Latin American culture and how their art is so beautiful. Of course, the problem he has created for himself now is that he has to live up to this high standard every time he buys me a gift…

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The town has been growing in popularity in recent years as the entrepreneurial residents have actively tried to preserve its heritage and promote it as a tourist destination. As well as the preserving landscape they have opened a hotel and a museum and many of the ladies work produce traditional embroidery to sell to the tourists. So what was once a traditional craft passed on from mother to daughter, is now an thriving business with international clientele as they sell they products not just to visitors but also online to people all over the world.

Tourism is really in it’s infancy in Paraguay but this is about to change as in 2010 the first ever dedicated guidebook was written about the country. So where in the past people would skip out Paraguay from their itinerary due to lack of information, now a whole new treasure trove of undiscovered and comparatively untouched territory is available and easily accessible to visitors.

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While checking online for office supplies uk, a colleague showed me a piece of Latin art. He began to analyse and talk about the piece with so much passion. He also showed me a piece of painting by a Mexican artist and explained how the art work connects with the history of Mexicans. After a while, he noticed that I was not saying anything and asked me to share information on my art collections. He knows that I have some really awesome collections but I had to confess to him that I know nothing about them. I just got them because they are lovely. I said the only thing I know much about is Mexican TV soaps. On hearing that, he responded elatedly about the popularity of these soaps in West Africa. We had a nice time talking about how Mexican soaps are usually based on love stories. All the ones we have both watched were dubbed to English likewise their titles.

We also discovered that we both memorised some soundtrack of these movies which were not even in English and neither of us speaks Spanish. He shared how he used to rush his homework in order to watch Wild Rose. His mum used to threaten him that he won’t be allowed to watch anytime he misbehaves. We also shared memories about No One But You which according to him was also a hit. Others we spoke about were the Gardener’s Daughter and Cuando Seas Mia which some call Paloma and Diego. When I think of the reach of these soaps, I can’t help but be amazed about the cross-border appeal of the Mexican culture

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While checking out some really nice jewellery for a planned purchase later this year my friends were engaged in an intense argument about Psychedelic art and its influence of the culture of the seventies. I knew very little about the art form so I did some digging online and was surprised at what I learnt.

The Psychedelic Art Movement is closely associated with the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and popularity of hallucinogenic drugs. The term psychedelic refers to a state of distorted sensory perceptions, and an altered state of awareness. Colors and patterns are perceived as brighter and more bizarre, in a psychedelic state, hence the art that resulted from this state was dubbed psychedelic art. This psychedelic state tended to be induced by hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD.

The research of psychiatrist Oscar Janiger, from the 1950s to 1960s, regarding LSD and artistic creativity, contributed to psychedelic art by helping to define the style: abstract, colorful, surreal and fantastic.

The movement found a new medium in poster art, closely linked with the counterculture music scene. Leading artists include poster artists from the heart of the counterculture movement, San Francisco, such as Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse & Alton Kelley, Wes Wilson, and Victor Moscoso.

While this movement hit the mainstream via visual art in the 1960s, psychedelic art can be seen in literary works from authors describing experiences with hallucinogens like peyote and hashish from as early as the 1930s. The influence of surrealist art, from the 1920s, can also be seen in psychedelic art.

Today, the style and spirit of psychedelic art, with the bright, colorful kaleidoscopic patterns and warped use of color, space and lettering, continues on without the use of hallucinogens.

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You couldn’t really have a blog about all things Latin American and not have at least one post dedicated to the Queen of Mexican art, Frida Kahlo. It is almost too difficult to do justice to her paintings in words; you simply have to see them in the flesh to appreciate their beauty. It’s like trying to explain what a Sarah Jane Szikora print looks like to someone who’s never seen a piece of her work before!
So, I’ve decided I won’t even try to tell you what a Kahlo painting looks like. I’d only fall way short and probably put you off ever going to see her stuff in an exhibition. Instead, here’s a potted history of her fascinating, vibrant and scandalous life! Though even in this ambition, I’ve already been out-done by the fabulous biopic which was a labour of love for the Mexican actress Salma Hayek – the prettiest Kahlo I’ve ever seen…
Who was Frida Kahlo? She was born in 1907, though later in life she always claimed her birth date was in 1910, to coincide with the Mexican revolution. She suffered poor health all her life, something which affected her mental health and her relationships, including her marriage to fellow Mexican artist, Diego Rivera. That anguish can be seen etched into every one of her self portraits – a subject matter she would return to again and again throughout her career.
One of the most quoted facts about Kahlo is sadly nothing to do with her painting, and I feel loathe to mention it in this blog, but I know people will only wonder why I failed to mention her affair with Leon Trotsky during his exile in Mexico. In fact, both Kahlo and her husband had more than their fair share of extramarital relationships. There are not many women who can claim to have been intimate with both Trotsky and Josephine Baker!

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Much as it would be great to travel across the Atlantic to learn about Mexican culture and art in Mexico itself, not all of us have the few thousand pounds we need to get there. Instead, we have to settle for a few tortillas and margaritas on a Friday night with our friends, wandering round a Frida Kahlo exhibition in town or treating ourselves to a piece of “authentic” London-made Mexican jewellery.

There are a few ways to get a little closer to Latin America, right on your doorstep, if you’re lucky enough to live in an area where there are some immigrants, or some enthusiastic fans of all things Mexican. Check out local listings for cultural events or art shows; OK, you might not be in luck if you live in the middle of nowhere, but us Londoners are a little more spoiled than that!

For example, last year I went on a great course at Milagros, the fabulous Mexican shop in east London. Even if you’re a complete novice to Mexican culture and foods, this is a great place to start! The course not only taught us Latin American newbies all about the ’Day of the Dead'festival, but even allowed us to make our own models and puppets for the upcoming celebration. Of course, the attendees decided to go out and have our very own Cinco de Mayo celebration in the local Mexican cantina, complete with our newly created puppets!

It’s not much of an alternative to actually going to the real Mexico, but it’ll do for now. And I’ve made lots of new Mexican friends by hanging out at Milagros too; so hopefully that will provide me with some cheap accommodation when I finally make it on my dream holiday…

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Volunteer in Cusco, Peru, the gateway to Machu Picchu. Stay in the centre of town and help this enchanting but impoverished community by improving schools, working with children and local homes. You’ll get the opportunity to stay in a local hostel or a 4 man tent so long as you don’t mind roughing it.

Cusco is a small town at an elevation of 11,150 feet. It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere (a few hours by plane from the capital, Lima) but that by no means implies that it’s a boring place to be. Before the westerners discovered Machu Picchu and the area, it was an important place for the Incan natives as Cusco was the capital of the Incan empire. There is still some debate about what Machu Picchu was used for but Cusco was always an important city and the Spaniards certainly took that on and put their stamp on it, clear with the Plaza de Armas smack dab in the middle of town as well as with the Catholic cathedral and church. It may be small but Cusco is teeming with life, from the indigenous women who come down from the mountains to sell sweets and cocoa leaves on the street, to dreadlocked backpackers passing through to hardcore hikers looking for a natural high. It is a truly enchanting place and once you visit, you will be trying to find the right words to describe it to family and friends back home for years to come - but it won’t be easy, it’s a unique and inspirational place that should be on everyone’s “bucket list”.

Children in the Cuzco area sometimes do not have things we assume everyone gets like an education, clean clothes and books to read. It’s a sad truth to confront but once you meet these kids you will be amazed at how much joy they give you in the week you spend with them. By being a volunteer in Cusco, you will be doing many activities alongside these kids and will really get to see how something simple like making a photo album with them or helping them prepare dinner influences their lives in a positive way. Yes, the work might be challenging but when you are making repairs to the children’s home (or Albergue) you won’t notice the thin air or even that you might not speak Spanish. The majestic mountains, the brightly coloured ponchos, the local people so eager for you to try a Pisco Sour or Ceviche will inspire you to help out as much as you can while hopefully learning about this ancient and beautiful place.

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