Border-inspired Latino artists among 43 in U.S. featured in Smithsonian portrait exhibit

*Check it out. If you’re in Washington DC – Chicano, Latino artists are included, it runs until January 8. We should support our artistas. VL


borderzine logoBy Luis Gonzalez, Borderzine

WASHINGTON – When someone looks into a complete stranger’s eyes he gets a glimpse of the stranger’s personality or character. When the person notices the stranger’s mud-covered feet, she might understand the stranger’s hopes or desperation. Gazing at these strangers for a moment can spark an interest in who these people are and what their stories are.

These are the kinds of emotions Gaspar Enriquez and Rigoberto Gonzalez, two of the three Latino artists chosen as finalists for the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, hope to provoke through their paintings.

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Every three years, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery seeks work from artists from all over the country to highlight the art of portraiture. In its fourth edition, the competition received over 2,500 submissions. It chose 43 finalists, whose works will be on display through Jan. 8. This is the first time three Latinos . . . READ MORE


[Photo courtesy of Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery]

Suggested reading

Luis Valdez
Luis Valdez
This critically acclaimed play by Luis Valdez cracks open the depiction of Chicanos on stage, challenging viewers to revisit a troubled moment in our nation’s history. From the moment the myth-infused character of El Pachuco burst onto the stage, cutting his way through the drop curtain with a switchblade, Luis Valdez spurred a revolution in Chicano theater.
Focusing on the events surrounding the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial of 1942 and the ensuing Zuit Soot Riots that turned Los Angeles into a bloody war zone, this is a gritty and vivid depiction of the horrifying violence and racism suffered by young Mexican Americans on the home front during World War II. Valdez’s cadre of young urban characters struggle with the stereotypes and generalizations of America’s dominant culture, the questions of assimilation and patriotism, and a desire to rebel against the mainstream pressures that threaten to wipe them out.
Experimenting with brash forms of narration, pop culture of the war era, and complex characterizations, this quintessential exploration of the Mexican-American experience in the United States during the 1940’s was the first, and only, Chicano play to open on Broadway.
This collection contains three of playwright and screenwriter Luis Valdez’s most important and recognized plays: Zoot Suit, Bandido! and I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinking Badges. The anthology also includes an introduction by noted theater critic Dr. Jorge Huerta of the University of California-San Diego. Luis Valdez, the most recognized and celebrated Hispanic playwright of our times, is the director of the famous farm-worker theater, El Teatro Campesino.
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