Victoria Espinosa, 2024
La Campechada is a yearly art festival held at various municipalities in Puerto Rico. The festival is named after Jose Campeche, one of Puerto Rico’s first visual artist, which celebrates and remembers an iconic or historic hero of the island each year. The Cultural Institute of Puerto Rico (ICP) organizes the event with other companies and agencies, who invite local artists to display, create art work and commemorate the respected symbol. One artist is picked by a panel of judges and crowned as the best interpretation of the year’s honoree. This year’s Icon was actress, director, playwright, teacher, theatre producer and activist, Victoria Espinosa. The Rafael Tufiño Printmaking Workshop, under the direction of printmaking master Nitza Tufiño, participate each year. Each artist, creates a design on cloth and watercolor Cason prints that recognizes the history of the celebrated figure. The artwork is then added to the ICP’s permanent collection. visit The Cultural Institute of Puerto Rico (ICP) for more information.
This year I decided to go out of my comfort zone to try a new technique with printmaking. Victoria Espinosa was an activist for actors’ rights. In 1978, during a protest against nude actors in front of Teatro Tapia, Victoria invited the actors to seek refuge. That ended the protesting and the demonstrators left. I found this story very interesting because we now see ourselves also fighting for actors’ rights today. Experimenting with new techniques allowed me to combine images of her as well as incorporating the protestors reflecting on her glasses. Carving in her face was a challenge for me because it is a style I have not tried. I also used magenta on orange in order to give the image a pop art impression. The group’s designs printed on cloth were then stitched together as a quilt in order to decorate the inside of the Teatro Francisco Arriví where Victoria’s documentary was presented.
– Oliver Rios
Lola Rodriguez De Tio, 2023
My first Campecada experience was such an amazing and memorable encounter. November 18th and 19th 2023 I celebrated the art festival with my first art exhibit in San German, Puerto Rico. I was able to meet up with family to enjoy the festivities celebrating La Campechada and honoring Lola Rodriguez de Tio.
Lola Rodriguez de Tio, was a poet, writer, and activist who was born 1843 in San German, Puerto Rico. Lola was one of the first Puerto Rico born poets and is known famously for writing La Boriqueña, the Islands national anthem. She is also known for her poem To Cuba, and the quote “two wings of the same bird.” This excerpt described how Puerto Rico and Cuba shared the same struggles. Lola was pro Independent for Puerto Rico, a revolutionist, an activist for woman’s rights and helped abolish slavery on the island. Rodriguez was exiled from Puerto Rico due to her political views and traveled to Venezuela where she was also banished. She moved to New York, and then to Cuba where she would spend most of her life. for more information visit The Cultural Institute of Puerto Rico (ICP)
Working with the Rafael Tufiño Printmaking Workshop and learning how to prepare for my first Campechada exhibit was very inspiring. I’ve worked on smaller 8.5 x 11 inch linocut prints which are easier to cut and produce, but our task was to produce a 18 x 24 inch print of Lola Rodriguez de Tio. I found a younger image of her and used that as a reference. My image illustrates Lola’s journey through the sea as she travels into the unknown. Her quote which connects her love of Cuba and Puerto Rico decorates her portrait. The Palm trees honoring the beaches she would visit and the pens showcase her tools of the trade. I went on to do three sizes of this image to add to my portfolio.
-Oliver Rios
