Newsletter #004

Hello, everyone!

So... Last week's newsletter was a problem. It was delayed due to an injury on my shoulder, but that's not important. To some degree this can be considered a rant, but if you trust me and read to the end, you will be satisfied. I promise it won't end on a sad note.

You see, there's a part of #theMadness that I love very much and it's what I like to call "Shared Madness". This refers to those moments in social media where I would bring forward some of my local colleagues and their works to my audience. Since art and alternative culture in the Dominican Republic are not really given the deserved credit, I would take it upon myself to share the pieces of my fellow artists and their upcoming events. It may not have been much but it was something.

Well, last week's newsletter was going to implement said dynamics to the newsletters and, aside of sharing where things are within this little bubble of mine, I was going to share some interesting events and art shows happening in the island that week. But then the most unfortunate yet not surprising thing happened. Someone decided that "art" was not something this country needed. Let me explain...

From the 19th to the 28th of July, "Areyto Antillano" was happening in the city of Santo Domingo. A group of amazing muralists and graffiti artists representing various latino countries had prepared a show of wonderful works. These pieces brought to the light the marvelous heritage that is shared by these artist. A remembrance of the roots that have been neglected and buried by colonialism and its consequences.

One of the many pieces created for this show was a mural gifted to the city by all the artists in unison. Such a beautiful piece gave the community something to look up to and be grateful for, which was expressed to the artists by the locals. However, not even a week later, a video started circulating of a man repainting the walls to black. The outrage of the artistic community was "felt" through repostings of the video and expressions of disgust. This is not just a bad image internationally, but it really shows the position of this country towards supporting artists and their projects.

And the ugly part is that this is not an isolated event. This has been a constant for a few decades now. It may be just me, but something happened in the 90's in this country and many cultural and artistic opportunities started to disappear. When it comes to murals, in my young life and to my understanding, the first one to go was in 2003 when Molinos Dominicanos erased a Venezuelan artist mural that was almost a national patrimony at that point. Then came the UTESA's "Obreros Pintando Nubes" situation, which was an iconic mural in the city of Santo Domingo. While it is true that the mural was in disrepair, instead of investing in a process of restoration to preserve its legacy, they just chose to completely erase the piece. This even led to legal action due to the copyright of the piece and what was agreed upon before its creation.

This kind of infringement against the artistic community can be found all over the country, with examples in Santiago, Puerto Plata, Nagua, Jarabacoa, Elias Piña and sadly many, many more... Cases like the one in Santiago are baffling, where the murals in question belonged to the School of Fine Arts. Or in Nagua, where the artists were literally called "Satanic" by the media, after a local pastor took it upon himself to spout ignorant rhetoric about the art, to then eliminate one of the murals, in less than 10 hours of its creation!!

It is certainly overwhelming, the silence from the authorities in these cases. Even louder is the effort in our society to make ignorance the norm. An interesting project to destroy our nation and to silence the voice of the artists, specially those who question the status quo. Some have even called it a "Cultural War" or more like a war against culture. But at the same time, many Dominican artists reach center stage in various other countries like Spain, the US, Argentina, Germany, South Korea, and oh! So many more. I guess that old phrase isn't wrong after all and "No one is a prophet in their own land". In some ways it feels like this society thinks its people are trash until someone else says otherwise...

The reality is a harsh lie, but it is our reality. That means we have our work cut out for us artists. It is now, more than ever, that we need to really take this narrative and create. Create to express the truth behind this lie, to break the eggshell minds and fill them with bliss and knowledge, to really question the status quo.

That's why we keep working, that's why more show are happening, and why there's a plethora of poets, painters, dancers, actors, designers, graffiti artists, musicians, even circus acts! Because we all still believe in the Power of Creation, we understand that the calling is real and the message is there for us to re-interpret and share with a world that insists on being blindfolded. We are what's left after they've burned all the books. We are the ones who will re-write them all. And we don't care if it's going to be within the DR's boundaries or not, with or without the support of society, the government, or even the people. Our voices are timeless and their echo is eternal.

Anyways!

Next week we'll get back to our regular programing and the new section of "Shared Madness" will be then introduced properly. Hope your week is productive and filled with success.

Irie bless!