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Arts and Music Come Together at Villa Victoria

Arts and Music Come Together at Villa Victoria

This past Friday, October 2nd, we had the honor of hosting two of Puerto Rico’s most promising artists at Villa Victoria Center for the Arts. It was a memorable night, as attendees got to experience arts and culture in two very different forms. First we hosted the art exhibition, “A Happy Ending,” featuring multimedia pieces by Edgardo Larregui, then the highly anticipated indie singer, MIMA, made her Boston debut. larregui-lights Larregui brings to light societal issues to the forefront with bold paintings that go beyond the bi-dimensional plain. His exhibition highlighted the audience by making them active participants, metaphorically being the ones to bring light upon his city displayed through his art. There were flashlights hung throughout the gallery, which the public placed on their heads in order to fully appreciatethe art, changing colors once the light shone upon them. [caption id="attachment_4060" align="alignright" width="800"]Larregui-Pic-Blog Larregui with his "Dicotomía de la Belleza" on the right[/caption] Among the largest pieces was one titled “La Dicotomía de la Belleza,” (The Dichotomy of Beauty) in which Larregui played with what is considered a female icon of beauty in Puerto Rico’s media and “bombarded” the image with other typical elements of the media, mostly brands that seem to contradict that ideal of beauty. Once the audience fully immersed themselves in this side of Puerto Rico, it was time to experience the island in a completely different way, as MIMA brought with her classic folkloric sounds, with modern and alternative twists, including special sound effects recorded from nature. She started the concert in her typical style, just her and her guitar, as she filled the room with her harmonious, yet unique voice. She was later joined by Ariel Robles on bass, Kya Pérez on percussion and Johannes Peters on sound design. Fabiola Mendez, Berklee’s only cuatrista, also made a special appearance while MIMA made an homage to jibara music, a style developed in Puerto Rico’s countryside. IMG_1560 Each song had a deep and meaningful story, which MIMA willingly shared with her public. She would pause between each song talk to everyone present, and even ask her audience questions. She explained that most of her new material comes from unexpected deaths of close friends. However, her songs sound more like celebrations of life, even her “lamento” is a joyful take on a nostalgic melody. But, not all of her songs were nostalgic remembrances. MIMA had everyone dancing as she played her last song, popular Christmas tune, “La Máquina Patinaba.” Before she began playing, she enlisted a member of the audience to play the guiro (a hollow percussion instrument with grooves along its sides) and was dancing herself as she played. [embed]https://youtu.be/BjWxSwarnwY[/embed] After MIMA’s performance both artists took the stage to answer questions from the audience. They talked about the importance of bringing Puerto Rico’s culture to other places around the world and how proud they were to be able to showcase their craft here at IBA. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that came and made this a special evening. If you still feel like dancing coming up next is Gregorio Uribe’s Big Band, made up of no less than 16 musicians, coming to play cumbia like you’ve never experienced before. Saturday Oct. 14th, for more info: Bit.ly/cumbiauniversal...