Arte Latino Exhibit
March 11-21, 2004
at Madstone Theaters Hazard Center

The 2004 San Diego Latino Film Festival is proud to bring you the work of three excellent Latino artists as part of the new "Arte Latino" component of the festival.

We believe that the filmgoing experience should be enjoyed long after you leave the theater. To that end we invite you to come in early and enjoy the art, have some coffee or Chai, or linger after the films and take in the Festival atmosphere and scenery that the art provides.

Arte Latino began as part of the monthly Cine Mexicano series in 2003, and will continue in 2004. The Arte Latino series has showcased the work of such artists as Jorge MacFarland, Bill Olivas, Carmen Kalo, Jose Ramirez, Nuvia Guerra, Ricardo Islas, Bob Rob Medina, David Collazo and Perry Vasquez and Victor Payan (Keep on Crossin’).

So get ready to have a great time, enjoy the films, music and art and let this be an experience you remember long after you leave the theater.

The "Arte Latino" Exhibit will be placed at Madstone Theaters Hazard Center throughout the eleven-day film festival.  Participating Latino artists (scroll down) include:

• Alma Lopez
• Jose Ramirez
• Nuvia Guerra

Artists in Person:

• Participating artists will be present to answer questions and sign work throughout the festival. Call for details and times that a particular artist will be present.
• Purchase artwork and get one FREE ticket to see a "San Diego Latino Film Festival" movie!
• For more information, please contact "Arte Latino" Exhibit curator Andy Gonzalez at 858-689-9910 or info@mediaartscenter.org

Alma Lopez

Alma Lopez is a visual and public artist. She is internationally recognized for her innovative digital images which recontextualize cultural icons, bringing issues of race, gender and sexuality into relationship with transnationalist myths. She holds a B.A. from the University of California Santa Barbara and a M.F.A. from the University of California Irvine. Her work has been exhibited extensively as well as being featured in publications such Art in America, Flash Art International, and Ms. Magazine.

To see more of her work, log on to http://www.almalopez.net. Most recently Alma designed the artwork for the 2004 San Diego Latino Film Festival.

Jose Ramirez

José Ramirez is an artist and teacher who was born and lives in Los Angeles. He has been teaching for over 10 years in the South Central, East LA, and Pico-Union neighborhoods of Los Angeles. José received his teaching credential from CSULA and a BFA and MFA in Art from UC Berkeley. His work as an artist has taken him to New York, Japan, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Mexico. He has worked with LACMA, The Natural History Museum, White Memorial Hospital, PBS Television, KPFK radio, Homeboy Industries, Vanguard Records, the Japanese American National Museum, The Annie E Casey Foundation, Dolores Mission(LA), The California Wellness Foundation, LAUSD, Plaza de la Raza(LA) and Self Help Graphics.

His work has appeared in the series American Family (PBS), InMotionMagazine.com (read interview), and in the children’s book Nuevo Sol, (2002). In 2001, he received the Getty Visual Arts Fellowship. Most recently, Jose has been working on two children’s books for Arte Publico Press (Houston), a mural at Esperanza Elementary (LAUSD) and another in White Memorial Hospital (East LA), and has exhibited in the Bridge Gallery in City Hall (Los Angeles), the California African American Museum, and the Japanese American National Museum. This year, he has completed commissions for The Annie E. Casie Foundation (Baltimore), Bread and Roses (New York), the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (Los Angeles).

Click here for more information and photos of artist's work.

Nuvia CRISOL Guerra

I graduated from the University of California, San Diego in June 2000 with a B.S. in Biochemistry/Cell Biology and a minor in Studio Art. During my years at UCSD, an increased need for family history sparked an internal flame to research my parent’s deceased mothers. Both grandmothers passed away when my parents were children. Celebrating Dia de los Muertos enabled me to draw closer to my grandmothers and to understand their lives and personalities.

My inspiration to pursue painting arose from my first trip to Mexico City in 1996. At the time I was familiar with various Mexican artists including David Alfaro Siquieros, Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, Guadalupe Posada y Frida Kahlo. During this trip I explored the city in search of the murals, homes and studios of these artists that inspire me. Since then, I have returned to Mexico several times in order to refuel my soul with its richness in art.

Finally in 2000, I took my first painting class and was able to bring together my influences of Mexican art and culture into an ongoing series entitled Calaveras in Celebration of Life. For the Voz Alta art exhibition, I was thrilled to realize a project that began in 2000 as a scribble in my biology class notes.  La Loteria de la Mujer is a series of paintings that depicts a Latina’s evolution as she comes into full bloom in an ever-changing world. These images from my imagination were influenced by mi cultura y tradiciones Mexicanas. The full realization of this exhibition this past April 2003 was presented as a multidisciplinary project in collaboration with  Brujas y Bellas, Voz Alta’s womans writing circle and my sister Gissel Nevarez.

I aspire to use my artwork as a creative tool to broaden the understanding of Mexican culture, its people and its traditions to non-Latinos and Latinos alike. My intention is to evoke feelings of a need for family history, inspiring a better sense of life.

Weblinks:

• La Loteria de la Mujer
• www.artecrisol.com (under construction)

Email:

• nguerra11@hotmail.com