El Museo Del Barrio

There's a three museum exhibit this summer titled "Caribbean: Crossroads of the World," at El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave., the Studio Museum  in Harlem, 144 West 125th St. and Queen Museum of Art, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

This weekend we visited the two parts up at el museo del barrio, "Counterpoints" and "Patriot Acts."

The large oil canvas, "Conversation" by Jamaican artist, Barrington Watson, was my favorite of the 20th century pieces in the galleries:

More about the artist here.

The older pieces were what had the most interest for us, including a John Trumble oil portrait of Alexander Hamilton (circa 1804). It was included because Hamilton, as you all know, was born on the island of Nevis, one of the least of the Leward Islands > Lesser Antilles, which border the Caribbean Basin. Soon after, his mother, not married to his father, and possibly married to someone else, moved them to St. Crois, in the Virgin Islands.  He lived his first years there, and also received his financial training, clerking in mercantile concerns.

The best was seeing some of Agostino Brunias's originals, and three in Victor Landaluze's iconic series, Tipos Populares, illustrating late 19th century Cuba, particularly Havana.  El V used some of those in Cuba and Its Music.

There were also some interesting works by Gauguin and Pissaro from their stays  on Martinque (from where hailed Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie, she who became Josephine Bonaparte, Empress of the French), and St. Lucía.

As the museo is located across from the most northern part of Central Park, we walked there and enjoyed it very much, hearing latin drumming reaching from across Fifth Avenue.  This is what used to be called Spanish Harlem.  Puerto Rico, Yo!  Then the Dominicans took over, but now it's the turn of the Mexicans. It feels homey there, just as does the Harlem of the West Side.

We had an ample, tasty, inexpensive Mexican dinner, all made with ingredients brought up from home, at a lovely, very tiny, Mexican restaurant.

Then home so I could ice my back.

Though I moved slowly and deliberately, sat down frequently, I was pleased that I'd managed to do a whole day away from home, and much of it on my feet. It's been a while since I could manage the energy for that.

Puerto Rican music festival got rained out last night.  Dang!

Tonight it's the cast-crew screening of  Red Hook Summer, yay!

Now, back to writing up my notes on the 1850 gridlock-and-violence in the Senate and House, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico and California.