Feliz Navidad

© Brandon Queen, 2013

A combination of the holidays, a never-ending analysis of Puerto Rican Spiritist literature and a part-time gig in a sexy boutique have prevented me from updating with some of the many art happenings that have taken place in San Juan since November. Some of those include a few interesting shows at Galeria Espacio 304 and yet another obscenely amazing international street art festival called Los Muros Hablan (The Walls Are Talking).

But I don't want to leave anyone empty-handed at the holidays, so rather than the gift of another review I thought I'd leave you with a stocking-stuffer run-down of what's been covered here over the past year.

Appropriately enough, this blog began with an entry about the Puerta al paisaje exhibit, where I couldn't say enough good things about painter Carmelo Sobrino. Then came my grudging acknowledgment of performance art followed by a foray into gossip and architectural history. The frivolity continued with a note about eighteenth-century European artist Luis Parét y Alcázar. 

We shot back to the modern world with a trip to a comic-inspired exhibit organised by Pernicious Press. Gritty modernity kept its hold in a brief mention of the other urban art festival, Santurce es ley. That entry was followed by a quick summary of Puerto Rico's other major artistic strength, poster art, and one of the genre's elder statesmen, Antonio Martorell. The national theme continued with a review of the National Expo 2013, where the best of the best were showcased. When spring term finals cut time short, I decided to highlight another one of San Juan's Art Deco treasures, the Arriví Theatre in Santurce.

The summer highlight was the second half of the Puerta al paisaje exhibit, Entremundanos, at the Puerto Rican Museum of Contemporary Art. As I'm a fan of extreme time travel, that review was followed by a note on the pre-columbian art of the Tainos and archaeology in Puerto Rico.

Student work got a shout-out in this review of Omar Velázquez's exhibit Undo. Finally, in October, I reviewed another survey of national art that focused on the work of Elizam Escobar at the Puerto Rico Museum of Art.

And here we are, dear readers.

I hope this past year will have introduced some of you to some amazing new work and piqued your interest in Puerto Rico's art historical tradition. It's rich and varied and what has been covered here is not even close to scratching the surface. There are new exhibition spaces opening every month and the festivals, talks, and publications are multiplying exponentially.

For now, happy holidays and hasta 2014!

Stage Presence

© Brandon Queen, 2013

Appropriate for a long absence from the blogosphere stage, my return is marked by a piece on another of San Juan's Art Deco treasures: the Teatro Arriví.

Unfortunately, this theatre doesn't have a website anywhere online so all I can say about its productions is that they are relatively frequent and are occasionally the work of international troupes.

The original venue was a cinema, one of the first in Puerto Rico in fact. After successive decades of use and abandonment, today the structure stands refurbished and has established itself as an important part of the ever-gentrifying neighbourhood of Santurce.

The theatre's namesake is Francisco Arriví, a prolific writer and literary figure that has been called the father of Puerto Rican theatre. He was especially active in the forties and completed a number of works in English.

As I said, the lack of a website makes it difficult to speak about Teatro Arriví's productions, but each time I pass by there seems to be a new banner advertising a new show or theatre festival. In fact, it was one of the main venues during the recent international theatre festival. Aside from hosting the vibrant theatre scene in Puerto Rico, it's also a great example of what architectural restoration can achieve for cultural preservation and urban development, something the city's leaders will hopefully be attentive to in the coming years.

San Juan's Ship of Dreams

© Brandon Queen, 2013

The sleek and sexy Hotel Normandie greets visitors as they round the corner from Condado heading into Old San Juan. Having remained shuttered for the better part of the past decade up to now, the sleekness and sexiness are more hinted at than actually present in its current state. But like any great ship of dreams, even the wreckage is majestic. 

Ship, you ask? Yes, although sitting on dry land and very clearly serving (having served...) as a hotel, this structure was modeled on a well-known   French cruise ship called the SS Normandie. The SS Normandie was synonymous with Jazz Age glamour and was essentially a floating boutique hotel, as this was the golden age of the cruise vacation (which didn't resemble AT ALL the buffet and fanny-pack fest the event has become). What made the ship even more famous was the crowd it entertained, including one Lucienne Suzanne Dhotelle, or as she was better known, la môme Moineau. 

A rather raucous lounge singer from France, la môme Moineau ended up on Broadway where she met the very wealthy, very bon vivant Félix Benítez Rexach. Mr. Rexach was one of the best (or at least most well-known) engineers in Puerto Rico in the twenties and thirties and after falling in love with Ms. Dhotelle he had the Hotel Normandie constructed in her honour; the relationship and other aspects of la môme's life are detailed in this book by Michel Ferracci-Porri. Upon completion, the Normandie proceeded to welcome the BCBG from all over the Americas, especially Hollywood and the various Latin American film and music industries. 

As for the architectural style of the hotel, it is called Streamline Moderne, which is a type of Art Deco that reflected the toned-down style of the Great Depression. The inside was inaccessible when I visited, so I was not able to show more than the outside version of this. However, it is easy to see in the rounded lines and simple silhouette what exactly this style entailed. In fact, this is generally the kind of Art Deco the average American (including Latin American) comes into contact with, as the more ostentatious Art Deco styles were reserved for places like Miami Beach and the ritzier parts of Los Angeles, San Juan, and Buenos Aires. Think Edward Hopper's Nighthawks diner for a representative example.

Since the early 90's, the Normandie has been in limbo. It was supposed to be up and running by the end of the decade, but some very intense, murky legal issues kept the property owners from moving forward with any of their plans. It has changed hands a couple of times since and is currently sitting idle, which is extremely disappointing. It is difficult to understand why those who have spent such large sums on a prime piece of real estate have not been able to take advantage of owning Puerto Rico's only boutique hotel. It is also quite sad, as in addition to straddling two of San Juan's most coveted tourist quarters and sitting in front of the beach, the hotel is located in one of the most interesting neighbourhoods of the metro area: Puerta de Tierra. 

Puerta de Tierra is a refreshingly residential quarter with a lot of history, stretching back to the original colonisation of the island. The eateries, shops, and galleries it hosts are full of amazing food and artwork (and not the kind of over-priced tourist trinkets you get for your grandparents). Within  a one-minute walk from the Normandie you are in the most beautiful public park in all of San Juan, a great place to bike or picnic. More about the hotel and its neighbourhood can be found here.

Let us hope that someone realises the potential of what they have and opens the doors soon - I can already picture a lazy summer Sunday with chilly sangria and a good DJ set while gazing at the glistening Caribbean waves...