I went to UCF to attend a lecture by SVAD professor of art history Ilenia Colón Mendoza. She gave a talk about The Puerto Rican Jíbaro.” Which explored the jíbaro as a symbol of Puerto Rican identity, tracing its use by artists, political movements, and musicians.
In the context of Puerto Rico, “jíbaro” refers to a traditional, self-sufficient farmer or rural worker, often living in mountainous regions. Since I have been getting my hands dirty working the soil each day, my curiosity was piqued.
The lecture was at the UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSC), 12405 Aquarius Agora Dr, Orlando, FL but a room number was not noted. I noticed an older man walking towards the Nickelson school carrying a guitar case. Instinct told me that he was likely going to the lecture so I followed him and sure enough he lead me to an auditorium. I was a bit late so I set up in the back row and immediately started sketching.
Puerto Rico was under colonial rule of Spain for over 400 years and in 1898 it was handed over to United States colonial rule after the Spanish-American War. The colonial rulers liked to portray the jibaro as lazy but the opposite was true. They were educated and industrious working extremely hard to tame the land. Ilena showed many examples of the jibaro depicted in art. The straw hat would resemble a halo and the plantains harvested would be held as a large bundle of sometimes stand in as a mustache of even replace the head of the person depicted. The machete used to harvest was a symbol of power.
Paret y Alcázar has been recognized as the most accurate Spanish interpreter of French Rococo painting. After studying at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, he was appointed painter at the Court of King Carlos III in 1762. He was banished to Puerto Rico for his bad behavior at the Court, he arrived on the island in 1775, where he remained until 1778. During the short period of his stay on the island he carried out commissions for the Mayor’s Office and played an important role in the education of painter, José Campeche, his only disciple. Among the works created in Puerto Rico his self-portrait, painted in 1776, stands out. Barefooted and dressed in the typical clothing of the Puerto Rican peasant, it was sent to King Carlos III so he would pity his situation and put an end to his exile. This image is held up as the standard of the jibaro living off the land. The self portrait is not of a peasant but of an accomplished court painter.
Images shown progresses to the modern day with the singing icon of Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio), who uses the imagery of the jabaro in how he presents himself. Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and record producer. Known as the “King of Latin Trap”, Bad Bunny is credited with helping Spanish-language rap music achieve mainstream popularity in the worldwide market.
Ilenia Colón Mendoza built her thesis around the art of Puerto Rico and her passion for the subject certainly was evident in this hour long presentation. The musician I followed into the presentation turned out to be a musicologist who was quite familiar with the history of Puerto Rican music. I am glad this presentation was open to the public.