In the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, the struggle to survive is real. Natural disasters, a failing economy, corrupt leadership, and the legacy of colonialism in the Caribbean are among forces that challenge sustainability and sovereignty. Outside investments in tourism have had the effect of disenfranchising locals and fragmenting the island’s creative community. San Juan born and based, curator Marina Reyes Franco has a lot to say on this subject. Her research, writing, and curating illuminate the powerful impact of the burgeoning visitor economy.
In 2019, three years after Hurricane Maria, we venture to Puerto Rico for the opening of Resisting Paradise, an exhibition Reyes Franco organized with the support of Apex Art, New York. Jamaica born artists Leasho Johnson, Deborah Anzinger, and artist Joiri Minaya, from the Dominican Republic, show work engaging at the intersection of tourism, sexuality, gender, music and the internet. We record this episode inside Espacio Pública, a newly established culture space, in San Juan’s Santurce district.
This segment of our Puerto Rico Rising series revolves around creative resistance to foreign fantasies of ‘paradise.’ The conversation exposes a few of the complex histories and current conditions that inform contemporary art in Puerto Rico and the greater Caribbean.
Voices in the episode: Naima Rodriguez, Marina Reyes Franco, Leasho Johnson, and Joiri Minaya
Sound Editor: Anamnesis Audio
Related Episodes:
The Awakening freshartinternational.com/2021/01/27/w…s-awakening/
Juan Botta Makes One-Minute Movies in Puerto Rico freshartinternational.com/2019/10/29/f…-juan-botta/
Edra Soto on the Architecture of Connecting Communities freshartinternational.com/2020/02/04/e…communities/
Mapping Caribbean Cultural Ecologies freshartinternational.com/2018/11/05/m…l-ecologies/
Related Links:
Resisting Paradise exhibition https://apexart.org/reyes-franco.php
Espacio Pública https://www.facebook.com/publicaespaciocultural/
Deborah Anzinger https://www.deborahanzinger.com/
Leasho Johnson https://www.leashojohnson.com/
Joiri Minaya http://www.joiriminaya.com/dominicanwomengooglesearch
apex art http://apexart.org/
Marina Reyes Franco
ATLAS SAN JUAN: TROPICAL DEPRESSION
Art in America, Oct 1, 2018. https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/atlas-san-juan-tropical-depression-63555/
