Bienvenido a Casa (Welcome Home)

A home and a house are not the same thing.  Home is the place where our soul and spirit reside; it’s the secret haven of our faith, hopes, memories, dreams and aspirations.  Home is family and family is home.  A house is simply a physical space: fragile and temporary.  Nonetheless important because it provides shelter and stability to a family.  And when a house is filled with the love of a family…then we call it home.  

The inspiration of “Welcome Home” (Bienvenido a Casa) is about the resilient spirit of the family represented by the “guaraguao”.  The restless struggle to stand up and move forward after the destruction left by hurricane María.  The first shock is sad; the grief of a destroyed house, the facing of chaos, the necessity.  Welcome Home tells the story of coming back stronger, how the family has to take steps back in order to move forward to look for a brighter and better future.

Its about how family is forced to live without modern amenities and forced to reconnect and live the way our loved ancestors used to.  Elements depicted in the painting, such as: the coffee machine “la greca”, the “hammock”, the “quinqué”; while in modern times these where regarded as memorabilia, all of the sudden become part of our daily use, becoming relevant, useful and nostalgic.  

The most transcendent element in the painting is the “perfect window”.  Like our souls, untouched by María, the window represents the space where we look in, out and  within.  It connects our past with our future, it brings light and hope to our souls…and when the shapes and the colors of the new day are bright again in our hearts and we are able to again share the best of us…that is when we say: “Welcome Home” (Bienvenido a Casa).

Mixed Media over Canvas.