Botero at the NOMA

The other evening held a special Botero exhibit and a movie viewing at the New Orleans Museum of Fine Art (NOMA).

I was introduced to Fernando Botero by a former Spanish teacher and was amazed and offended by Botero in that first encounter. He is an artist who “illustrates the comedy of the human life” with grossly obese characters. The temporary exhibit at the NOMA is the first exhibition since 1974, which chronicles all the works ever produced by Botero. I found it incredible to witness first-hand the ever growing plethora of art produced by Botero, who is now in his late-seventies and continues to paint, sculpt and draw. I quickly made my way through the rather small, but thorough exhibit of Botero’s works, in order that I might catch the night’s feature film.

The movie screened that night was entitled Favela Rising, a personal account of the lead performer's experiences in the musical group AfroReggae who cries for justice in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Born in the blood and gun shot of “Brazil’s Bosnia,” Anderson Sá asked himself how he could “end the violence…and use music as an instrument of change.” AfroReggae was his answer.

Two seemingly unrelated cultural venues of Latin American social unrest paint the picture and screen the images of aberrant corruption and heartache in a beautiful and sometimes forgotten part of the world. I also asked myself a question: How could such a beautiful place have so much violence? To this Anderson Sá says, "I wanna be a miracle," and change himself, his family and the world around him.