Guatemalan artists harness power of the web

Renata Avila, one of the authors of Global Voices, the international blog network, writes about how the web is being used by Guatemalan painters and artists, wherever they are in the world.

"Sebastián Sarti is Guatemalan, but was born in Costa Rica, where his Guatemalan father was exiled and married his Puerto Rican mother. He grew up in Nicaragua, lived for a while in Guatemala, and now he is dedicated to his paintings in Aix et à Marseille. He is sharing his works on his personal blog El Desorden de la Cabeza (The Mess Inside My Head)," writes Avila.

She goes on to feature Guatemalan artists in Antigua, New York and France - you can read about them and find links to their blogs here.

Global Voices was founded in 2005 by Rebecca MacKinnon, a former CNN bureau chief in Beijing and Tokyo, and Ethan Zuckerman, a technologist and Africa expert, while both were fellows at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. The idea for the project grew out of an international bloggers’ meeting held at Harvard in December 2004 and it began as a simple blog. (Here's a written report and podcast of that meeting).

— Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Jumex Collection owner says architectural choice not 'malinchismo'

You might remember last week we reported that the contemporary art collection, Coleccion Jumex, had appointed a British architectural firm, David Chipperfield Architects, to build its hot new gallery space closer to the Mexico City action.

At the time of writing the dispatch, we were also curious to know why owner Eugenio Lopez Alonso, heir to the Jumex juice fortune, opted for a British firm.

In Mexico, the term "malinchismo" is used to refer to the favoritism Mexicans sometimes show toward foreigners over other Mexicans. The term comes from the name given a woman who was adviser and lover to the leader of the Spanish Conquest, Hernan Cortez. The woman, Doña Marina, was called La Malinche by the Aztecs, who labeled her a traitor and harlot for her role as Cortes's ally as he conquered Mexico, her homeland.

Here is Lopez Alonso's response, sent via email (translated from Spanish):

Gallery takes graffiti off the streets

Karla Lizbeth Zunega Chavez, 20, who uses the identity "Fanzye" for her work, grew up saving her pocket money to spend on aerosol cans.

"I didn't eat anything at the weekend so I could go and buy a box of cans, or sometimes I'd just buy three because of the cost," she says.

Now her work, and that of other young Mexican graffiti artists, has been taken off the streets by a family-business partnership and placed in a gallery in downtown Mexico City.

Cave Men Did It First is the first permanent art space in the city dedicated exclusively to graffiti.

See more posts on art and culture here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Coleccion Jumex moves closer to Mexico City action

La Coleccion Jumex, one of the largest private collections of contemporary art open to the public in Latin America, is planning to move from its location on the outskirts of Mexico City closer to the action in the capital’s center.

Hollywood's new big-screen star: Diego Rivera

The great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera was a movie lover who in the course of his life befriended such cinematic luminaries as Edward G. Robinson and Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein. So it was only fitting  Sunday night that images of several of Rivera's monumental murals were illuminated and projected onto a giant screen (flown in from Ohio) at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, next to Universal Studios.

The spectacle was emceed by Gregorio Luke, former director of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach and a full-time promoter of making fine art more accessible to mass audiences. In his previous job, Luke hosted an annual "Murals Under the Stars" event in the museum's parking lot. Now he's hoping to draw new, larger crowds to works by some of Mexico's 20th century masters. Upcoming lecture/performance shows by Luke this summer at the L.A. County-run venue, across the 101 Freeway from the Hollywood Bowl, will spotlight Rufino Tamayo and Miguel Covarrubias.

Read our report here about Luke's efforts to give Mexican art the same monumental platform as "Land of the Lost" or "Star Trek."

-- Reed Johnson

Caption: Gregorio Luke presents a slide show on Diego Rivera in Hollywood on Sunday. Credit: Axel Koester / For The Times

Preview the Mexican movies hitting Los Angeles in Hola Mexico festival

"L.A. audiences would seem to need no introduction to Mexican cinema. The city has the nation's largest Mexican American population, it's the adopted home of many of Mexico's leading actors, directors, cinematographers and designers, and there are numerous venues and festivals here that regularly screen Mexican films,'' reports Reed Johnson.

"But in bringing his Hola Mexico Film Festival (which kicks off today) to Los Angeles for the first time, Samuel Douek wants to show U.S. audiences that Mexican cinema continues to thrive, several years after international breakout hits such as 'Amores Perros' and 'Y Tu Mamá También' ushered in a new wave of Mexican movie creativity," Johnson adds.

You can read the rest of Johnson's report here, and sit back and enjoy the trailers for some of the films in this year's festival below. See more posts about film on La Plaza here, and sign up at the festival's Facebook page for updates.

Fiction series on Mara Salvatrucha wins Webby Award

Filmmaker fascination with the violent Mara Salvatrucha street gangs continues, and this time it's a Web fiction series that's garnering attention.

"The Ten Commandments of la Vida Loca, " a Web series of short fiction films that tell the story of two brothers who decide to join the Mara Salvatrucha, will receive the Webby Award for best drama series during a ceremony in New York this evening. You will be able to see clips of the event on the Webby Awards YouTube channel. 

The fiction series was funded by Filmaka, an online global creative organization that focuses on "inspiring and rewarding creativity and talent by providing professional opportunities for directors and writers all around the world," according to its website.

British designer Zandra Rhodes shows herself in Mexico

Zandra Rhodes, the British fashion designer, is the focus of an exhibition in Mexico City's Franz Meyer Museum for the next few months called "Pasion por la moda / A lifelong love affair with textiles."

American design duo launches arts and culture mag in Nicaragua

Nicaragua's culture, arts and music scene is the focus of a new magazine launched by two American designers living in the country's capital, Managua.

Mexican artist's intricate sketchings in cafe surroundings

Jesus Chairez, a Texan who now lives in Mexico City's Santa Maria la Ribera neighborhood and runs his own blog, often sees an 80-year-old artist, Humberto Martinez, drawing sketches using a fine-point black Bic pen at a cafe.