By The Star Staff
The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) in Carolina is slated to unveil on Friday, Sept. 13 a mural titled “La Bomba Eh!” by artist and Graphic Design Department Director John Rivas.
The acrylic painting, captured on a PVC mural, measures 96 inches high and 240 inches wide and was initially created in digital painting format in 2021, Rivas said. “La Bomba Eh!” presents an abstract scene of very colorful people looking at a fixed point on the horizon, a scene from a play that took place in the university theater. In the painting, to be unveiled in an activity slated for 5 p.m. in the theater, the bomba musical genre is projected as a link between cultures, transcending beyond color and reaffirming its presence from the past to the present.
The bomba is heavy on percussion and drums and dates back to Puerto Rico’s colonial times and African roots. The dance symbolizes resilience, passion and the hopes of a people.
Rivas said he wanted to capture the vibrant energy and rich diversity that the bomba represents.
“The abstract figures and bright colors symbolize the harmony and unity this musical genre fosters between different cultures,” the artist said. “The intense colors and dynamic shapes reflect the rhythm and passion of the bomba. At the same time, the figures’ gazes toward the horizon represent the continuity and transcendence of this cultural tradition.”
UPR Carolina Chancellor José Meza praised the mural’s emphasis on Puerto Rican roots and culture, which are part of the institution’s educational commitment.
“This work represents a great contribution to the works that are part of the legacy of permanent artistic manifestations in our campus,” he said in a statement sent to the STAR. “La Bomba is passion, happiness, and is part of our musical expression appearing today in this work. This work presents a scene that invites us to reflect through its colors and format about our history and cultural heritage.”
Renowned painter Antonio Martorell said he knew Rivas as a cartoonist and graphic artist. He said he felt that “La Bomba Eh!” is a procession that suggests more.
“The sobriety of forms and combined color with the human scene invites a reflection in these years of unfulfilled promises and progressive darkness,” he said in a statement.
Former UPR President José Saldaña, who is a painter and artist himself, said the painting “is part of us.”
“It is a work that seeks to reach students and [Rivas] has been working to come up with a very good mural,” he said, adding that he was very happy the painting will be part of the UPR Carolina theater.
According to Afro Legado, in 2015, professor, epistemologist, cultural manager, artist and historian Pablo Luis Rivera offered the first credit-bearing bomba course at UPR Carolina.
At the end of the semester in which the course was offered, a bomba play dedicated to poet Elsa Costoso Mercado was performed. Rivas took a photograph of the event in order to make a painting of the occasion, paying homage to the achievements of all the people involved in the project.
In the piece, Rivas pays tribute to all colors, cultures, races and genders.
“It is my personal tribute to a tradition that tells our story and connects and inspires us all,” he said. “When looking at this work, I hope that you feel the same vibration and connection that the Bomba gives to those of us who live and celebrate it.”
Rivas said he is dedicating the work to several people, particularly Karinee Andreu, an interior design graduate and accounting student, who helped with the work. Andreu said she is proud to be part of the work because “I love the university and have enjoyable memories.”
She said she was glad to have contributed to work that “forever will remind us of our cultural roots.”
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