On the lawn, families and attendees dance to the jazzy tunes of a band while delicious smells waft from a tent. Aproned volunteers gather around it, waiting for the next tray. The tables are full, the food is delicious, and the night is alive. With National Hispanic Heritage Month in full swing, this celebration of Mexican culture was a crossroads of music, dance, food, and art.
On Friday September 20, The Berman Museum of Art hosted a festival on the front lawn featuring live Latin music and food and performance art by Eugenio Salas. The festivities were a part of Arts Montco Week and Jazz Fest, as well as a celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month and the recent opening of Mexican photographer Enrique Bostelmann’s exhibit in the museum. The festivities kicked off when the musicians from Artists and Musicians from Latin America (AMLA) at Esperanza began playing. Communal Griddle by Eugenio Salas, a traveling piece of performance art also appeared, serving authentic vegetarian Mexican food throughout the night. There was also a dance floor for attendees to enjoy the music and a Petrucci’s ice cream truck for dessert.
The Communal Griddle, a traveling grill made of recycled materials by Eugenio Salas, served fresh quesadillas throughout the night. The griddle is a piece of food-based performance art featuring an ever-changing grill made of scrap material and a tent structure from which the food is served. The tent was fashioned into a screen of sorts, where the shadows of Salas and his helper Veronica Perez were projected live the whole night. They made and served over 300 vegetarian quesadillas with corn, served with a variety of salsas. Salas had collaborators bring out the quesadillas on trays, serving whoever came up to them first and traveling to serve seated attendees. Salas’ grill was inspired by his childhood in Mexico, where improvised items were often used in place of pre-made manufactured ones. The performance is meant to highlight the labor in food production, having community leaders and immigrant laborers to help with his compositions.
Live music from AMLA at Esperanza kept the night alight, playing vibrant Latin jazz music featuring a quartet of bongos, piano, guitar, and violin. A mini dance class was also held on the accompanying dance floor, teaching goers an easy Latin inspired line dance. The dance floor remained full after the dance lesson with participating attendees saying the music was “amazing” and that the lesson was “applicable to all ages, fun, and upbeat.”
This was all a response to the newly opened “Enrique Bostelmann: Apertures and Borderscapes” exhibit at The Berman Museum. The exhibit features the photography and art of Bostelmann, focusing on themes of boundaries and the ways they present in our lives. This collection is the most comprehensive solo exhibition for the late Mexican artist and his first since 2015. Apertures and Borderscapes is a blend of the many projects Bostelmann had completed throughout his 40-year-long career, featuring a variety of styles and media. Bostelmann’s art is heavily influenced by his Mexican background, with many of his works focusing on injustice, tension, and urbanization. The exhibit will be open until December 15 and free to all visitors.
The night wrapped up around 9:30 pm when the band stopped playing and the food stopped serving, and attendees packed up their chairs and blankets to go home. In the end, two hours of good music, good food, and good conversation made the night a success.