![]() ![]() I’m Cuban, I’m an immigrant and I have a legacy of colonization.” “As an Afro-Hispanic being painted by Diego Velazquez, it spoke to my interest in the intersectionality of cultures because of the transatlantic slave trade and colonization. “I was very much aware of Juan de Pareja’s work because he means so much,” Vilaro tells me. “Not only does this exhibition shed more light on Pareja’s life, but it also places emphasis on his agency as a creative force through his long overlooked paintings.”Ĭenturies after Pareja’s death, Eduardo Vilaro refuses to let his’s legacy be forgotten when there is still racism inherent in our systems of politics, education, culture and society. “The Met’s purchase of Velázquez’s painting in 1971 made headlines at the time, but scholars and the press said practically nothing about the man depicted,” David Pullins, exhibition co-curator and Associate Curator in the Met’s Department of European Paintings, said of the portrait. Even after Velazquez signed a contract that released Pareja from bondage, Pareja was required to remain enslaved for a further four years. ![]() For more than 20 years, he was enslaved in Diego Velazquez’s studio, becoming the subject of a Velazquez portrait in 1654. Photo by Paula Lobo Who was Juan de Pareja?Īs a Black artist in Spain, Pareja struggled to carve out his own artistic career. Visitors to the Juan de Pareja exhibition on the octagonally-shaped first floor can gaze down at the dancers-a group that includes Fatima Andere, Leonardo Brito, Antonio Cangiano, Amanda del Valle, Dylan Dias McIntyre, Omar Rivéra and Gabrielle Sprauve-on the lower level.Ĭompany Dancers Gabrielle Sprauve and Leonardo Brito in rehearsals with Artistic Director and CEO, Eduardo Vilaro. More importantly, most viewers will watch the performance from above. I’m bringing in a wooden table and chairs because there’s a section where I really reflect on ‘The Calling of Saint Matthew’ in which Pareja places himself in his own self-portrait.” “There’s a beautiful fountain in the center, too, so I’ll be using that. “In the middle of the space, the floor is marble so there are no jumps at all in the work,” Vilaro explains. The performance space is unique, Vilaro explains, and to a degree, it shaped the choreography. There will be just seven performances of the 25-minute work, which opens on July 13 and closes on July 15. In the Western world, which has long exoticized colored artists and dancers, and in an institution that inherently speaks to the Western fascination for history-and colonial history-the onus is on Vilaro to be daring and powerful in challenging audiences while also entertaining them and inviting them to engage intellectually and emotionally with the choreography. Buscando a Juan both tempts and tantalizes audiences, adopting sensual and exaggerated gestures with fluidity. ![]()
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