There’s a small museum in Cayey, inside the Universidad de Puerto Rico campus, that holds one of the most iconic paintings in the history of Puerto Rican art.
Painted in 1905 by multifaceted artist Ramón Frade León, El Pan Nuestro is the portrait of what Frade saw as a typical jíbaro in early 20th century. On this canvas, the painter captured the image of a sturdy man (white, older, serious) that works the land, doesn’t have a lot but at least he has something to eat because he can grow it. In the midst of the historical turmoil happening at the time, the artist wanted to represent, somewhat romantically, a part of Puerto Rico he thought would disappear after the island became a U.S. colony as a result of the Spanish-American War.
Born in Cayey in 1875, Frade was adopted by a wealthy couple when he was 2 and spent his early years in Valladolid, Madrid and Santo Domingo. His love for travel continued well into his 30’s, taking him to many cities around Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean. He visited his beloved hometown between trips until he finally settled there in 1907 and stayed until his death in 1954.
To make a living, Frade became very skilled in many disciplines - architecture, engineering, land surveying - while continuing to produce many paintings, drawings and photographs. El Pan Nuestro was and remains his best-known work and is currently part of the Casa Frade exhibit at the Museo de Arte Dr. Pío López Martínez.
This painting has also inspired a younger generation of artists eager to express a different view of what a jíbaro looks like in modern-day Puerto Rico. For example, what if the jíbaro was tired of the BS he has to put up with just to survive? Also at the UPR Cayey museum, this Banksy-style piece says a lot:
What if el jíbaro was pushed to the limit by the devastation of Hurricane Maria? (This piece is now part of the Museo de Ponce’s permanent collection).
Or maybe el jíbaro just wants to work as an artist and is ready to paint the door of the popular dive bar Esquina Watusi in Santurce.
Art for thought. Hasta la próxima.
Yanira
This newsletter is published every two weeks. Visit the Archive to discover or revisit previous posts. Thank you for reading : )
By the way…
Directed by Mary McCartney, the documentary If These Walls Could Sing tells the fascinating story of Abbey Road Studios, those studios where The Beatles (and other superstars) recorded their famous albums. It’s available on Disney+.