costa rican artists – katherine stanley obando

Money, even a little, is power

Posted on September 3, 2020September 8, 2020 by stanleyobando

Right before I started the Daily Boost last year, I stumbled upon the Alma Artesana shop in Curridabat and fell in love with its mission of helping individual artisans make it as a group. I realized how important it was to buy my Christmas presents there instead of ordering things on Amazon to await my arrival in the States, as I sometimes have in the past. The shop, featured in an early post, awakened a new interest in shopping local.

Over the subsequent months, I got out to more farmer’s markets, an incredible family pasta shop, independent bookstores and neighborhood shops. I learned about Local Keeps, which connects lots of Costa Rican “makers” to international customers. I wrote about lots of artists: Raudyn Alfaro, Vivian Víquez of Corteza, Francisco Munguía, Priscilla Aguirre, Carolina Rodríguez of Chepeart, the street art platform Costa Rica en la Pared, No Estamos Todas, and many more. However, things really shot into a new gear with the global pandemic. Like so many other consumers around the world, I realized that every dollar I spend supports somebody. Sometimes, it’s a gazillionaire in a castle made of gold bricks, and that’s just the way that is. Whenever possible, though, we can try to support the person who’s on the other side of the counter or bank transfer.

I also realized that incremental changes are ok. They’ve had to be, during a year this overwhelming and with this many economic challenges. But the weekly box of veggies that arrives now on Sundays from a local farm: that helps. The meals we order from a rotating circle of the neighborhood restaurants we’re most worried about: that helps. Somehow, 2020 helped shake loose some of the guilt I used to feel about responsible spending and make me realize that hey, any dollar (or colón) redirected to a better recipient is a win. So just focus on your wins.

My family went back to Alma Artesana a few days ago for the first time in awhile. I went in for cloth face masks, but we ended up lingering much longer than we meant to, thrilled by the store’s gorgeous new location (just south of the McDonald’s across from Plaza del Sol, if you’re in the neighborhood), and the amazing work of the craftspeople it represents. While every product in the store and every woman working there has a story of stress and 2020 trouble, it was inspiring – and a huge relief – to see them surviving and maybe even thriving.

I think the newfound consciousness so many of us have gained about the power of our money, even just a dollar, might help more success stories come true as we emerge.

How a tiny cat launched a creative empire

Posted on June 23, 2020 by stanleyobando

Next up in this Creativity Week is Priscilla Aguirre. She’s one of my favorite local artists, the force behind the Holalola brand and the illustrator of my book back in 2016, much to my eternal delight. During the pandemic, she’s been putting forth lots of new designs. This week she unveiled a new website that goes behind the scenes of her creative process.

While it’s brand-new, it’s already full of great stuff, from a recipe for coconut pancakes (what? Yes, please), to tips to creating a gallery wall in your home, to a beautiful essay about how Holalola came to be. It turns out Priscilla adopted a cat years ago, Lola, and that cat changed everything.

So confident did Lola make Priscilla that she – the artist, that is, not the cat – even managed to take a trip to San Francisco with her young son. There, at an exhibit, she saw the artwork that eventually inspired Holalola, a business named for the cat that made it all possible. The cat has gone, but “now, I am Lola,” Priscilla writes.

In this time of great stress and tremendous creativity, here’s to the Lolas who make it possible for us to change and strive. And, if you’re a Spanish speaker, please check out lolaturquoise.com. You’ll be glad you did.

Happy birthday, Francisco Amighetti

Posted on June 1, 2020 by stanleyobando

On this date in 1907, the Costa Rican artist Francisco Amighetti was born in San José.

I learned from the Annex Galleries website that unlike many of his contemporaries, he decided to work as an artist in Costa Rica despite the scarcity of opportunities here at the time. It paid off: his work eventually gained such renown that he was able to tour Europe, and he continued to work as an artist up to his death in 1998.

He produced watercolors and work in other media, but I love his woodcuts best, and found “Discord” this morning on the Galería Valanti site. How fitting for the present moment. As I gazed at it, distracted from the news for moment by my curiosity about what the heck is going on in the image, my resident art enthusiast passed behind me and observed that it was inspired by Botticelli’s “Calumny of Apelles.” Naked Truth and an array of vices and virtues play out their drama in both. In Amighetti’s, there’s a comforting glimpse of rolling Costa Rican countryside in one corner.

As a wise friend just said to me, discord can be a blessing. Here’s to discord that reveals, and to truth revealed. And to art that keeps us wondering long after the artist is gone.

Honoring an artist with a giant heart

Posted on April 9, 2020 by stanleyobando

If you’ve ever strolled through an art fair in Costa Rica – or a San José neighborhood, for that matter – you’ve almost certainly seen the work of Francisco Munguía, the artist Costa Rica is mourning after his untimely death this week from causes not yet made public. He was 43.

His work was playful and instantly recognizable. It almost always brought a smile to the viewer’s face: you might remember his animal parodies of famous works of art, as in the featured image. However, he also put his skills at the service of social and environmental causes that needed visibility. Even during this COVID-19 crisis, he used his art to remind us that the #stayathome reminders ignore the many people for whom the shelter of a home is only a dream:

He was the official illustrator of animal rights, selling paintings and products celebrating dogs and earning money for their protection. One of his most viewed works was surely “Monumento al zagüate (perro callejero),” a series of metal sculptures of street dogs that graced the Avenida Central in the heart of San José to remind us to be kind to abandoned animals.

He also raised awareness of dangers to wildlife. He made us think about why marine life depends on us to think about fishing practices when we choose what to put on our plates, and why forest animals count on us to provide safe crossings across our highways:

According to the many tributes following his death, his favorite thing was to share his art with communities, and paint more than 100 murals around the country, focused particularly on low-income neighborhoods.

He’s left a whimsical, lasting, poignant legacy, but it’s clear he will be deeply missed.

Day 69: A lo hecho pecho

Posted on December 19, 2019 by stanleyobando

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that “Chola al viento,” by Manuel Vargas, is my favorite piece of Costa Rican art. The good news is it’s very easy to see her when you visit San Jose: she presides over the entrance to the city center from the west. (Her sister, the older and more famous “La Chola,” stands near the Central Bank offices further east on the same boulevard.)

This has been a hard week, and this statue, who stands so resolutely at one end of the city’s main pedestrian boulevard, is my inspiration today. She is surrounded at almost all hours of the day or night by a pulsing sea of people behind her and a herd of cars in front of her. Nothing can deter her or rob her of her peace. Just take a look: both this image and the featured image are from La Nación.

The way she is standing, with her chest thrust forward, reminds me of the saying “A lo hecho, pecho.” My husband says it all the time. It’s like “Don’t cry over spilled milk,” but it works so much better: the next time you need to hear this in your life, say this to yourself and push your chest out with pride. Literally, it’s “To what’s done, chest.” I think it means to move onward, but also to hold your head up high, put your shoulders back, brush them off and carry on.

At least, that’s what I take from it today. An that’s the message I get every single time I look at “Chola al viento.” Thank you, don Manuel, for putting this serene and badass woman at the heart of our city.

Day 61: I want to send you a boost in the mail!

Posted on December 9, 2019December 9, 2019 by stanleyobando

One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to send someone a Costa Rican care package – and that moment has arrived. I’ll send a little box of CR love to a Daily Boost reader next week! To my delight, three of my favorite local businesses jumped on board to make the package even more amazing: Santo Café, Alma Artesana and Holalola Travel Gifts.

I’ve gotten lots of messages over the years from from Ticos abroad who miss their country during the holidays or non-Ticos who wish they were here. I am excited to reconnect with some of those same people through this contest and meet others who love Costa Rica, so even if you yourself aren’t interested, I’ll hope you’ll share the contest anyway so we can welcome some new readers into the fold before the year is out. (You can also transfer your win to a friend if, say, you live in Costa Rica or are visiting soon and would rather someone else benefit. So come one, come all!)

To enter, simply:

1. Like the Daily Boost on Facebook or Instagram, if you haven’t already.

2. Like the post about this contest (from today, Monday, Dec. 9).

3. In the comments for that post, tag a friend who might like the Boost in general, and/or this contest in particular. (I’ll give you a bonus entry if, in that same comment, you tell me a little about one of your favorite Costa Rican holiday memories or experiences – sights, sounds, smells, treats, people you miss – so I can share them in a later post. But this is a bonus, not required. I have plenty of readers who have not yet set foot in Costa Rica!)

Note: If you follow the blog via email and refuse to be on Facebook or Instagram, I think you are awesome. Simply comment below to enter, and tell a friend another way.

This will close Weds. at midnight EST. On Thursday, Dec. 12, I will draw and announce the winner, and I’ll send a package to any address in the Americas. It includes:

Delicious coffee from Santo Café (which sources its beans from the award-winning coffee region of Los Santos)
A gorgeous Gallopin in the shape of the Costa Rican flag and a lovely dried-flower resin paperweight from Siempreviva (both Alma Artesana artisans)
A package of Holalola postcards featuring all seven provinces, plus her whimsical Christmas card
A signed copy of “Love in Translation: Letters to My Costa Rican Daughter,” because of course
Some traditional Costa Rican sweets, including a Tapita Navideña, Guayabitas, and a delicious box of rainbow Chocofrutas.
Plus Salsa Lizano. You gotta have it.

Help me bring a little Costa Rican fun to someone’s holiday – and thanks for reading this year!

Day 47: If you love San José, you must follow this artist

Posted on November 19, 2019November 20, 2019 by stanleyobando

I only found her Instagram account a few days ago, but I’m already figuring out which corner in my house will belong to Carolina Rodríguez of ChepeArt.

San José is a marvelous city wrapped in a thick layer of crud. It frustrates me almost every day, and yet I feel more at home walking down Avenida Central in a crowd of people than in any other place on the planet. Yup, right about here.

Rodríguez’s images wipe away the worst struggles of the city and show off the iconic structures and places that make us proud to be josefinos. Somehow, the scrubbly look of her prints captures the imperfect nature of the scenes, such as this one featuring the public phones downtown that I used to search for a job during my first days in Costa Rica in 2004. (Yes. With a phone card. As my daughter says, “Those were days of yore.”) This was my office:

If you, too, love this city, follow Rodríguez on Facebook or Instagram – where you can also see the places where her work is displayed or for sale – and you’ll get a little happy boost of colorful Chepe whenever you need one.

Day 42: An artist who makes me smile every week

Posted on November 12, 2019November 11, 2019 by stanleyobando

When I found out that artist Priscilla Aguirre was going to illustrate my book in 2016, I smiled from ear to ear – and ever since, glimpsing her new creations on social media has been a regular pleasure of mine.

Aguirre’s distinctive style and brand, Holalola, grew out of her desire to showcase a side of Costa Rica’s beauty that isn’t often captured in postcards: the taxis, neighborhoods and idiosyncrasies of San José and other communities. These days, you can find Holalola posters, mugs, aprons and more, commemorating all seven provinces, Costa Rican traditions and much more. She’s even branched out into agendas and dolls.

Follow Priscilla and Holalola on Facebook and Instagram for happy, colorful boosts of Costa Rica anytime – and visit her online store or shop in Barrio Dent if you want to see more.

Day 30: Let’s startle the world with beauty

Posted on October 25, 2019 by stanleyobando

Superfluous beauty is one of the best things about the human race. We’re gratuitously violent and stupidly destructive, and then we write novels. Build cathedrals. Paint intricate designs on oxcarts when it would have been so much easier for the hardworking people who fill, empty and guide them over misty mountains to leave them unadorned.

Who started this, in fact? Who was the first person to say, “This cart is an opportunity for startling beauty?” Costa Ricans and those of us who know the country say, “Of course, another fabulous oxcart,” but imagine coming across one for the first time, out of the blue, as you push heavy sacks of coffee through the hills or fog or heat with your normal, simple cart. Wouldn’t your jaw drop? You’d shrug or smirk, but just picture that spectacular blaze of color out of nowhere.

Just think – whoever it was, the person who first painted an oxcart was our relative, our fellow person. We all have that same potential to make something lovely that has no business being lovely. Any of us can choose to startle the world with beauty. May this weekend include a chance to make something unnecessarily awesome (on a plate, on a page, on a canvas, in a garden) – and may we take those chances when they come.

Day 21, Monday Motivation: Meet a Nicaraguan refugee changing lives in Costa Rica.

Day 22, Tuesday Beauty: An international treasure hunt for the lost tapes of a music legend.

Day 23, Wellness Wednesday: A parenting epiphany at the skate park.

Day 24, Thursday Exploring: A pic from a Costa Rican park (no one has identified it yet!).

Have a great weekend…

Day 27: A quest for the lost tapes of a music legend

Posted on October 22, 2019October 23, 2019 by stanleyobando

My husband and I were strolling through the Costa Rican Caribbean town of Cahuita years ago when we spotted an unmistakable figure: music legend Walter Gavitt Ferguson, just sitting on his front porch. Costa Ricans tend to take close encounters with national heroes in stride – natural enough, in a country of five million – but I was practically struck dumb in the presence of this person whose voice had enchanted me for years. My fussing was out of place in the southern Caribbean, where conversations are mellow and steps are slow. It’s not a landscape that lends itself to big egos or dramatic scenes.

That’s why it’s so easy to imagine that don Walter, during the 70s, 80s and 90s, simply gave away or sold one-of-a-kind cassette tapes of his original recording sessions to tourists and music lovers. He never made copies for himself: he simply sent his work out into the world, one priceless plastic case at a time. In 2017, his youngest son, Peck, and world music aficionado Niels Werdenberg teamed up to ask the world to return the favor. Send a long-lost Ferguson tape to them, and they’ll compile the work into a digital archive, preserving Ferguson’s work for new generations.

By don Walter’s 100th birthday earlier this year, the Walter Gavitt Ferguson Tape Hunt had already rescued more than 60 original songs from tapes sent in by music lovers around the world. However, they estimate there are still many dozens of songs out there, undiscovered – and don Walter has forgotten much of his repertoire, making the missing tapes a crucial piece of the puzzle.

From walterferguson-tapehunt.mozello.com/

Want to help? You can: simply by sharing the story. You never know who might see your post. It might just come to the attention of another music lover out there whose memories, like mine, hold a lazy Cahuita afternoon and a brush with a legend. That person may even have a cassette stashed in a drawer that is just waiting to share the treasure within: that warm, wry smile of a voice, soaked in sun and rough with sea salt, traveling the world, ever dreaming of Limón.

Read more: http://walterferguson-tapehunt.mozello.com/join/. Many thanks to my old friend and massive Ferguson fan Tammy Zibners, who saw that I mentioned don Walter in a Daily Boost last week and tagged the Tape Hunt so I could learn about this amazing project. And here’s a little taste of that voice: