The quarterly arts journal, Tragaluz – a new program of Daphne Art Foundation – makes its debut with a launch party, Friday, April 5, at Casa Daphne on the same evening that Leah Patgorski’s Cards in the Air exhibit opens there.
Casa Daphne is at 1420 Washington St.
Printed in full color, the 24-pages of the first issue of Tragaluz offer:
• Wordsmith Ryan Cantu’s review of the Cruz and Olivia Ortiz exhibits (Danza de los Fantásticos y El Super Mix and Cosmic Lines: From There to Here, respectively) currently at the Laredo Center for the Arts; as well as a story on the new direction of the Laredo Center for the Arts. Cantu, an Austin attorney, is a former Laredoan.
• Seyde García’s personal essay on the impact of Caminarte and her work as a writer.
• A narrative by muralist Sandra Gonzalez (El Abrazo), and Nansi Guevara’s recuerdo of painting El Azteca’s Colores de Mi Barrio mural with her VMT classmates in 2003, crediting the experience as working on “a monument” that opened for her the portals of history, culture, and self-realization as an artist.
• Maritza Bautista’s concise and informative profile of artist Gil Rocha; a recap of the City of Laredo’s Public Art Ordinance; and the Zacate Creek Creative Coalition. Bautista is Executive Director of Daphne Art Foundation.
• Artist Linda LaMantia on the impact of the arts on the Texas economy as well as on the well-being of the human condition. La Mantia is on the board of the Texas Cultural Trust, a board member of Daphne Art Foundation, and a founding member of the Laredo Cultural District.
• Crystal Wagner, Visiting Professor of Arts at TAMIU, on the massive, colorful, and meaningful TAMIU Rhizome undertaking that explores the interconnectedness of art, recycling, the environment, sustainability, and community engagement.
• A nod to recently named City of Laredo Poet Laureate Raquel Valle-Sentíes and her sharp, vivid capture of the lexicon of code switching.
• Meg Guerra on a brief history of Casa Ortiz, home of the Laredo Cultural District; the July 18 opening performance of LTGI’s much anticipated summer spectacular Matilda the Musical; a look at Encinal artist Janet Krueger’s A Fearful Joy exhibit that opens April 11 at San Antonio’s Hunt Gallery; and a profile of LCC’s bellwether art educator, the late Martha Fenstermaker, for whom the Laredo College visual arts gallery is named. Guerra is the editor of Tragaluz and the publisher of LareDOS online (laredosnews.com)
• The design of Tragaluz is the meticulous and artful craft of Sergio Puente of Vantage GFX.
• The cover of Tragaluz is artist Jesus Treviño’s Mensaje en la Penca.
From Page 3 of Tragaluz:
Meet Tragaluz, a quarterly journal of regional artists and their work, and the organizations that support them
When Daphne Art Foundation emerged in 2019, the Laredo arts-scape evidenced artists existing in their unique isolation within a City economically thriving in international trade and making historic advances to become the #1 inland port in the nation.
As an organization dedicated to advancing the visual, performing, and media arts in our region, Daphne recognized the opportunity to bridge the gap between local artists and the community. We sought to create resources to help local artists navigate the creative landscape of our city, while simultaneously engaging and challenging them intellectually. We saw the value of bringing artists into the existing economic framework to foster entrepreneurship and to support their aspirations for self-actualization. We knew this required providing artists with the time and space conducive to focused work, a place in which they could be inspired to develop their artistic practices. It was then, and to this day still is, essential to affirm their value to the community.
Daphne fulfills its mission by offering residencies to artists and creatives, exhibiting and promoting their work, and cultivating appreciation and participation in the arts.
Our vision is that the arts take their place central to our cultural and socioeconomic vitality. With the support of artists, collaborating arts organizations, art educators, higher education partners, and the community, we are a step closer to realizing that vision. The pages of Tragaluz evidence the progress we – all of us – have forged.
As you read through this first issue, consider what art is, who makes it, where and how art happens and exists, the stories art carries in all its manifestations, and its role in our own lives and the lives of those who create it. See beyond the illusion that art is solely an ‘out of town’ experience. The pages of Tragaluz are filled with stories of artists, art projects, exhibits, and cultural events that speak to the diversity and ever-growing fuerza of the multifaceted Laredo arts community.
