These are the news I received in my inbox this morning.

“Trovando en Las Marías”,  got sold during the group exhibition sponsored by Diversity In Art that kick started this past Saturday in the Art Not Terminal Gallery in Seattle, Washington State.

This piece is the third component of a triad I painted back in 2004. The other two trovadores are “Trovador de mango bajito”, the first one, and “Trova de la pana”, the second one. The series embody the presentation of three jíbaros (the Puerto Rican country man of the early part of the last century) in their habitat: el campo (the rural area). Each on them is closed to a native fruit: mangoes, panas (breadfruit) & chinas (oranges, like we called them in Puerto Rico). All of them are playing a typical instrument used to perform música jíbara (Puerto Rican country music)… a cuatro (a violin shape string instrument with a mandolin like sound) in “Trovador de mango bajito”:

A güiro (made out of a hollowed out gourd carved on the outside with grooves. Scraping a stick across the grooves in the güiro makes a series of fine clicking noises that blend together), like the one depicted in “Trova de la pana”, following:

 Finally, a guitar, which is what the man is holding in “Trovando en Las Marías”.

 The story behind “Trovando en Las Marías”

 Las Marías is one of the most rural areas of Puerto Rico. In spite of all the industrialism going on in the island for decades now, Las Marías has remained pretty typical in its look, but most importantly in the spirit of its dwellers. The people from Las Marías are very friendly and naturally inclined to greet and get to know visitors. Chances are that if you stay for more than a few hours eventually you’ll start hearing invitations to stay there for good to escape from the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan area of the east side of the island. My father-in-law owns some land in this beautiful town. Oranges grow wild and they’re delicious. It wasn’t a stretch for me to transport myself from my studio in Monroe, North Carolina to el campo in Las Marías to envision this man enjoying the cool shade of an orange tree while playing his guitar.

“Trovando en Las Marías” is a reminder of the pleasures of having and keeping a simple life.