Courtney B.
Yelp
I came to this exhibit with Thing Two yesterday to see the feature exhibits. Currently, the centro de artes gallery features two modern Latin X creatives. This establishment is located in the heart of downtown in Historic Market Square. Centro de Artes gallery is a two-story exhibit space dedicated to telling the story of the Latino experience in the United States with a focus on South Texas through local and regional art, history and culture, and showcasing Latino artists and Latino-themed artworks. This is free to the public and no drinks nor food are allowed.
The first feature is Millennial Lotería (on the first floor)
Lotería (Spanish word meaning "lottery") is a traditional Mexican board game of chance, similar to bingo, and is played on a deck of cards instead of numbered ping pong balls. The traditional Loteria originated in Italy, moved to Spain, and finally came to Mexico in 1769. Initially played by the colonial Mexican elite, it eventually was embraced by all social classes. In Mexico, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, traveling ferias (fairs) would set up in ranchlands and small towns on the weekends, and many people would go out to them, especially to play Loteria.
Millennial Lotería is a hilarious and insightful parody of the classic game Lotería. This exhibition highlights all things millennial in this version of Loteria. Born from the viral Instagram platform, this game reimagines La Dama as La Feminist, El Catrín as El Hipster, and Las Jaras as La Hashtag.The creator of this version of Loteria, Mike Alfaro, used his knowledge of Hispanic insights to advise and direct multiple award-winning advertising campaigns geared toward a multicultural audience. By showcasing the reimagined cards, this exhibit aims to provide a snapshot of modern Latinx life while also exploring and breaking stereotypes from Hispanic-American history, like colorism, classism, and homophobia. Thing Two and enjoyed looking at all the Lotería cards and themes.
Second feature
On the second floor, Froy Padilla Aragón displays his first exhibition outside of Mexico. Efedefroy comes to San Antonio to showcase his reimagined pop culture icons currently installed on a larger-than-life scale. When walking through this exhibition, visitors learn about his process and the inspiration behind his work.. Examples of his work in this include pieces in which Frida Kahlo is depicted as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's and Mark Hamill with Mexican actress Maria Felix depicted as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia from Star Wars.
If in the area, this gallery should be visited as it is free, a great way to beat the heat on a hot TX day, and is truly unique.