Pen Cayetano, a 56-year-old artist and musician originally from Dangriga, gave Amandala a sneak preview today of his annual exhibition which is to start this evening at 6:30, and will run until December 10, 2010, at the Institute of Mexico. It will commemorate two major historical events: The Garifuna Settlement Day and the Mexican Revolution.
Cayetano told us that he has been painting from since he was 12 years-old, and he took up art as a profession when he became 18 years old. He said that art has rewarded him greatly, and that he has become a well travelled man, visiting places all over the world.
He said that the connection to the annual event at the Institute of Mexico started years back where he and the institute began a partnership and a cultural exchange. According to him, Mexico has a national collection of his works and this “bond” has existed from since the 1980s.
He also explained his title piece for this year’s exhibition which is called “The Sons of Belizelda”, which according to him, is a very political piece. He explained that the painting depicts the politics in Belize. He said that Belizelda is a woman of color who has married a Scottish man, and gave birth to two sons; the Scottish husband and father died when his two sons were young.
He said that both sons took over power of the country of Belize; those two sons represent the two major political parties who have been in power for so many years in Belize. In the painting, the tree signifies the Mahogany tree. At the bottom of the painting, there is a birth of a new “messiah” to come to save Belize from its political and social turmoil.
The Indian woman, the mother and caretaker of the child, represents indigenous Belize before Europeans came to the Americas. There is also a representation of oil which is now present in Belize, which is depicted in the painting as not going near the other people of Belize, which signifies the revenue from oil is not truly benefiting Belizeans. He said that at the end, it turned the people into less-than-human because they are not treated fairly.
According to him, the painting has a representation of Mickey Mouse waving the oil good-bye, which he used as a satire to Belize that oil is not being beneficial to Belizeans. He said that the axe and saw in each man’s chest signifies turmoil and fighting where both men (signifying both parties) are unhappy.
He summed up by saying that it is a political piece where the people viewing the art can come and make their own interpretation of the piece. He said that the exhibition is open to the public and art collectors are free to choose which of the pieces to purchase them.