Romero Britto to sign posters in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida this Thursday

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 25, 2006

“The Hug” by Romero Britto

Photos:David Siqueiros, 2006. All rights reserved. Ricardo Serpa/Lux Images

Internationally-known South Florida artist Romero Britto will sign “The Hug” posters during a visit to Fort Lauderdale from 1 to 4 p.m Thursday, April 27, 2006. The event,  sponsored by the Broward County ”Public Art and Design” program, will take place at the Rental Car Center of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Britto’s work, popular among many Hispanics, was nurtured in South Florida, where many Latinos make their home. Twenty one percent of the population in Broward is Hispanic, according to Broward representatives.

Artist Romero Britto

In the last 16 years, Britto’s reputation as one of the most famous new artists of his generation has been firmly established. Today his work is collected by many including personalities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jordan, Dustin Hoffman, Gloria Estefan, Andre Agassi, Eileen Guggenheim, and David Rockefeller. 

Britto has been part of the international art scene since 1989 when he was commissioned by Absolut Vodka along with Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf and the estate of Andy Warhol, to design a bottle label for their advertising campaign. His recent corporate requests include: Disney, Evian, Pepsi-Cola, Volvo, Royal Caribbean, Unilever and BMW. He was also invited to paint eight cows for the famous public art exhibit, CowParade in New York.

In January 2006, he spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland along with artists Christo and Jean-Claude, actors Warren Beatty, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie as well as architect, Rem Koolhaas. Also in 2005, he was named the state of Florida’s Ambassador of the Arts.

Founded in 1976,the Broward County public art program took a dramatic shift in 1995 when the allocation from county construction was changed to two (2) percent.  The program was renamed “Public Art and Design” to reflect a renewed dedication to enhancing architecture and urban spaces through the ideas and creations of visual artists.

LATV “En Concierto” displays artist diversity

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 25, 2006

Orishas to perform on LATV

Photo: LATV

In April, LATV “En Concierto” has brought viewers and the in-studio audience live performances by Latin and non-Latin artists with a mix of English and Spanish language music. Offerings have included a variety of music genres such as hip hop, indie rock, and electronic music.

LATV “En Concierto” airs in LATV Studios in Los Angeles every Monday and Wednesday evenings at 9. The program also dedicates nights to specific genres or styles and has events like Ladies Night, A Night of Hip Hop, and Puerto Rican Rock Night.

The program has had Hip-Hop with artists Ana Alicia, Rican, and Generalz; Rock with The Redwalls, The 88, OK Go, and Puerto Ricans Bletzung & Ardnaxela; and Electronic with Belanova & Cubiky. Other popular artists that have performed include Julieta Venegas, Natalie y La Forquetina, Ill Nino, Gian Marco, Obie Bermudez and Jorge Drexler.

Artists that will perform in the last week of April include Orishas, Glory, Juan Gotti, and Bimbo, as well as Calle 13, Voltio, Yaga, Mackie. LATV Network targets bilingual Latino youth and is predominantly in English. LATV is one of the only networks in Los Angeles that reaches the bilingual demographic. Sergio Carmona