Into the Wild
This was created for the City of Hialeah art show “Rooster, Gallo, Galo, Gallus” which ended up being the same name I gave the painting. The painting was done at my mother’s house while I was staying with her back in 2018. I really wasn’t sure what to paint at the time and the art show presented itself with the rooster and chicken theme. Outside of flamingos, the next most Hialeah thing has to be roosters and chicken. It’s a staple of my community. From the 7am rooster calls throughout the city, the random chickens crossing a city street or the dead chickens on a bag found on intersections and railroads tracks that are left over from Santeria rituals, nothing is more Hialeah than our beloved poultry.
Closer to home, it takes me back to my grandparents and particularly my grandfather on my mother’s side of the family. He was a “guajiro” at heart. He had me chasing chickens down in the yard and collecting eggs. At the end of their days, my grandmother would have me plucking feathers for dinner. We lived in the city but the old country ways were very much a part of our lives. We laughed so much the day the postmaster called us to say we had 20 minutes to get to the post office and pick up our 50 chickens we ordered by mail or he was going to kill them because of all the noise. Good times.
Private Collection