In the Fall of 2014, Rhode Island Latino Arts commissioned local Cuban artist, Ana Flores, to work on an exciting community art installation entitled
Café Recuerdos.Café Recuredos is a visual complement to
Nuestras Raíces: Latino Oral Histories Project of Rhode Island coordinated by Marta V. Martínez, RILA's Executive Director.
The
Café Recuerdos project focuses on the popular Latin past-time of drinking
café - coffee serves as a memory catalyst for Latin-American immigrants here to remember the community that is absent, and it is also a way of connecting with their new home in America. The project aims to commemorate the Latin American experience, celebrating the hyphenated reality of becoming Latino-American: honoring the past -
allá and embracing the present and future here -
aquí.The visual component takes the form of a functional peddlers cart with a bottom base made of steel and scrap metal, and the top side walls made from
Café Bustelo coffee cans attached together (see illustration above). It measures 30” x 6’ x 6’ and it’s used as a temporary installation both at indoor and outdoor locations. It has narrative on the front wall made of
Café Bustelo coffee cans, with the painted likenesses of Latino immigrants in Rhode Island who have been interviewed, plus other Latinos in the state.
At each location, we can dispense coffee — the smell of coffee is a way to bring people over to visit us. The cart encourages community engagement in public spaces: we set up a temporary
café with bistro chairs and tables, and invite visitors to drink their coffee and share stories with us.
Public engagement was also intended to be a part of the process as the artist fabricates the cart. Flores’s intention was to reach out to other community artists, students and fabricators to assist with the construction of the project, while, Martínez engaged young people in the collection of community stories at various local venues including schools, libraries and community organizations statewide.
