The Mexican painter Roberto Marquezbased in Dallas (United States) and who defines himself as a “globe-trotting artist”, went to Valencia to help people affected by DANA with his brushes, through a canvas, which he intends to become a fresco solidarity, in which seeks to “reflect the emotions” of the victims on the footbridge renamed “Solidarity Bridge” which connects the district of La Torre to the district of Sant Marcel.lí.
Márquez had initially proposed a memorial with crosses in memory of the victims of the podium, which he has converted for several days into his workshop, including a piano, but the initiative sparked criticism from volunteersand chose to remove them.
“The objective has two parts. There is the emotionalwhich in this case remained in the memorial; and that unitedWell now I’m going to focus on the mural. The plan is to sell it and what is generated by this sale, have someone collect it and distribute it to the people concerned, where it is best,” Márquez said in statements to Europe Press.
The painter has experience creating memorials in other areas where tragedies have occurred. like Ukraine or Turkey with the earthquake. After carrying out helping tasks as a volunteer in the municipality of Catarroja, the painter began on Monday to prepare his memorial for which he arranged around 80 wooden crosses, which he removed this Saturday because “there were several people who were upset.
“But you can work in another way, without creating conflict or disturbing to anyone”, he said, so his idea continues with the mural, for which he finished the stretcher and narrowed the canvas. “The main elements, which for me are tall or large format, I “I already have them”, stressed at the same time as he clarified that he would paint what he saw in the affected areas.
Between scenes, there will be no shortage of volunteers with boots full of mud; others cleaning the streets, an overturned car and a rescuer in a sheet, “which shocked me”, he detailed. And he will use colors to “bring joy“.
At the same time, volunteers who wish to join this solidarity art will be able to do so. “There are volunteers who work canvases of one meter by two. So I think the murals will be sold in three different sizes,” he said.
“Art is a message, for me, one of the most powerful there is, sometimes what cannot be said with words can be said through the brush, but also through an installation, a sculpture or a performance “, he stressed.
The art of not forgetting
Likewise, the Mexican painter invited to participate in the work artists who cannot express themselves if their studio was damaged by DANA, while appealing to art as mechanism against “forgetting”.
“For me, it’s a collective. If someone has an idea, come here and we will do something,” he said. Most of his projects are collaborative, however, in this Valencia initiative he believes that he should start it so that later the volunteers have a “guide or location”. “Because there’s always a story to follow and, as long as it’s all within that context, everyone is invited. Sometimes I’m surprised, the children come and take the brush and it stays there. It is part of this synergy which is achieved and it remains on the web,” he stressed.
With “a little activism”
The artist adds “a little activism” to his work. “When I arrive at a place, the first question I ask is:what can I do to help them? ” “One of the images I saw from DANA in Valencia that struck me was a group of young people, with their shovels and rakes, who were going to help. Then I said to myself: well, we have to follow his example and I could do something too,” he noted.
Márquez is working with two volunteers to create a website where the murals can be purchased, so that information is channeled and “this money goes to meet a need” of the affected areas. One of the volunteers is Nadia, a French woman living in Valencia for more than 20 years, who is the one who proposed the bridge – spontaneously called “Hope” – as a “suitable place” to create the memorial. – wall.
