Richard Serra, born in San Francisco
in 1939, remains one of the most highly
regarded American sculptors working
today. His large scale sculptures of metal,
concrete, and other materials are usually
created for specific outdoor sites, and
some have stirred considerable contro-
versy. His 120-foot long Tilted Arc, from
1981, became a cause célèbre when office
workers in lower Manhattan demanded
its removal from a public plaza.
Serra’s paintings have also generated
controversy. In 2006, Serra’s “Stop
Bush,” a stark painting of a hooded Iraqi
prisoner at Abu Ghraib prison, high-
lighted the artist’s opposition to the pres-
ident’s war policy in Iraq. The work was
featured at the Whitney Museum’s 2006
biennial exhibit.
On the East Coast, Jean-Michel
Basquiat, a half Haitian, half-Puerto
Rican artist from Brooklyn, was em-
braced as an 1980s star of the downtown
New York art scene. Basquiat, who began
as a graffiti artist, and t-shirt artist,
emerged from the urban hip-hop scene
and was strongly influenced by hip-hop
culture and multiculturalism. He worked
closely with Andy Warhol, who became a
mentor and great influence on him, as
were earlier artists like Picasso and
Matisse. Although Basquiat died of a
heroin overdose at age 27, by the 21st
century he had become regarded as one
of the great neo-expressionists of his era.Hispanic Americans in the
Performing ArtsMariah Carey and John Leguizamo are
just two examples of Hispanic performers
who have gained widespread popularity
in recent years. The rich diversity of
Hispanic-American actors and musicians
and their increased popularity illustrates
not only the growing “crossover” appeal
of Hispanic artists, but also the extent to
which Hispanic culture has itself become
part of the mainstream. In previous eras,
Hispanic actors were all but invisible.
Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen
Cansino) was Spanish American, but with
her hair dyed auburn and an Anglo-
sounding name, she “passed” for Anglo
with the GIs in World War II who treas-
ured her pinup and with the movie fans
who enjoyed her in films like Gilda
(1946). Anthony Quinn often played
some kind of ethnic—a Greek in Zorba
the Greek (1964)—but few moviegoers
know he is Mexican American.
Nowadays, being Hispanic is more
acceptable for an actor. Jennifer Lopez
(who is also a singer), Salma Hayek,
Cameron Diaz, Rosie Perez, andHISPANIC AMERICA TODAY 235THERE IS
A GALLERY
IN SPANISH
HARLEM
In the cultural ferment of the late
1960s and early 1970s, the Puerto
Rican community in New York City’s
El Barrio established several cultural
institutions to showcase Puerto
Rican arts. These included the art
museum El Museo del Barrio, the
Nuyorican Poets Café, and the art
gallery Taller Boricua. (“Boricua” is a
popular name for “Puerto Rican,”
from the indigenous Arawak name
“Borinquen” for Puerto Rico.) In
2000, Taller Boricua, which has now
evolved into the Julia de Burgos
Cultural Center, celebrated its 30th
anniversary.
A red-brick castle on Lexington
Avenue between 105th and 106th
Streets, the Julia de Burgos Cultural
Center is named for a great Puerto
Rican poet who died in El Barrio.
The center is home not only to Taller
Boricua, but to Los Pleneros de La
21, a bomba and plena perform-
ance group; the Puerto Rican
Traveling Theatre, which offers act-
ing classes; and the Heritage
School, a junior high school.
“There are very few venues
where Latino artists can bring their
work to the community,” Yasmin
Ramirez, curator of a show at Taller
Boricua called “Fresh Produce,” told
Latino.com in 2000. “Julia de Burgos
brings the new, the old, and the
experimental all to one place.” The
center is not only for people of
Puerto Rican descent, but for all res-
idents of El Barrio, who also include
Mexicans, Dominicans, and other
Hispanic Americans.Puerto Rican Reggaeton stars Daddy Yankee, at left, and Pitbull, right. (Corbis)