Hoy quisiera enfocarme en el tema de la diversidad– y cómo las personas pueden usar sus talentos, sus tragedias, y sus triunfos para sacar de la oscuridad a grupos que usualmente son marginalizados. Especificamente me voy a concentrar en un individuo que usa un pincel– y todo su corazón– para efectuar cambio en el mundo.
Edwin Gil y yo nos conocímos a principios de noviembre cuando viajamos a Chicago para la conferencia LATISM ’11. Mami y yo acabábamos de llegar más temprano ese día, y ya me sentía inquieta porque la mayoría de mis amistades no habían llegado todavía. Aburrida en la ciudad ventolera (¡y lluviosa!), acudí a Twitter para ideas. Después de tuitear persistentemente (“¡Estoy aquí! ¡Estoy aquí! Quienes de #LATISM11 están por acá?”), intenté sonar menos desesperada. “¡Tengo hambre! Alguien sabrá donde hay un restaurante donde nos podremos encontrar?” o algo así.
Después de un rato me llegó una respuesta de alguien, @EdwinGil: “¡Yo estoy igual, tengo hambre!” Esa tarde, mi Mami, Edwin, su pareja Brian y yo nos encontramos para tragos en nuestro hotel. ¡Era amistad a primera vista! Los cuatro parecíamos conectar instantáneamente, y nos acompañamos durante casi toda la conferencia.
Edwin es relativamente nuevo a la familia LATISM. Pasamos mucho tiempo juntos, y logré escuchar su historia. Es una fantástica. El se crió en Colombia, y fue ahí donde encontró para lo que ahora es su profesión, su pasión. Irónicamente, pero como muchos artistas muy talentosos, la inspiración de Edwin no nació de una existencia feliz y libre de preocupaciones, sino una llena de dolor y sufrimiento.
“Muchos de mis amigos de la infancia fueron acribillados por diferentes razones,” dijo Gil. “Como niño criándome en Medellín, Colombia, y después de toda la turbulencia que pasé como adulto joven, nunca me imaginé que llegaría a los 40 años. La vida a veces ha sido difícil, pero esas dificultades sirven para recordarnos de lo que es importante.”
Es debido a su apreciación para la vulnerabilidad de la vida que Gil invita al público a que vayan a una celebración de arte y de vida en su galería– con sus 40 años como causa para celebrar. El evento se titula “40 for 40,” y Gil pide que los invitados lleven un donativo de $40 para su fundación, Gil Project, Inc., para que el pueda continuar mejorando al mundo de una manera que no pudo durante su niñez.
Para Gil, el hecho de haber sobrevivido los retos impuestos por la violencia y la pobreza que son rampantes en su pueblo. Dice que durante esos momentos especialmente difíciles de su vida, le preguntaba a Dios, “por qué me pasa esto a mí?”
Le pregunté a Edwin si estaría dispuesto a compartir algunos de sus recuerdos de niñez. No tenía idea de la angústia a cual lo estaba sometiendo al revivir esa etapa de su vida.
“Mi niñez fue un poco difícil, ya que soy el mayor de seis, y desde que recuerdo he estado trabajando para ayudar a mi familia. Mi padre tenía problema de alcoholismo, y eso hizo que la situación fuera más difícil.
Edwin me contó de lo miserable que se sentía cuando se acercaba la Navidad, y veía llorando a su mamá porque no tenían dinero para comprarles regalos a todos los niños– y a los extremos que el llegó para hacerlos felices.
Creo que toda la vida, desde pequeño me gustaba trabajar con mis manos y crear. Hacía instalaciones artisticas que mi familia nunca entendió, creyendo que estaba loco. Hoy me doy cuenta que era la forma con la que hablaba de lo que nunca podía hablar o expresar.
Siempre he utilizado el arte como catarsis, y endefinitiva el arte es una expresion de la vida que de una forma inocente y por sabra Dios que razón llego a mi vida. También tengo que agregar que vengo de una familia de artistas, músicos, pintores y actores. El arte está en mis venas.
Qué entrenamiento en arte tuviste; lo estudiaste formalmente o te enseñaste tu mismo?
Yo soy un auto didacta que la vida ha formado. El primer conocimiento se lo debo a mi familia, y posteriormente he compartido con otros maestros que poco a poco me ayudaron a formar el artista que soy en la parte técnica. Ya en la parte inspiracional, la vida me ha preparado y sencibilizado para poner color a las memorias.
Cómo estás usando las herramientas de “ social media” para difundir tu arte y tus obras benéficas?
Desde que empecé a conocer el social media me interesó mucho ya que es una herramienta con la cual podemos no sólo comunicarnos con otros, si no que también podemos compartir y así fue que empezó Art & Social Media, un grupo con el que comparto diferentes tópicos que luego los pongo en el canvas con colores y forma, uniendo comunidades a través del social media y llevando mensajes de reflexión. Este es un proyecto que está despegando y que le veo mucho futuro.
Cuáles son tus metas para los próximos 40 años?
Bueno, no sé si viviré otros 40 años, pero si así es, quisiera seguir pintando y creando conciencia social a través del arte, y vivir cada día hasta el momento de mi graduación o sea mi muerte.
Qué persona te ha inspirado más en tu vida? Puede ser alguien que conoces o no conoces en persona.
Como lo mencionaba antes, la vida tiene ese color que me inspira a pintar y en esta vida he conocido muchas personas, pero podria decirte que más que las personas son las causas las que me motivan mas. Pero la señora Hillary Clinton sin duda es una de mis ídolos; es una mujer que me cautivó al momento de conocerla y escucharla, y más con el último speech [que hizo] por la igualdad. Es algo que definitivamente te da mucha inspiración para continuar.
Qué consejo puedes dar a mí y a otras personas que tratan de convertir los obstáculos en sus vidas en combustible para efectuar cambio positivo ?
Como te lo mencioné antes, en ese momento duro de la vida, escuché esa voz [diciendo], “ Tu tienes la fortaleza para sobrepasar esta prueba, y si Dios te escogio a tí para vivir este momento, es por que tu puedes y debes aprender algo de este momento para ayudar a otros.”
Siempre es tu elección volver las cosas negativas en positivas y pintar la vida de Color Esperanza.
Pa’ lante, tu vida es tu paleta y tu eres el artista de tu obra.
Today, I want to focus on the positive side of diversity– and how people can use their talents, their tragedies, and their triumphs to bring otherwise marginalized groups out of the shadows. Specifically, I’m zeroing in on one individual who is using a paintbrush– and a lot of heart– to bring about change in the world.
Edwin Gil and I met in early November when we traveled to Chicago for the LATISM ’11 conference. Mami and I had just flown in earlier that afternoon, and I was already feeling restless because most of my friends hadn’t arrived yet. Bored in the Windy (and rainy!) City, I turned to Twitter for ideas. After many persistent Tweets of “I’m here! I’m here!! Who all from #Latism11 is in the house?” and other similar, pathetic queries, I tried a different, less-socially-desperate approach: “I’m hungry! Does anyone know a good pub where we can meet?” or something along those lines.
A while later I get a reply from someone, @EdwinGil: “I’m same, hungry.” That evening, my Mami, Edwin, his partner Brian and I met for cocktails at our hotel. It was friendship at first sight! The four of us seemed to bond instantly, and we hung out together during most of the conference.
Edwin, who is fairly new to the LATISM familia, and I got to spend a lot of time together, and I got to listen to his story. It’s a fantastic one. He grew up in Colombia, and it was there that he found inspiration for what was to be his line of work, his passion. Ironically, but like so many other very talented artists, Edwin’s inspiration was borne not of a happy, carefree existence, but of one wrought with pain and suffering.
“Many of my childhood friends were killed for different reasons,” says Gil. “As a child growing up in Medellin, Colombia and after all the turmoil I experienced as a young adult, I never thought I would reach my 40s. Life has, at times, been difficult, but these difficulties remind us of what’s important.”
It is with this learned appreciation for the frailty of life that Gil is inviting people to join him at his gallery for a celebration of art and life– with his 40th birthday as the joyous occasion. The event is called “40 for 40,” and he is asking attendees to donate $40 to his foundation, Gil Project, Inc., so that he can continue to make the world a better place in a way he wished someone would have changed it for him.
For Gil, the fact that he has survived the struggles imposed by the violence and poverty that are rampant in his hometown of Medellín is definitely cause for celebration and introspection. He says that during those especially difficult moments of his life, he would turn to God and ask “Why is this happening to me?”
I asked Edwin if he would be willing to share some of his childhood memories with me. I had absolutely no idea of the ordeal I was putting him through in revisiting this period of his life. Here again, is Edwin in his own words:
“My childhood was a bit difficult. I was the oldest of six, and for as long as I can remember, I had been working to help my family. My father had an alcohol problem, which made the situation harder.”
Edwin shared how miserable he felt whenever Christmas approached and there wasn’t enough money for presents for his five siblings, and the extreme measures he went to to make them happy.
“”I often recall my childhood with fear, because there was so much want, so much darkness, and many tears, especially at Christmastime. I would cry watching my mother cry because we didn’t have have money to buy gifts for my younger siblings. I even robbed a store once in Medellín. I remember I prayed before walking into the store; I would look for something small, hide it in my clothes, then I would walk out, walk back in and look for something else. I asked God for forgiveness because I had stolen. I used to dream about winning the lottery, so I could pay back what I had stolen” Gil recalled wistfully.
Edwin Gil shared many of his personal tragedies with me, including how he was abused by someone close to his family from the age of five. Unfortunately, while his story is unbearably harrowing, it is not unique to children growing up in poverty in Latin America. But what is extraordinary indeed is his redemption.
What follows is a candid question-and-answer session with Gil about his artistic genius and where he finds the courage to turn his tragedies into triumphs.
How long have you been painting? When did you start?
I think my entire life. As a child I loved working with my hands and creating. I would paint artistic creations that my family never understood. They thought I was crazy. Looking back, I realize that was my way of communicating what I couldn’t speak about or express. I’ve always used art as a catharsis, and art is definitely an expression of life; it came into my life for some reason.
I also have to add that I’m from a family of artists– musicians, painters, actors. So it’s in my veins.
What inspires you to promote the topic of diversity in your art and in your life? Which personal experiences have influenced this?
This is a very interesting question since many people probably assume, “Oh of course, he arrived in the U.S., and with the amount of diverse people from different places, he decided to promote diversity.” But for me, [my interest in] this subject came long before that.
When I lived in Colombia, I would hear people complaining about the “Yankees” and that in the U.S. we are “oppressed,” and many more stories that became infiltrated like a virus and causing people to senselessly repeat the same thing over and over across generations. This is a phenomenon I saw repeat itself in various Latin American countries, and I believe it’s in part because we still need to live, and learn about other cultures and quit complaining and work harder for what we want. The acceptance of other cultures in Latin America and around the world is something we all need to work on.
Well, when I arrived in this country in 2000, I was struck by how they spoke about the Mexicans, the blacks, about Latinos, and I saw that many were prejudiced against people of other cultures, and they don’t realize how beautiful the diversity in America is, not just the food, but the culture itself. America is a nation created by immigrants and as a result, it is diverse. So I asked myself, “How come there are people even in these times that are so intolerant [towards diversity]?”
I think we need a lot of education about this. Art has definitely saved my life, and it’s an instrument that can be used to bring us closer and make us realize that the world is beautiful because of its diversity. This is the palette of Planet Earth, so let’s paint more, unite more, and judge less.
What artistic training, if any, have you had? Or are you self-taught?
I was self-taught, formed by life. I owe my first exposure to art to my family, and later on, I’ve learned from other teachers who, little by little, helped me become the artist I am today. Life has prepared me to add color to memories.
What causes do you support, besides those funded by Gil Project, Inc.?
Art is an instrument by which we can effect great changes, and that’s why I love supporting all causes that have a positive connotation. Until now, I’ve supported causes helping battered women, the homeless, and animals.
Last year, I donated $60,000 in art in support of charitable organizations of all kinds. Gil Project, Inc., is my baby. I founded it this year with the goal of uniting communities via art and awareness of different social factors. It’s a “baby” because it’s still in its infancy and structuring, but even now I can see it’ll be an organization that will allow diversification through art.
Who has inspired you the most in your life?
As I mentioned before, life has color and it inspires me to paint, and in this life I’ve met many people, but I should say that more than the people, I’m inspired by the causes. But Secy. Hillary Clinton is without a doubt one of my idols. This woman captivated me the moment I met her, and especially with the recent speech she gave about equality. That’s something that has given me a lot of inspiration to continue.
What advice would you give me or other people who are trying to turn obstacles in our lives into fuel in order to effect change?
Like I mentioned to you before, I heard that voice saying, “You have the strength to pass this test.” And if God chose you to live this moment, it’s because you can, and you should learn something from that moment so that you can help others. It’s always your choice to turn the negative things into positive things and to paint life the color of hope.
Your life is your palette, and you are the artist of your own painting.
*Porfavor visiten hoy la página de Gil Project, INC y hagan una contribución para bien. Usemos los medios sociales para efectuar cambio positivo.
*Please visit the Gil Project, INC Web site today, and make a contribution for good. Let’s use social media outlets to effect positive change.
~Dedicado con mucho amor para Edwin en su cumpleaños. ♥~
~Lovingly dedicated to Edwin for his birthday. ♥~
Gracias Laurita por este bello regalo, por brinarme tu amistad incondicional y ser tan especial.
What an awesome post!!! Thank you for sharing Edwin’s story with your followers and know that you are appreciated and loved dearly, mi Laurita!! 🙂
Edwin,
I’ll never finish getting to know you. I have tears in my eyes because I feel so proud of you, my Colombian friend who has opened so many doors and worlds for me with his art.
I have learned to appreciate art in every way possible because you love it and are so passionate about it.
Thank you mi amigo.
I feel very privileged because I shared your experience of meeting Edwin and Brian too. I’ve never laughed so hard and admired so deeply people that I’ve just met. Well said Laurita, you know how proud of you I am !
A wonderfully written post. Thank you, Laurita, for sharing Edwin’s story.
Un artículo muy interesante que me hace sentir muy orgullosa de ser colombiana y encontrarme con estas historias de superación y lucha.
What a lovely story. It’s amazing how one’s life can inspire another! Glad you were able to spend some time with both of them at the Gala and for the interview…. Art is timeless.
Laurita, I am in awesome of how flawlessly and passionately you write in both English and Spanish, in this way doubling your reach of vital topics. You capture Edwin’s vision, sacrifice, and message of acceptance.