Cuenca Perspectives by Jim: March 2023

VIVA CUENCA!

My mission in publishing this blog is first to provide a living history of my settlement and life in Cuenca, and to provide myself and the reader with a journal account delineating my reasons for why I have chosen to settle in Cuenca. Second, the posts are my way of staying in contact with family and friends back in the states, and to provide them with an understanding of a country and culture that most North Americans have little knowledge and awareness. Third, the blog is open to one and all who wish to compare and contrast the experiences of expat bloggers living in Cuenca, so that you can determine whether or not from your perspective Cuenca is an appropriate move for you. Fourth, my blog provides another example of how expats view and interpret life in Cuenca. Ecuadorians and Cuencanos who may read this blog are especially invited to post comments that may enhance all expats understanding and appreciation of Cuneca and its people, or to correct any misinterpretations in my assumptions and perceptions of Cuencano culture. Finally, I hope I can convey the feeling of love and appreciation that grows within me each passing day for this heavenly city nestled in the Andes and its very special people.

Sunday, March 19, 2023

GRAFITTI; MIAMI WYNWOOD WALLS MUSEUM FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023

In late February and early March I spent ten days in Miami. I enjoy Miami a great deal this time of year before the heat and humidity sets in. Temperatures in the upper 70's into the mid 80's were ideal. Most of all not a drop of rain the entire time I was there. When I returned to Cuenca, the city more than made up for the rainless days in Miami. Oh God, how I love the sunshine without the excessive heat and humidity.

My favorite place to visit in Miami is the Graffiti Museum known as the Wynwood Museum and the first in the world to be devoted to graffitti and their artists. When I first visited the area a few years ago, it was dead. I wasn't totally secure in feeling it was the best neighborhood to park in and to walk to the museum, which is basically outside with walls to protect the graffiti from tagging and any other destruction. Last year, I would see gentrification taking place and knew it was just a matter of time that it would catch up to the museum area. I wasn't sure what they would mean for the museum and immediate shops in the area. This year I was amazed at how the high rises, mainly condos, completely engulfed the area. Fortunately, the museum, the stores, restaurants, and clubs all survived, and the museum has become the nucleus for generally more sophisticated, vibrant area that was just filled with people, and yet attempts to keep a kind of hippy vibe feeling, that reminds of those days in Old Town in Chicago back in the late 60's.

Every six months new graffiti is presented, so one can visit the museum twice a year and see new offerings. Here, unlike the collection last year, I did not provide information about the artists. I am just letting you enjoy the images as presented. Every kind of material imaginable is used to created these art forms. See if you can figure out what some of these materials may be.

The above is my favorite. More for the subject matter than just the art, although the art definitely brings out the beauty of the subject matter.

I find the next three photos spooky. The kids are wearing these goggles as if they no longer function in the physical world, but perceive their reality through their technology.