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M. Tony Peralta participated in a panel discussion around “Complejo,” his own solo exhibition at the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance’s gallery which explores issues of identity, race, and self-esteem.
Story and photos by Sherry Mazzocchi
Calling it complicated was an understatement.
It was clear that M. Tony Peralta’s controversial exhibit, “Complejo,” at Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance resonated with viewers.
During a panel discussion this past Wed., August 17th, held at the Cornerstone Center, about fifty people sat in rapt attention listening to visual artist Peralta, journalist Claudio Cabrera and educator Miguelina Rodriguez discuss what it means to be “complex,” whether that meant to have one [to be ‘acomplejado’] or simply, what it means to be dark-skinned and Latino, and specifically, within the Dominican culture.
The inspiration for Peralta’s show came after images of Sammy Sosa’s lighter skin and eyes were splashed all over the media. In response, Peralta created the imaginary Sammy Sosa Beauty Company, complete with a skin lightening cream called “Blancate” in Spanish and “Black ‘B’ Gone” in English.
Peralta said he traced his low self-esteem to the various reactions and comments his family made about his dark skin. He added that his dark-skinned female friends confided that Dominican men didn’t find them attractive.
Those ideas find expression in images Peralta called Barbie Linda & Barbie Fea, two identical dolls—except one has dark skin and hair while the other is white and blonde.
Those images reminded Rodriguez, a professor of urban sociology at LaGuardia College, of gifts she and her twin sister received as children.
The sisters were given two gift boxes and were asked to pick one. Rodriguez picked a box that contained a white doll with long blonde hair. She was ecstatic. Her twin picked a box containing the same doll but with dark features and hair. She cried for hours.
Reflecting back, Rodriguez said it would have helped if the adults had used that moment to talk about issues of race and self-respect. But they weren’t aware of what was really going on, she said.
Cabrera said looking into the exhibit’s mirrors that had the most impact on him. The mirrors have thought bubbles saying: “Que Narizón” (What a Big Nose), “Y Eso Pelo Tan Malo” (Such Bad Hair) and “Negro Pero Fino” (Black But Fine).
As a youth, being called “negro pelo fino” made Cabrera feel attractive.
But now, he said, he realized it’s not a compliment.
“What it says is that ‘you’re a dark skinned guy, but you’re refined. We expected you to be a savage or some sort of crazy guy that doesn’t have any manners.”
Cabrera said people just don’t realize what they are saying, that the perpetuation of stereotypes are often unconscious.
Peralta added that these topics were difficult to confront, and as such, they were ones Dominicans do not readily talk about. He said it is important to be mindful of the impact of words and to change the dialogue. He believes future generations can have a more evolved understanding of the issues of race, identity and self-respect.
”Our parents are not aware. They grew up in a time when Trujillo was teaching that kind of talk, “ Peralta said. They’ve had a sense of inferiority imprinted on them since childhood. We can’t change that.”
But a woman in the audience disagreed that earlier generations were unable to engage in the dialogue, and change their attitudes.
During the audience Q & A, she stood up and talked about her 80-year-old mother.
Her mother’s entire generation was damaged by these ideas, she said, but discussing them has brought them both greater understanding and clarity.
“We talk about these issues now,” she told the audience. “My mother has to heal, too,” she said.
To listen in on part of Miguelina Rodriguez during the “Complejo” panel discussion as she describes the childhood experience of receiving a doll different than her sister’s, and the intellectual and emotional ramifications of that choice years later, click here:
http://bit.ly/complejo
Video by Sherry Mazzocchi
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