Los Muñequitos del Domingo

Inspired by his native neighborhood, Barrio Sardinera in Dorado, Los muñequitos del domingo is an autobiographical painting in which Jesús Cardona integrates memories intertwining the town and his life prior to the displacement of his family due to the tourist development in the area. Sublimating his face with the landscape, Cardona incorporates the coast, the countryside, birds, trees, buildings, and even a small plane, among other memories of Sardinera’s historical landscape. Through objects and graphic elements, Cardona also refers to the comic strips, media, and entertainment that marked his childhood. The work’s title, as well as the presence of a television set on its far left, would seem to problematize the central theme of the painting, which emphasizes an immediate and interconnected contact with nature. Arguing against the loss of sensibility to environmental subtleties, Cardona’s work serves as reminder and warning about Dorado’s past and current, unfolding, situation.