Contemporary Seaside Comparsas
Beyond the Parade: Unmasking the Community and Subversive Power of the Ponce Beach Carnival in Puerto Rico
Contemporary Seaside Comparsas (2023) by Humberto Figueroa and Franklin GraulauMuseo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico
Contemporary Seaside Comparsas is a project curated by artist and scholar Humberto Figueroa. This project featured works inspired by the creation of masks and traditional costumes from the Ponce Beach Carnival.
Contemporary Seaside Comparsas (2023) by Humberto Figueroa and Franklin GraulauMuseo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico
Joining the Carnaval de Vejigantes de la Playa de Ponce, the project Contemporary Seaside Comparsas highlighted the importance and material evolution of the vejigante masks.
As part of the commission, artist Franklin Graulau invited local residents to participate in workshops where they built pieces that were integrated into his intervention in the parade.
Contemporary Seaside Comparsas (2023) by Humberto Figueroa and Franklin GraulauMuseo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico
Reinforcing the vejigante figure as one of community resistance and subversion, the collaborators of this commission continue the tradition of the carnival as a space for political expression.
Contemporary Seaside Comparsas (2023)Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico
The project incorporated five workshops led by artists from Ponce: Freddy Soto, Martha Rosa, Ismael Figueroa, Julio César Torres, and José Vega. Diógenes Ballester and Antonio Martorell also contributed with interventions in tribute to the comparsa.
Contemporary Seaside Comparsas (2023) by Humberto Figueroa and Franklin GraulauMuseo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico
An annual celebration in the barrio La Playa, the Carnival marks the beginning of Lent and is a moment when citizens can, in Figueroa’s words, “claim the street as territory that belongs to them” through the parade.
Watch the documentary film about this project.
MAC en el Barrio commission curated by: Humberto Figueroa
Photo credits: Raquel Pérez Puig
The project joins the ongoing expansion process of the MAC’s off-site program, MAC en el Barrio, in the southwest region, led by Marianne Ramírez Aponte, executive director and chief curator of the MAC.
The publication of this story is possible thanks to the support of Caribbean Culture Fund.
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