ART, ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE

Join us on the first venture of the VSA to Latin America! This will also be the first comprehensive trip by a US-based cultural organization of which we are aware to cover the art and architecture of Puerto Rico. And Puerto Rico is welcoming us with open  arms!

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Why Puerto Rico?
The island is a treasure trove of important 19th and early 20th century buildings and artwork. And much of it has been beautifully and professionally conserved, restored, and interpreted by scholars and writers eager to give us privileged access.

But is it “American”?
The island’s fortunes have been firmly tied to those of the United States since even before the norteamericano takeover of the former Spanish colony in 1898. Its currency is the US dollar, it uses US postage, and Puerto Ricans are US citizens.

No passport needed; no customs to clear. Most everyone you meet will speak English as well as Spanish.

OK, but is it “Victorian”?
The same forces that fueled “Victorian” art, architecture and culture in Britain and the United States – rapid industrialization, increasingly international markets, the rise of the middle class, improvements in education and artistic training – were also in action in Puerto Rico.

From these came a transformation in architecture, art, literature, and mindset that parallel those we consider “Victorian.” It is endlessly interesting to study and compare – and contrast – our related cultures.

Brochure
Click here to download the official tour brochure, itinerary and application form.

Adobe Acrobat reader required.

Suggested non-fiction reading

100 Masterpieces: Museo de Arte de Ponce (Ponce, P.R.: Museo de Arte de Ponce, 2002).  Lavishly illustrated selective catalogue.  In Spanish and English.   

Juan Antonio Gaya Nuño, La Pintura Puertorriqueña [Puerto Rican Painting] (c. 1965; reprinted by Estudios Sorianos, 1995).  In Spanish.    

Thomas S. Marvel and Maria Luisa Moreno, Arquitectura de Templos Parroquiales de Puerto Rico / Architecture of Parish Churches in Puerto Rico (San Juan: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1994).  Basic guide to church architecture and decoration in Puerto Rico.  In Spanish and English. 

Jorge Rigau, Puerto Rico 1900 (New York: Rizzoli, 1992).  Profusely illustrated.  In English.  Author will be our keynote speaker and one of the tour leaders. 

Enrique Vivoni Farage et al., Hispanophilia: Architecture and Life in Puerto Rico, 1900-1950 (San Juan: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1998).  Conference papers.  In Spanish and English.  Author will be one of our hosts and tour leaders. 

 Suggested fiction reading

Rosario Ferré, The House on the Lagoon (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1995).  Lively, engrossing and enlightening story of several generations of a Puerto Rican family involved with art and architecture during the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  In English (trans.).  The author will be one of our hosts. 

 Suggested guidebooks (in English)

 Several are available, but these have the best coverage of art, architecture and culture, we think.

Insight Guide to Puerto Rico.

Lonely Planet Guide to Puerto Rico.

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