Inscription
lower right, by Daniel Vilchis: DAVilchis
JANUARY 1984, IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SUNNY DAY AROUND 3PM IN EL SALVADOR AND THERE WAS SILENCE FROM THE / CONSTANT BOMBING AND BULLETS FROM THE CIVIL WAR. I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD AND I WAS PLAYING WITH SOME / FRIENDS WHEN I WAS TOLD I HAD 10 MINUTES TO SAY GOODBYE TO ALL MY FRIENDS. I WAS GOING TO START MY JOURNEY / FROM EL SALVADOR TO THE UNITED STATES. I WAS EXCITED THAT I WOULD SEE MY MOTHER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS, BUT / I WAS ALSO SAD TO SAY GOODDYE TO MY COUNTRY. I WENT AROUND LOOKING FOR FRIENDS AND I DID NOT FIND MOST OF THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE / IN SCHOOL. I REMEMBERED NOT BEING ALE TO SAY GOODBYE TO MOST OF THEM. I REMEMBER EVERYTHING FROM MY CHILDHOOD, THE GAMES I / PLAYED WITH MY FRIENDS, THE CONSTANT CURIOSITY OF THE PLANTS, INSECTS AND ANIMALS AROUND US. OUR CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SALVADORAN / FOLKLORE, THE PARANORMAL, THE SOLAR SYSTEM, THE VOLCANOS AND ART MAKING. AS BOMBS AND BULLETS IANDED A SHORT DISTANCE A WAY WE WOULD / CLIMB THREE STORY TALL TREES AND 👀 FOR THE BATTLES. SOMETIMES WHEN WE USED TO PLAY FUTBOL ⚽ THE SOLDERS WOULD PLAY WITH US./ FOR A FEW MINUTES, A FEW HOURS BEFORE OR AFTER THE GUERRILLEROS WOULD TAKE THEIR TURN PLAYING WITH US. WE DREW PARALELLS BETWEEN / THE SIMILARITIES OF VOLCANIC SULFUR AND THE SMELL OF BOMBS AND GUNPOWDER. THERE WAS AN INNOCENCE AND NORMALIZATION OF THE / WAR THAT I WITNESSED AS A CHILD. I KNOW FOR SURE I WAS PROTECTED BY MY ANCESTORS AND BEYOND, MUCHAS GRACIAS ABUELX’S. / --GM
Provenance
The artist; (P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York); purchased 2024 by NGA.
Exhibition History
- 2024
- Guadalupe Maravilla: Si no sanas hoy, sanarás mañana, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, 2024.
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