“Indian With a School of Fish,” acrylic-pastel, by Alberto Herrera.
Latination TR3S
Art show celebrates cultural cornucopia By Lisa Kimble
Photos by Casey Christie
Growing up in Arvin, not far from the fertile fields and labor camps, Bakersfield businessman Don Martin was influenced early on by the Latino culture. “My grandfather was half Mexican. I remember a lot of very traditional Christmas Eves where menudo was plentiful and other great customs were handed down from generation to generation,” he said. It would be decades later before the colorful and lasting impressions would dance off the walls of his Metro Galleries downtown, miles away from those dusty Arvin fields, in a soulful confluence of food, music and traditions that has become Bakersfield’s most well-attended art show of the year. Latination Tr3s, the much-anticipated, monthlong juried art exhibit will open with the largest field of entrants yet. “I’ve wanted to do something with the Latin (culture) since we opened,” added Martin, who coined the term Latination, a word blend of heritage, color, politics, artContinued on page 56 www.BakersfieldLife.com
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