by the El Reportero’s news services
Portrait of writer José León Sánchez.The sculptor and painter Luis Alonso Muñoz, founder and director of the defunct newspaper Tiempo Latino, in San Francisco, painted in acrylics the portrait of writer José León Sánchez, author of the work, Tenochtitlan: The Last Battle of the Aztecs.
The book Tenochtitlan has been regarded as the best work on the history of the heroic defense of the Aztecs against the Spanish invaders, therefore the Mexican National Council for Culture and the Arts (CONALCULTA) decided to edit this book as national heritage. Bill Gates bought half a million copies of the regular editions that were distributed in higher teaching centers in the United States of America.
CONACULTA selected the painting done by artist Muñoz to illustrate the cover of this issue, which is not for sale, although the regular editions can be obtained at any bookstore.
Currently he is working to be assigned a mural project for Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco.
Rare Velázquez painting being shown in U.S. for first time
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art presented Monday Diego Velázquez’s Portrait of Francesco I d’Este, one of the Spanish artist’s most significant works and which is being shown for the first time in the United States.
“This is one of the most important portraits by Velázquez, since in portraying an important political figure it fuses the most intimate personality of the duke that the painter captured in his studio with the nobleman’s diplomatic side,” the chairman of European paintings at the Met, Keith Christiansen, told Efe.
Until July 14, visitors at the New York museum will be able to admire this work, considered one of the great portraits of the 17th century, on loan from Galleria Estense in Modena, Italy.
Luis Alonzo MuñozThe portrait is a true gem of that Italian gallery, which has had to close temporarily because of the damage caused by the earthquake that shook the Emilia Romagna region in May 2012.
This is the first time this portrait by Velázquez is being shown in the United States, and the Met expects a big turnout of art lovers to see it.
“Velázquez is one of those painters that everybody loves, that everybody reacts to,” Christiansen said.
Edgar Ramírez, Olivia Munn, Eric Bana teaming up for thriller film
Edgar Ramírez, Eric Bana, and Olivia Munn have reportedly signed on to star in a new paranormal thriller from director Scott Derrickson and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
The film, Beware the Night, follows a New York Irish Catholic police officer (Bana) as he investigate cases of demon possessions, exorcisms, and werewolves. The officer meets a priest (Ramírez) who begins helping with the investigation. Munn will play Bana’s wife.
Lima gathers most “Cajon” musicians to break Guinness Record
Over the weekend a record number of ‘cajon’ musicians gathered in Lima’s Playa Mayor to break a Guinness Record.
Cajon is one of the musical treasures of Peru with an annual festival celebrating it. African slaves brought over the first wooden cajon (already converted) when they lost use of their African drums. The history of the cajon in Peru is traced back to the 1860’s. They are typically made out of a box where slabs are removed so that the beat is louder and is played with the hands or with two sticks of cane according to Cajon Peruano.
It was during the ‘International Festival of the Peruvian Cajon’ that 1,524 gathered to break last year’s record of 1, 476 cajon players. This is the sixth year of this very popular festival.
Antonio Merlano en salas de cine del país y de Estados Unidos con la película Cinco De Mayo
El 3 de mayo, el actor colombiano estrenará la película “Cinco de Mayo: La Batalla” en cines mexicano y estadounidenses, en donde interpreta a un comandante del ejército mexicano.
“Cinco de Mayo: La Batalla” relata la historia de 1862 cuando el invencible ejército francés de Napoleón III invade México para implantar una monarquía con los conservadores mexicanos, con el objetivo de tomar Estados Unidos y aliarse al Ejército Confederado del Sur en la Guerra Civil Norteamericana. El general Ignacio Zaragoza organiza la defensa del país en la ciudad de Puebla, dirigiendo un ejército inexperto, inferior en número y con muy pocas armas.
La cinta de Rafael Lara, es una coproducción con GALA Films, Estudios Churubusco Azteca, Equipment & Film Design, Labodigital y Televisa Films. Merlano compartirá la pantalla con el reconocido actor mexicano Kuno Bécker, la primera actriz Angélica Aragón, Daniel Martínez, Mario Zaragoza, Christian Vázquez, Liz Gallardo, entre otros.
