Nena Fania and Redbubble

Record Store Day is coming up this Saturday. And on the one last year, I bought a few albums. 

This was one of them.

which had this poster inside

Which instantly inspired to re-create this poster in two ways. 

I got 7”x10” wood panels either from Michael's or Dollar Tree and oil pen markers. After several practices, I decided on these two- one without "hair words", called Nena Fania meaning Fania Girl, Fania being the name of the record company 

The second one I chose certain words, lyrics, and phrases that I felt matched with an El Barrio, Nuyorican sensibility. Instead of replicating the poster's original text, which advertises a one-night event in the Bronx, I infused it with lyrics from Willie Colon’s 1989 song El Gran Varón, part of Miguel Piñero’s 1985 poem, A Lower East Side Poem, and Reverend Pedro Pietri’s awe-inspiring 1995 piece, El Manifesto- notes on El Puerto Rican Embassy.

I donated it to El Museo with a note explaining why I wanted to do this. saying it was mainly due to my own roots which extend through my parents and two of my grandparents on my father’s side, all born and raised here in NYC. My connection to El Barrio is further enriched by my four great-grandparents on my father's side, who emigrated from Puerto Rico in 1929, hailing from Ponce, Arecibo, and Vega Baja, who settled in Spanish Harlem and later in the South Bronx. So it's not within my direct, immediate upbringing, but El Barrio indeed runs through my blood and it's something that is and will always be, a part of me.

Both pieces can be found on my Fine Art America website. In my last entry here, I mention adding some of my work to redbubble, thinking it has a more fun vibe and more "me". They rejected my second, worded Nena Fania. I wrote an appeal thinking they found some obscenity in those words, but I was also warned that redbubble would be very particular and strict with copyright issues. Fine Art America doesn't seem to have a problem with it though, so both versions are up in Fine Art America while only the first one is available on redbubble. But I'm also having issues with keeping my work visible on my profile. I only see it when I click on Manage Portfolio, so that's another thing I need to contend with. Ahh, bueno 😒



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