Free Articles

One of the most storied cultural celebrations in South America will take place this June in Barlovento. Barlovento, in the state of Miranda, is the region of Venezuela that is most thickly populated by descendants of African slaves. The majority of the cultural expressions of Barlovento are based on religious and recreational activities that found their origins in colonial times.

According to Jesus Chucho Garcia, the preeminent authority on AfroVenezuelan culture, the traditional AfroVenezuelan fiesta is a state of collective spiritualism motivated by a celebration that revolves around a saint, a death, a harvest, the start of a fishing expedition or some other recurring activity that the community plays an important role in. The celebration of San Juan Bautista evolved as a result of the religious imposition placed on AfroVenezuelans by the Spanish crown during colonial times. As a way of reinforcing the system of slavery, the white slave owners forced African slaves and their descendants to honor San Juan Bautista as the patron saint by praying and paying homage to him. The Blacks interpreted the celebration as an attempt by the salve holders to convince them that, even in heaven, they would encounter a spiritual equivalent to the master who ruled them on earth.

However, as Chucho Garcia makes perfectly clear, the Africans had their own religious beliefs, mythologies and symbols. They therefore used their drums, songs, rhythms and dances to reenforce their own religious beliefs, and transformed the celebration that was meant to strengthen the hold of slavery into a festival of liberation. The result is that the celebration of San Juan Bautista simultaneously sought contrary objectives; as a tool of the church and masters of the plantation to resign the slaves to their status, and as a celebration by the slaves and their descendants that reaffirmed the call for liberty that burned in their hearts as strong as ever. In fact, on June 24, 1749, the Blacks in this region had planned a huge rebellion to coincide with the celebration of San Juan Bautista. The whites got wind of the rebellion and nipped it in the bud.

Each year the Society of San Juan Bautista organizes the celebration of the saint whose namesake it carries. The celebration, which begins on the 23rd of June, consists of acknowledgments of grace, carrying the saint to the river in order to bathe him, and making pious offerings. On June 24, a church mass is conducted, the saint is removed from the church, and a procession is made to a home or cultural center. There San Juan will be placed on an altar adorned with flowers, cacao, and a variety of fruit. During all of this time, the drums will be beating out relevant African rhythms. Finally, on June 25, the saint is returned to the church to be confined until the following year. Throughout the day, as always during the festival, the drums beat amidst a continuing give and take between a soloist and a chorus. The message of the soloist is that if San Juan Bautista knew when he would be honored, he would gladly come down from heaven with a crown on his head and dressed in black. The response of the chorus is to repeatedly invoke the name of Malembe, the traditional protector of the community who came with them from Africa (Congo).

Luis Perdomo, Assistant Director of the Andres Bello Multicultural Center in San Jose de Barlovento, explained that the celebration of San Juan Bautista takes place throughout Barlovento, but is centered around the small town of Curiepe. Curiepe is where the first town of freed Afrovenezuelans was founded.

This year’s festival promises to be as spiritually uplifting and energetic as ever. The syncopated rhythms of the drums, the wind filled with songs of joy, deliverance and energy, and spirits engulfed with hope as each person remembers that the world can be a better place. One can not fully appreciate its magic unless it is witnessed first hand. Join me there. You will not regret it.

Mba Mbulu is an independent educator specializing in the politics of history, particularly as it relates to people of African descent throughout the world. He is the founder of Aset University, author of several books and creator of an alternative education curriculum. He can be contacted at mmbulu@asetbooks.com www.asetbooks.com AsetUniversity.

The origin of St. Patrick’s Day can be traced in Ireland. Over here it is celebrated more as a religious holiday. With great pomp and show St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Ireland and the parades that are taken out throughout the place are marked by the presence of thousands of tourists. The multi-dimensional celebration that takes place all over the world on this particular day is really remarkable. It is a day of solely being Irish and because of this the people Ireland celebrates this day by promoting their own culture.

The best way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day clothing is to dress all in green. You can kick of the celebrations in this day by adorning yourself all in green. You can get loads of Patrick Day T-shirts which are available online and can buy them according to your choice. Almost all the online stores sell cool St. Paddy’s Day T-shirts which will avoid them from looking like a leprechaun. With prices as low as 3USD you can get a whole new range of tees in fascinating shades. In fact such is the prices that you can easily afford one for all in your whole family. The tees also feature variety of graphics. And they in fact are available with the guarantee of lending your appearance a cool charm. To jazz up your outfit in a dazzling manner you got to accessorize your attire with holiday inspired accessories. You also wear your green skate shoes and embellish your self with some neckpieces especially created for the occasion. You can also make your beloved fall gaga over you is to put on a hat with green accents. The ideal spirit while adorning clothes on St. Patrick’s Day is to go green all the way wholeheartedly. Most of the shops you shop for your St Patrick’s Day clothing will be environment friendly to the core. The clothes will be mostly made of materials like organic hemp and organic cotton. They are not only comfortable but also extremely suited to your choice and elegance with which you will carry off the dress with.

Adorning your St. Patrick’s Day clothing with a pin is treated as a tradition wherever the event is celebrated with great pomp. It is especially suited for those who have cherishing the desire of attending a parade on St. Patrick’s Day. While it is generally observed that the choice of pins is endless and never ceases to fascinate one, you also need to keep a few things in you mind when it comes to the final selection. But the major point while embellishing you clothing with a pin depends on the type of clothes you are donning on that particular day. St. Patrick’s Day parade pins comes in particular contrast to the color and style of the dress. You can also get to shop for pins online and there are many websites where you can shop for St. Patrick’s Day parade pins. You can also customize your pins according to your needs. You must also see to the fact that you are well aware of some fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day to dress up the way that is ideal for St. Patrick’s Day.

Manny Ramirez is the webmaster and writer of Bcheap Clothing Superstore site, where you can find more information about St. Patricks Day Clothing and Irish T-Shirts. Read more and find great deals on our St. Patricks Day Good Luck Mega Store, Irish T-Shirts and Novelties.

One of the most ubiquitous items in our culture today is the ever present and multi-talented sticker. Labels go on just about everything and the list of various uses they are put to continues to grow. While the materials a sticker is printed on can range from paper and plastic all the way up to metals and metallic foil, there are essentially only two types of stickers; permanent or temporary.

The core of a label’s function is the adhesive placed on the back of it. For applications that are meant to last, such as warning labels on containers or equipment, the adhesive will be a strong bonding agent that will require tearing of the surface material or solvents to remove. You will find this type of label on just about any jar of food in the grocery store. Stickers and labels are not only a convenient way to dissemble information but are also used extensively to permanently attach Radio Frequency Inventory Devices (RFID) to products to aid in the prevention of shoplifting.

Decals are only slightly different from regular labels in that they usually have the printed matter on the same side as the adhesive so the image is protected from wear. Usually created on clear acrylic substrate, these types of labels allow a product to show through the background.

Even the average office will contain many stickers and labels in their repertoire of supplies. Rolled print runs of shipping labels can quickly facilitate the addressing of mass mailings of your product or newsletter. Return address stickers can add color and variety to your return address. Filing folders and even the cabinets themselves are more easily organized with color coded stickers.

For applications that require an informational sticker to be on a product at the purchase but unwanted afterwards, as in the case of pricing labels, there are several types of removable adhesives that can be used. Most of these are designed to be peeled off without damaging the surface or leaving adhesive residue behind. Removable adhesive is used on labeling fresh produce as well.

However, stickers are not just for serious business. With the printing of peel-off self-adhesive label material so inexpensive, stickers can be printed in any imaginable color. With the two ply labeling material you can use die cutting forms to make your stickers and labels in almost any shape as well.

Stickers are extremely popular with children and can be obtained either flat or made of a puffy, sponge-like interior for added dimension. Since they are designed for play, most stickers made for children come with removable adhesives for ease of cleanup and removal when they are applied indiscriminately. Labels and stickers of this sort are extremely customizable and can be used for such various items as automobile bumper stickers and name-tags for parties and social gatherings.

There are a number of specialized high-tech stickers as well. A newly designed antimicrobial label has been developed that allows health care providers and hospital employees to see at a glance if there are harmful bacteria in the air. Radioactive labels and stickers have been developed for the use in tracking dangerous compounds. These are used when the label information must be read via an electronic scanner through special shielding containers.

While the words sticker and label are usually interchangeable there is one distinct difference. All stickers have a 100% adhesive backing whereas an ordinary label may only be attached at certain points on the bottom surface.

Stickers and Decals for every occasion.

William Merritt Chase was born on November 1st, 1849 in Nineveh, Indiana. After joining and leaving the Navy in 1869, he decided to leave Indiana and head off to New York to study art. While there, he studied at The National Academy of Design. In 1870 he left New York to help support his family in St. Louis, he worked as a still-life painter and started to make a name for himself. The wealthy art collectors in St. Louis decided they wanted to expand his talent in Europe and they sponsored a 5 year stay in Munich in return for paintings.

Chase returned back to the United States in 1878 and opened a studio in New York City. He was a member of the Tilers, a group of artists including Winslow Homer, J. Alden Weir and Arthur Quartley. He often painted portraits of his family, his wife Alice and his 8 children.

In 1882, Chase helped found the Society of American Painters in Pastel and created an extraordinary body of work in this medium. From 189l to 1902, he conducted classes in the open-air at Shinnecock Hills, Long Island, and it was during this period that some of his most celebrated works were painted, such as “The Fairy Tale,” 1892 (Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz) and “The Friendly Call,” 1895 (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)

Aside from painting portraits, William Merritt Chase also liked to paint landscapes. New York City parks and was often the subject for those landscapes, he used vibrant colors. William Chase enjoyed using oil paints to paint these paintings, he also used watercolors, pastels and etchings. His studio was filled with still lifes, portraits, landscapes, and cityscapes.

The portrait of “Lady in Black” is a perfect example of William Merritt Chase’s style. It currently hangs in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The brush strokes, although wide, don’t hide the intricate details of the woman’s face. It’s a piece that leaves the viewer wanting more, and often left me wondering what the “Lady in Black” was thinking about.

Chase, who spent his summers in Shinnecock, would often use this setting as a subject “The Chase Homestead at Shinnecock” is a perfect example of his landscape technique.

William Merritt Chase was also famous for his teaching and artistic training. He had a strong following of young students in New York City and was a founding member of The Society of American Artists and in 1880 was elected president. Chase died on October 25, 1916 in New York City.

Chase’s students numbered in the thousands; among the better known were Gifford Beal, Guy P?ne du Bois, Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley, Edward Hopper, Alfred Maurer, Kenneth Hayes Miller, Georgia O’Keeffe and Charles Sheeler.

William Merrit Chase’s current popularity has been very evident over the last twenty-five years. All major auction houses around the world such as Southeby’s and Christie’s have seen the prices of Chase’s work increase drastically. His continuing popularity and the scarceness of his works has allowed prices to increase significantly. For optimum value, when buying or selling, one should research his best years of painting.

Cris Jenson writes about travel, arts, and other topics of interest. Do you own a William Merritt Chase painting, or artwork from another artist? Please visit our web site http://www.newportart.com/William_Merritt_Chase.html and get your artwork appraised.

Frederick Childe Hassam was born on October 17th, 1859 in Dorchester, Boston. Although he was very bright, school was not for him and he dropped out before he graduated. He knew art was what he loved and he immediately began taking classes at the Lowell Institute. While he was there he began a career in illustration and watercolors. In order to put himself through school he took an apprenticeship at a wood engravers shop. Part of his early practice was anonymously illustrating for the Institute’s paper, they were well received and only after his fame did people realize who had been sending them in.

At 23 he had his first exhibition in Boston, it was a display of his watercolors. Although he enjoyed painting his native city, he was convinced by a close friend to travel to Europe to “step outside the box”. He and his friend, Edmund H. Garret, traveled all throughout Europe studying his impressionist forefathers. After establishing his reputation in Boston and studying in Europe, he settled in New York.

Early in his painting career he painted the European countryside, but he was most famous for his depiction of the worlds biggest cities, Paris, New York, and Boston. My favorite was always Boston Common at Twilight, an oil on canvas that my parents had a print of hanging in our livingroom. Although most of his fame came from his cityscape portraits, his most favorite landscapes were of the New England coast.

From 1903, he began painting in Old Lyme, Connecticut, where his influence turned the focus of Art Colony painters from the sombre palette of Tonalism to the bright colors and quick brush strokes of Impressionism. He also painted in California, and in 1925, made drawings of the colonial churches in Charleston, South Carolina, from which he created etchings. During World War I, he painted a series of flags asserting his strong patriotism, and he did a handful of portraits, which in his later years he recalled as numbering about eight.

He also painted many landscapes around East Hampton, New York at the invitation of his friend Gaines Ruger Donoho. In 1919, he and his wife purchased a home there adjacent to Donoho’s widow.

Hassam’s gallery in New York city was on Fifth Street, it was there that he found the subject of his most famous paintings, the 22 Flag paintings. His inspiration came from a parade that traveled down the avenue for World War 1. He divided his time between that gallery and a home in East Hampton, where he died when he was 75.

Child Hassam enjoyed painting city scenes of great celebrations. He used his impressionist talents to make small crowds look large and one American flag look like five. He commonly painted scenes in New York with many flags hanging off the buildings. These paintings, along with the ones done in Paris, are among the rarest and most sought after. Most end up at major auctions around the world such as Southeby’s and Christie’s and command premium prices.

Cris Jenson write on travel, the arts, and other topics.
For a complete biography on Impressionist Artist Childe Hassam, or if you own a Hassam painting you would like appraised, please visit our web site http://www.newportart.com/Childe_Hassam.html