Artist: Rebeca Alvarez

Medium: Gouache

Titles: 

Flor de Maga: The national flower of Puerto Rico this piece represents the Taíno or endemic part of Puerto Rico

Vejigante: A vejigante is a folkloric character in Puerto Rican festival celebrations, mainly seen during Carnival time. Traditional colors of the Vejigantes were green, yellow, and red or red and black.The term vejigante derives from the words vejiga (bladder) and gigante (giant) due to custom of blowing up and painting cow bladders. 

Bomba Dancer: a traditional dance and musical style of Puerto Rico.[1] Its origins are rooted in the island's history of African slavery but today has evolved into a community expression of Puerto Rican culture. While Bomba can be used as the generic name for a number of rhythms, it is truly about a creative, interactive relationship between dancers, percussionists and singers. 

Plena: Influenced by Bomba music it originated around the 1900’s as a result of the mixing of culturally diverse classes

Cotorra Puertorriqueña: Puerto Rico’s parrot that is in endangered. It is native to PR and recognized for it’s bright, green and blue feathers.

El Buleador: Bomba drummer a traditional drum used in bomba music of Puerto Rico. At least two drums are required to perform bomba music and dance: a Primo or subidor, the lead drum who follows the dancer, and the buleador, which keep a steady beat.

About the Artist:

A lot of my illustrations center on representations of different cultures, specifically my Puerto Rican heritage. These series of illustrations are called "Raíces" that celebrate the three predominant cultures found in Puerto Rico which are: African, Spanish, and Taíno.

Flor de Maga, Vejigante, Bomba Dancer, Plena, Cotorra Puertorriquena, El Buleador