Tito Ortiz
SubjectPortrait of
Tito Ortiz
(Puerto Rican)
PhotographerPhotographed by
Gale Zucker
Date1991
Mediumphotographic print
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightCopyright Held By Gale Zucker
Object number2015.196.1013.1
DescriptionPhotographic portrait of Tito Ortiz playing an acoustic guitar taken by Gale Zucker for the Living Legends Project in 1991.
NotesBiographical Note: Tito Ortiz of East Hartford is a long-time artist, solo performer, and leader of the group Son Borincano. His performances and work in schools combine music and storytelling to involve audiences and children in an exploration of the history and culture of Puerto Rico and include participatory playing of Caribbean instruments as well as historical background. He has presented music residencies at Guakia where he also taught guitar, the Andover Newton School, Massachusetts; Betances and many other Hartford schools; and especially with the Bushnell Partners Program statewide. Tito worked extensively with community groups such as the Webster Correctional Institution, the Cultural Center Without Walls on Park Street, the Artists Against Aids coalition, and the Village for Families and Children where he was employed as a social worker. He also taught art and was exhibited at Capitol Community Technical College in Hartford in a 1998 exhibit celebrating his 20 years of artwork. Born in Caguas Puerto Rico, his biography states, “My goal with music and visual art is to bring audiences to a better understanding of the beauty and history of Latino culture. In my solo performances of songs and storytelling I feature my own compositions and the traditional stories of Puerto Rico, accompanying myself on guitar and cuatro. I also play Caribbean music and contemporary Latin jazz with the group that I formed, Son Borincano (previously called Aires Riqueños). We performed at the Bushnell’s Community Open House, among other venues, and had regular gigs at Braza and Bamboleo Restaurants which will continue through 2005. I also play guitar, guiro, and percussion with the David Giardina Jazz Band and Ray Gonzalez’ music groups out of Guakia. My music and presentations are in both English and Spanish, depending on the audience." In 1991, he was photographed for the exhibit “Living Legends” organized by the Cultural Heritage Arts Program of the Institute for Community Research. Known for his portrayal of the well-known folk character Juan Bobo, Tito performed storytelling and music as part of CCHAP’s traditional music series at Charter Oak Cultural Center in 1997.Subject Note: Living Legends: Connecticut Master Traditional Artists was a multi-year project to showcase the excellence and diversity of folk artists living and practicing traditional arts throughout the state. The first CCHAP Director, Rebecca Joseph, developed the first exhibition in 1991, displaying photographic portraits along with art works and performances representing 15 artists from different communities at the Institute for Community Gallery at 999 Asylum Avenue in Hartford. In 1993, the next CCHAP Director, Lynne Williamson, organized two exhibitions of the photographic portraits from the original Living Legends exhibit at the State Legislative Offices and at Capital Community-Technical College in Hartford. The photographs were also displayed in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC in October 1994, with the help of Rep. Nancy Johnson. Also in 1993, a grant from NEA Folk Arts was awarded to CCHAP to expand and tour the original exhibit and create a video to accompany it. The Connecticut Humanities Council and the Connecticut Commission on the Arts supported an exhibit catalogue and a performance series. CCHAP began fieldwork around the state in 1994 to document several of the artists involved in the first exhibit, adding new artists. The expanded version of Living Legends opened at ICR's Gallery at its new office space at 2 Hartford Square West, then traveled to several sites in 1994 and 1995, including the Norwich Arts Council, the Torrington Historical Society, and the New England Folklife Center, Boott Mills Museum at Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell Massachusetts. CCHAP along with folklorist David Shuldiner created a video based on images taken of the artists at work and interviews conducted with them. Portraits and images of the artists working were taken by photographer Gale Zucker. A catalogue of the images, art works, and texts based on the artist interviews was compiled by CCHAP and designed by Dan Mayer who also served as the exhibition designer.
Thirteen visual artists were included in the new Living Legends project: Eldrid Arntzen, Norwegian rosemaling; Qianshen Bai, Chinese seal carving; Katrina Benneck, German scherenschnitt; Alice Brend, Pequot ash basket making; Romulo Chanduvi, Peruvian wood carving; Laura Hudson, African American quilt making; Ilias Kementzides, Pontian Greek lyra making and playing; Sotha Keth and Sophanna Keth Yos, Cambodian dance costume making; Keith Mueller, decoy carving; Bernabela Quiñones, Puerto Rican mundillo lace; Walter Scadden, decorative ironwork; Nucu Stan, Romanian straw pictures. Five performing artists were presented: Sonal Vora, Indian Odissi dance; Somaly Hay, Cambodian court dance; Ilias Kementzides, Pontian Greek lyra; Abraham Adzenyah, Ghanaian music and drumming; and La Primera Orquesta de Cuatros, Puerto Rican cuatro group.
The profound way these artists describe their inspirations, their intricate technical processes, and the dynamic tension they feel between traditional form and personal innovation within that form mark them as true creative masters. The artists featured in Living Legends had very different characters, stories, homelands, communities, art forms and techniques, but they were linked by their high level of artistic skill and a devotion to the traditions of their culture. The Living Legends project highlighted the way that cultural histories, technical information, aesthetic tastes, social values and other deep aspects of heritage can be communicated through the process and creation of traditional arts. Also, these artists express a strong desire to teach what they know to others, to "pass on the tradition." Community survival, memories of the past, and hopes for the next generation depend on exemplary culture bearers such as these.
Biographical Note: Gale Zucker is an experienced professional photographer and artist with a special interest in fiber arts. Her photojournalism has appeared in Forbes, Modern Maturity, Newsweek, the New York Times, and Yankee. She exhibits in Connecticut, New York, and New Hampshire and received a grant from the Minnesota Folklife Center to produce an audio-visual program. Her many commercial and arts-world clients include the National Endowment for the Arts, Modern Knitting, the Connecticut Health Foundation, Smithsonian Magazines, Penguin Random House, and Raytheon Technologies, among others. She collaborated with CCHAP on photography portraits and artists’ techniques/processes documentation for the Living Legends exhibit project from 1991-1994.
Additional audio, video, and/or photographic materials exist in the archive relating to this artist.
Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.
Status
Not on view
