If you’ve ever been stuck between languages, searching your bilingual brain for the right phrase, you’d appreciate the art of Tony Mendoza.
Mendoza took the Cuban phrases he heard as a kid growing up in Miami and turned them into art. He painted a cow dancing on a hot skillet to illustrate vaca frita, a traditional Cuban dish. He painted a Chinese rice container next to a bright orange mango — arroz con mango, a Cuban way to say, "This situation is a hot mess."
His art reflects the mind of a person raised between cultures. An American kid, raised by Cuban parents, trying to make sense of South Florida.
What does it mean to be Cuban-American? Tony has paintings for that. A stove-top Cuban coffee maker painted next to a Mr. Coffee. A can of Coke next to a Materva. South Florida culture juxtaposed.
His art also evokes nostalgia. He’s painted the Little Havana of his childhood and the Little Havana of today.
On the July 25 episode of Sundial, we plucked Mendoza out of his studio and brought him into ours.
On Sundial's previous episode, Edison Lopez told us how he found an unexpected niche on Tik Tok by making educational videos about Caribbean culture.
Listen to Sundial Monday through Thursday on WLRN, 91.3 FM, live at 1 p.m., rebroadcast at 8 p.m. Missed a show? Find every episode of Sundial on your favorite podcast app, such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.
