I can’t believe it’s been seven months since I visited Puerto Rico for the first time. I had an amazing trip, and loved the island! Although, I didn’t really practice my Spanish much while I was there. One of the activities that we had for the retreat goers was a bomba lesson with the most talented dancer. She taught our group about the history of bomba and the different styles. It was amazing to be outside, under the stars watching her dance while the drummers played following her lead. Because in bomba, the drummers follow the dancers and not the other way around.
The photos from this event were extraordinary (at least I think they were)! Even before the night was over, I knew I was going to try and turn the experience into a painting. The result is below. I ended up painting this twice. I wanted to send one to my sister-in-law as a birthday gift, but the first one I painted was too big for the box I was shipping. So, I painted it a second time. Of course I forgot to take a picture of the second version, so the one in this post is only the first version.
