Hello beautiful people,
It Happened! Again! And it happened very good and delicious! Taqueria Clandestina numero II took place last Friday (25.09) at Red Door Gallery and it gathered more than 120 people hungry for some real tacos, for some Mexican music and very good mezcal, and of course, for the fun and international crowd. Marco Eskalante is, again, behind the concept of this event, being also the creator, promotor and bartender of the night.
Because the first happening of the Taqueria Clandestina was a success we wanted to repeat the event, to make it bigger, better and spread again the happiness that is brought by food, art and people. So, again, for one night only, The Red Door Gallery was transformed in a taqueria (taco-shop) and having the opportunity to eat a taco made by a Mexican chef in an unconventional space in Copenhagen was an event by itself. Adding the latino music and the specific decoration and elements that you can find in a traditional taqueria the visitors had the chance to experience a little reality corner from Mexican culture.
This event is designed and implemented as a happening, which by definition is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings occur anywhere and are often multidisciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience. The happening part of the evening started when we opened the doors, people start to arrive and the first tacos were served. The unusual space, the unique concept, the delicious tacos and the experience and notoriety from the first Clandestina gathered more than 120 people at the event. The presence of our guests from many different places on the Globe, together with the authentic music and specific smells created an atmosphere that is hardly reproduced elsewhere in Copenhagen. The event hosted an exhibition as well with various works that are created using the inspiration from Mexican Culture. The participating artists were Marco Eskalante, Andreea Vlad, Rama King Nash (special guest), Jewel Pickard and Elizabeth Torres.
1. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
2. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
3. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
4. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
5. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
The creator of the concept is Marco Eskalante, a Mexican visual artist and designer, who's been living in Denmark and Mexico (traveling back and forth) for the last 17 years. "With this idea I wanted to bring people together to enjoy what we call the "real Mexican food", and to introduce to an audience that lives in Copenhagen the atmosphere of an authentic taqueria. Being an artist and a conceptual thinker, and more that that, a food passionate, I created this social-artistic event with the intention of bringing some of the tastes, smells, sounds, colours and motifs from my own culture into a Copenhagen location, for an international audience, including friends and people that I know, and creating a friendly warm happening for everybody. Art and food connects people, so why not bring everything together in one concept? The first edition was a real success and because so many people wanted it to happen and to participate again, I decided to create the Taqueria Clandestina II" said Marco. Why Clandestina? "Because is a concept outside of the norm, that doesn't follow the established rules; no one expects a taco shop in an art gallery, and being a one time event in a (initially) secret location gives a mysterious feeling around the happening" added Marco.
6. Marco Eskalante - the creator of Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
Part of the happening was also the art installation by Marco with the title "We are all immigrants". Because we cannot ignore the current events from all over the world and we cannot close our eyes, ears and hearts to the difficult situation that so many people has to go through, Marco created this installation as a reminder that we are all the same, we share the same fundamental characteristics that makes us human and with all the differences we are one and the same. He explains: "The basic concept of Immigration is a Natural phenomena for humans. We have done it for thousands of years, always looking for a better living. With this piece, I try to question the idea of the illegality of immigration, and the fear that is generated by it nowadays in Europe. Aren´t we all human beings at the end? It is not the same planet we all live on? We are all Immigrants! In this art piece, the wrestler mask is repeated as a motif in all the pieces, representing the "human" as the equal element. Each piece is different from one another, showing the diversity within the uniformity. All the pieces, together compose a group, a society. The different individual elements finally become a stronger unity."
7. "We are all Immigrants". Spray paint and markers on cardboard. 29 x 39 cm. (40 pieces) by Marco Eskalante
8. "We are all Immigrants" (detail). Spray paint and markers on cardboard. 29 x 39 cm. (40 pieces) by Marco Eskalante
9. "We are all Immigrants" (detail). Spray paint and markers on cardboard. 29 x 39 cm. (40 pieces) by Marco Eskalante
10. "We are all Immigrants" (detail). Spray paint and markers on cardboard. 29 x 39 cm. (40 pieces) by Marco Eskalante
Also, we had invited as a special guest the Mexican-Danish artist Rama King Nash with one of his works that was displayed as a projection on the wall. He was born and raised in Mexico and attended art academy there. The Mexican narrative tradition of Posada, Rivera and Toledo in the lead, have helped to shape his own way of telling stories. On the other hand, he is related to Jørgen Nash, Lis Zwick and Asger Jorn, which has been very important in his view of art and color use, therefore his visual language is a fusion of the intuitive and synthetic from abstract art, impulsiveness by expressionist art and the narrative from figurative art.
11. "Our daily bread" / "El pan nuestro de todos los días" Video Projection -2015 Rama King Nash - Original 2001 Linoleum prints on corn tortillas.
“This work (“Our daily bread”) was created by the synergies that arise when different people go up in the same inspiration and influence each other through dialogue. The work was exhibited for the first time in 2001 when Rama King Nash, along with Eskalante and Alex Rebolledo staged an exhibition at the dissapered Jyllands-Posten Gallery in Kongens Nytorv.
We were a group of artists and we called TRE, three Mexican in Copenhagen with a great need to share Mexican culture abroad and especially interested in breaking down a lot of stereotypes about Mexico. The ambition was that through pieces of contemporary art of all kinds (Installation, happening, painting, graphics, etc.) we could give a wider and contemporary picture of Mexico.
I remember that I went for long walks especially in the city centre, the streets near the “Zocalo” is full of history, life and magic. It is simply the place which in my opinion represents Mexico City best. Virtually everyone in town must be in at one time or another, and then there are those who work in the city centre. It is fascinating to see how so many different kinds of people can be in the same place. I’ve only experienced anything like that in some places in NY or Paris. “Coexist” is the right word to describe the situation.
The work “Our daily bread” is a tribute to the many specific types of people you meet in Mexico City. The motives were “personajes” like shoe-shine guy, street vendor, the prostitute, the singer in the subway, the traffic lights clown, the fire-juggler in the corner, etc.
When I came to Copenhagen with a suitcase full of things, I met with Eskalante and Alex Rebolledo, they had done very exciting art work touching social, cultural and political matters. It was inspiring to meet with them and talk because I was once very influenced by the academy guidelines which in itself was good, it gave me technical freedom, but Alex and Eskalante on the other hand had a different approach to art, they did not have the same craftsmanship freedom but they thought freely and think big. They did real good works which I had neither seen before or since.
Corn tortillas are the main food of the Mexican kitchen. Poor or rich eat them everyday. I therefore chose to make prints on them, they represent somehow all the Mexicans.”
12. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
For this Clandestina I created a series of small canvases representing the portraits of some Mexican personalities. The series is called "Memento Mori" and because it is a bigger subject I wrote a separate post about it and you can read it here.
And here are some more photos from the happening:
13. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
14. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
15. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
16. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
17. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
18. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
19. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
20. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
21. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
22. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
23. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
24. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
25. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
26. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
27. Taqueria Clandestina II at Red Door Gallery Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
Again, the event was a success and we sold every single taco and drink that we had prepared for the evening. For sure, Taqueria Clandestina will happen again, in other location, and hopefully we will gather the same crowd and, why not, many more.
Many thanks for everyone that helped and participated for this event to happen, thanks to Verdens Kultur Centret for their support, to Red Door Gallery for hosting and special thanks to the Taco Chef, on his name Anthar Amoros for cooking and serving the most delicious tacos! Also, thanks to the photographers that documented the event: Kristof Salvarovsky and Pawel Ski, to Carlos Ramirez Chavarria for his wonderful music performance and most important, to all the people that joined us and happened Taqueria Clandestina II! In my name and in Marco's name: Thank you! Gracias! Tusind tak! Mulțumim!
28. Carlos Ramirez Chavarria at Taqueria Clandestina II Photo by Salvarovsky/Ski
Love,
Andreea