MISSING SIBLINGS ARE TOGETHER AGAIN AFTER MURAL ABOUT THEIR MOTHER IN SOUTH BRONX, NEW YORK CITY
Ricky Flores words: "Wrote the bottom piece several weeks ago when Ananda Nahu came to New York to work on a series of murals based on photos of my work taken in the South Bronx in the 80's. We talked about Yvette and the pain that it had on her family when she pasted that resulted in her three children being separated from one another. Ananda, with several different choices that could have gone up on that wall, choose Yvette. In less then a month, a family member contacted me to let me know that they found one of the missing children. She was looking for her missing siblings and through numerous texts and emails, we figured out that her brother was just a click away. Not only that, but that he was in contact with the third sister. What an amazing experience to watch this unfold today as they reunited right here through Facebook. There was great harm that came out of life in the South Bronx during the fire years, today it was great to see the beginning of some healing in one family. I wanted to thank Edna Torrez and Sandra Maldonado who made this happen.
Yvette - 1984 by Ananda Nahu, Brazilian muralist on Barretto Street in the South Bronx, February 2014. There is a connection that we have forge with the world, those of us born in the Fires of the South Bronx, that has had a lasting impact, not only in our own personal lives, but on the world over time and distance. For me this week, it has been reinforced by how those of us, from the artistic community, have been received worldwide. It far surpasses what we dreamed of when we walked those streets, in what we perceived to be, the solitary days of our youth. I never understood that there were people from around the world walking that path with us and with our entire community."