“BE FREE, MY SON, BE FREE.”
JAMES DE LA VEGA “BECOME YOUR DREAM” “BE MINDFUL, EVEN IF YOUR MIND IS FULL” “BETTER THINGS WILL COME YOUR WAY” “SOMETIMES THE KING IS A WOMAN” “YOUR THUMBS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU THINK.” “THE RICH CONTROL THE DESTINY OF THE POOR, BUT A SMART MAN CONTROLS HIS OWN.” “FATE IS MOVING YOU TOWARDS YOUR DESTINY” “SOMETIMES WHEN YOU ARE RIGHT, YOU CAN STILL BE WRONG.”
The Road Less Traveled Begins With A Dream Written by Jasmine Clemente
Behind the tinted shades and fisherman’s hat is a Puerto Rican man with a lucid imagination; fish use their fins for wings, snakes give women 10PM curfews and chalk has more power than a pen. Only an artist/painter/ philosopher would expand such witty potential from the edges of his soul, and yet not just anyone who holds those titles, but only one man from New York City by the name of James De La Vega would actually be so original. In fact, his legacy was birthed in Spanish Harlem, better known as “El Barrio” when he passionately began writing encouraging phrases such as,
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“Become Your Dream,” “Be Free, My Son, Be Free,” and “Be Mindful, even if your mind is full,” amongst others words of wisdom across park benches, public walls, concrete pavements and wherever else he could reach pedestrians. As far as he was concerned, the world was his canvas and because of that, the yin and the yang of it all responded to his actions. On a positive side, the majority of the common people admired his supportive slogans, taking pictures of his spontaneous statements found all over the city on their daily commute to work or school. However, law enforcements were
hardly impressed and saw De La Vega as just another graffiti artist who was vandalizing property. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before De La Vega finally served a n i n e t y d ay s e n t e n c e o f community service for painting a mural of an oversized fish jumping into a smaller fishbowl on the side of a Bronx warehouse. Nevertheless, he quickly turned his punishment casted by the laws of man into a community blessing when he began to play by their rules. After opening up his first gallery in Spanish Harlem, he delivered his messages legally as a responsible tax payer and business
JAMES DE LA VEGA
“The thing with moving on is that you have to really push the past into its own space so that you can reach forward into the distance, and discover new things that are going to propel you into a more powerful place.” - James De La Vega
A Latino With A Universal Message Touches The Soul Of Every Man owner. However after some time, De La Vega decided that he needed to expand his work by moving his gallery to a more popular tourist destination. In the summer of 2005, he relocated his gallery to St. Marks Place in the East Village and renamed it, “The De La Vega Museum.” It was there that a world wide audience would find comical illustrations created in a cartoonist fashion of famous icons such as Jesus Christ, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, and even sketches of today’s everyday people stretching themselves into a variety of Yoga positions. He even went so far as to use his mother’s image as the “poster face”, such as titling some of his pieces as, “My Mother As David Blaine Breathing In A Fish Tank”,“My Mother As Fidel Castro In A Yankees Outfit”, and “My Mother as John Lennon wearing a T-shirt that says ‘Nueva York’,” amongst others. Perhaps her influence truly inspired his ambition since she raised him as a single parent after his father’s death to A.I.D.S. in the early 90‘s. However, as tragical as it was, De La Vega still
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graduated from Cornell University in 1994 and followed in his footsteps by becoming a successful entrepreneur. For a long time, customers would stumble upon his museum as if they had discovered a pot of gold. This is how James De La Vega wanted it, not promoting it with newspaper Ad’s or television commercials on purpose because he felt that it would leave a stronger impression if people would discover it “accidently” on their personal journey somewhere, whether it was an important meeting or a casual encounter. Because of this, he began building genuine relationships with the locals as well as with professionals from around the world who appreciated the divine inspiration emanating from his colorful palace. Eventually, business prospects would drop in for regular visits until they extended an offer to De La Vega where they could both benefit from the distribution of his creative line. And today he has museums in some of the hottest locations around the globe such as in Paris, Italy and Tokyo.
JAMES DE LA VEGA LATINO ARTIST & WORLD WIDE PHILOSOPHER
His message spreads beyond space & time... However, on Sunday, August 15th 2010, the reign of his five year NYC establishment was closed due to a mysterious change of heart that would challenge the artist to once again, try something new with the direction of his business endeavors. It was an enjoyable place to visit indeed, however in todays economy, it makes people wonder if the pioneer of pursuing dreams himself is being tested. “The intention was never to be there forever,” said De La Vega. “In fact, it’s like the chalk drawings that I drew on pavements; They’re there for a day or two and then the rain comes and washes them away. And I think that makes them more powerful because there is presence but there is also absence.” He also admitted that although he was paying a monthly rent of six thousand dollars, he was still able to survive in what he calls, an abusive real estate situation. “We paid the rent. Obviously. We were there for five years. But removing myself from that environment is an equal part of the message.” After puffing on his cigar, the artist goes on to continue explaining, “I don’t have a desire just to sell. It’s about spreading the message out there in different ways. You know, people need to realize that we have the ability to keep transforming ourselves and building bridges beyond the world that we know.
“It’s like the chalk drawings that I drew on pavements; They’re there for a day or two and then the rain comes and washes them away. And I think that makes them more powerful because there is presence but there is also absence.” - James De La Vega
We should never become complacent with what we have because we should keep E X P A N D I N G ourselves and paying the price of taking up more space than what has been allotted to us.” Although James De La Vega has not yet decided what his next move will be, it is evident that his message will continue to reach many minds with his unique exhibits which may just possibly become a very popular franchise overseas. Who knows? But have no fear, New York fans! You can still find De La Vegas work
throughout Manhattan’s night life in places such as, Sofrito’s Restaurant and Sazon, both serving Spanish cuisine amongst many others. In addition, he will still be making frequent visitations to public schools, teaching children how to harness the power of their creative skills. “The thing with moving on is that you have to really push the past into its own space so that you can reach forward into the distance, and discover new things that are going to propel you into a more powerful place,” stated De La Vega. “And I refuse...to let anything hold me back.”
PLACES TO FIND JAMES DE LA VEGA www.twitter.com/ DELAVEGAPROPHET
www.facebook.com /pages/James-De-LaVega/73787190947 A RANDOM NYC CHALK DRAWING
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GOO GLE!
EROTICA Fall/Winter 2010
Monica S. Martinez Owner of Tantalizing Productions and self published Latin Erotic Author.
“I don’t believe sex should be considered a taboo.” - Monica S. Martinez
FERTILITY/ABUNDANCE/MAGIC/WOMEN & SEX... Article and Q&A written by Jasmine Clemente For centuries, women have been shamefully
that women are becoming more self aware and
labeled some of the most degrading names due
accepting of their sexual appetite, realizing that
to our curiosity and explorations within the act of
the most important thing to share with any lover
having sexual intercourse. On the other hand,
is their honesty, respect, and love for one another.
men have been encouraged to soak their oats
Yes, even if it is just a casual fling, ‘love’ should
freely as if it is their humane right to be sexually
be present, not because the individuals should be
adventurous. It is when men rape women,
“in love” with each other, but because they
manipulate and pimp their bodies out for profiting
should have enough self respect for themselves
as prostitutes and/or have affairs behind their
to know how to give it to someone else - and that
backs that then... the subject of sex becomes
requires having a healthy dose of ‘self love’.
repressed like a best kept secret due to fear and
In talking to an Urban Erotic Latin Author
protection. But sex, ladies and gentlemen, was
named Monica S. Martinez, she tells “Latino Y
actually meant to be a beautiful and sacred act.
Style Magazine” how women can harness the
That doesn’t mean that there should be a rule
power of their sexuality with confidence and self
book in how many partners one should have, or if
assurance. She also states, “I don’t believe sex
one should be married. It just means that sex
should be considered a taboo.” Here is a strong
shouldn’t be ‘abused’, however it should still be
Latina who encourages all the ladies out there to
enjoyed! It is just recently that women are finally
feel good about their natural desires, how to keep
allowing themselves the pleasure of enjoying
the spice alive in their relationships, and how to
intimate connections with men instead of
unlock their creative side in the bedroom. She is
repressing themselves due to religious beliefs,
also a successful business owner, a devoted wife
societal pressures or self esteem issues. It is now
and a loving mother of two children.
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Monica S. Martinez Owner of Tantalizing Productions and Self Published Author of two Latin Erotic Anthologies and an up & coming novel.
Q & A ON LATIN EROTIC AUTHOR Monica S. Martinez Your website mentions a time when When did you decide to you used to repress your sexual include erotic novelties to desires. Describe the transition from your company? being shy to becoming sexually I’ve been writing since the age of twelve but it was when I began confident. To be honest, I’ve always been shy. However, when I met my current husband I began to explore my sexual desires. It was due to him that I was able to find me, sexually. He didn’t judge me nor look down on anything that I wanted to try. He always encouraged me to explore. And boy did I explore!
What inspired you to open up a sex toy company? And which is your best selling item? My husband once again, is the magic behind me opening up the company. We found a common ground on our sexual level and felt that all couples should do the same. It would prevent divorces and keep the spice alive. Now as far as the best selling item goes, well, that’s hard to say due to the fact that so many people have different taste. Honestly, everything in our catalog does well simply because we hand pick our items when recommending them to our clients.
Since ‘SEX’ is such a controversial topic, how do you handle criticism? And describe a successful tantalizing party as well as a poor one. Well of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I have come across some women who were not pleased with what I do. However, at the end of the day I love what I represent and I don’t let their opinions effect me. And a successful Tantalizing party is
throwing parties that I realized I was a sex therapist to these women. They began to give me intimate details of their encounters and it was then when I knew that it was time for
Owner of Tantalizing Productions
me to get back into my writing.
In your most recent Anthology entitled, DULCE DE LECHE, there’s a short story called, ‘Going To Puerto Rico’, where you had sex on the plane. Is that story true? ‘Going To Puerto Rico’ is a fictional story. However, we all know that fiction is never really fiction because they all stem from experience.
Do you think there is a difference in how Latin women view sexuality as oppose to women of other cultures? Absolutely. We as Latinas are taught that the longer we wait, the better we look so we can
And as far as good sex goes, well that’s when two people are extremely in touch with one another. Communication is key and lust must be present. Eye contact is important too so you can see how much you’re both pleasing each other, but on the contrary, I think that bad sex is when two people aren’t connecting.
What are we to expect from your next Anthology entitled, “Twisted Cherries”, and tell us about your first novel, “Tangled Web?” From ‘TWISTED CHERRIES’ you can expect sex, drama, fantasy, suspense and so much more. It is definitely a page turner! In “TANGLED WEB”, I created most of the
fit into that “Good Girl” role. But the truth is that
characters Latino because I wanted to put a
we have been very sexual beings since the
book out there that we could all relate too.
beginning of time. I mean, just look at our
Describe your book release parties. And where can we find you again?
dance: Salsa. It’s erotic in itself!
Do you personally believe that certain stereo types are true? And what do you think makes great sex as oppose to bad? I don’t believe in any stereo types but it’s unfortunate that in todays society, people still
probably every party that I do. Therefore, I
do. In todays world, a man who sleeps around is
haven’t had any poor ones. Really, the parties
considered ‘THE MAN’ while a woman who
are a lot of fun. I remember once having a party
does the same is considered a slut or a tramp.
where the women were new to the sex toy thing
We need to let that go and if people want to
and were prudes so to speak. But by the end of
experiment before marriage or even if they
the party they were all thanking me for having
decide to never tie the knot, then let them be. As
such a great time. Oh! And did I mention that
long as they are being safe and are not
they bought my entire stock?
spreading any diseases then why should we frown behind what they want?
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Our book release parties are something one has never experienced before. During my release parties I have an open mic which features spoken word poets, I have a professional Latin singer with dancers and I even have actors who put on a small skit that emits sexuality. An example of one event would be when I gave special flavored ice cream to everyone in the audience for the release of ‘DULCE DE LECHE’. So many people told me they had a great time and that they were all in the mood to have sex as soon as they returned home. You can find me on www.monicamartinez.org or facebook me.