For the last ten tears I have been developing a hybrid methodology based on the ethnographic research methods of participant observation and the research tools of phenomenology in order to uncover African aesthetic retentions preserved in Latin American cultures. I began using this method to investigate the aesthetics of Santería with visits to botanicas -- religious items stores in Latino communities; and visits to the home altars of santeros in New York, Washington D.C., Miami, and Cuba. The results of my findings became works of art for a 1992 exhibition entitled Last Siete Potencias: Mestizaje and the Aesthetics of Santería. A major symposium accompanied the exhibition that resulted in my book Santería Aesthetics in Contemporary Latin American Art published by the Smithsonian Institution Press in 1996.

Using the same methodology I began a new body of work in 1993 on African spiritual and aesthetic retentions in Portobelo, Panama. I began by conducting field research among the Congos de Portobelo as a participant-observer in their Congo play. The Congos of Portobelo are direct descendants of the cimarrones, escaped slaves. The Congos maintain a tradition of celebrating the freedom won by their foreparents in the wars against the Spaniards during the colonial era in Panama. This tradition includes street theater, dance, play, music, architecture, and costume, and is based on creolized myths and legends of Panama, Africa, and Europe. In 1994 I lived in the village for six months documenting the oral tradition, dance and music of the Congos, and I continue returning to the village at least twice a year. Today I am an active participant in the village as the co-founder of Taller Portobelo, an artist colony for self-taught artists, and art students from the United States and the University of Panama.

El Cristo Negro de Portobelo - The Black Christ of Portobelo also resides in the village. This black statue of Jesus Christ "appeared" in the village three centuries ago and according to believers, is thought to have miraculous powers. As many as 60,000 devotees of the Cristo make annual pilgrimages to visit the statue on the 21st of February. I have become a devotee of the Cristo Negro making two pilgrimages so far. I am presently organizing an important symposium of the Cristo Negro to take place at Spelman College in December 1998.

During field trips I have documented Congo performances and the pilgrimage of the Cristo Negro on audio and video recordings and slide photography. This slide-video-lecture includes a discussion of my research methods, presentation of the field documentation and concludes with the works of art produced based on the experiences. This presentation is also meant to provide the audience with a better understanding of how contemporary Latino artists are creating art and encourages art students to consider scholarly research as a resource for material to make art.