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Evelia Porto
from V Magazine by Cesca Janece Waterfield October, 2006 Evelia Gonzalez Porto opens the door with a flourish and a wide smile as she announces, “Wait until you see my girls.” Then the Colombian-born Richmond resident who says, “Virginia is in my heart,” wastes no time introducing them. On October 6, Hispanic Women in the Arts (HWA) will make its third annual ascent from the riches of Latin American culture to Richmond. This year’s HWA will coincide with First Friday, and will present “A Walking Gallery,” encompassing seventeen sites throughout downtown. Framed by Broad and East Clay Streets, a twenty four square block area dotted with individual galleries will feature multiple media work by Hispanic artists, including oil, acrylic, sculpture, photography, poetry, dance and music. Latin Ballet of Virginia will delight with tango, salsa, capoeira, and Mexican dance. Music acts include Bio Ritmo, Alfredo & Friends, Salsa Youth Orchestra, and more. Porto is the petite powerhouse who is largely responsible for HWA. Though she is effervescent and embracing, she is modest when discussing herself, saying, “The main thing is to promote women.” Her commitment to women is evident, and toward serving them, she demonstrates compassion as she inventively circumvents challenges. When planning the upcoming show, for example, she confronted the reality that galleries book months in advance. Instead of abandoning her idea, Porto says she grew excited, and thought, “Let’s do something fun.” As she unfolds the map to point out the route, she exclaims with obvious enthusiasm, “Seventeen women!” She teases, “Men were jealous! So I have seven men also. I have a very good committee I work with.” Consistently unassuming about her own talent, Porto doesn’t mention that she is among the exhibiting artists and that her own work will appear at the Richmond Public Library. Visual artists include Rosana Lopez Hough, a painter who will show at Outre Gallery. Lopez Haugh calls herself “Virginia Rican.” Although the painter grew up in Northern Virginia, her family is originally from Puerto Rico. Lopez Haugh says of Porto, “She really seeks to empower emerging artists. Putting me in that show and being the way she is, she gave me the push I needed to move me forward in my art career.” Evelia Porto is enthusiastic about every artist participating in HWA, and shares biographical anecdotes. One sponsor of HWA is Janet Brown Interiors, of Carytown. Brown says, “Knowing Evelia and knowing some of the work of these artists, I just find [HWA] very interesting.” Brown emphasizes multiplicity and the expression of personal identity in both HWA’s composition, and in home décor, instead of “something predictable.” She adds, “Richmond is lucky to have so many Latina artists.” With so many commitments, Porto still finds time for a vast number of interests and hobbies. She ran a successful travel agency for years, and she quips, “I love to travel, if they are very odd destinations.” As she sits, her bags are packed for two weeks in the Ukraine. But she will return, because Richmond awaits viewing some of its hidden talent and will celebrate that we have only wait until October 6 to see Porto’s girls. Back
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