Cronología de Héctor Méndez Caratini
1949
Born August 5, 1949, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the oldest child of Héctor Méndez Bertrán and Gloria Caratini; there will be two younger sisters, Ileana and Gloribel. Attends elementary school at Sacred Heart Academy in Santurce, Puerto Rico.
1958
For his birthday, his uncle gives him a Kodak Brownie camera, which he still has. Begins to photograph his family and surroundings.
1964-68
While attending high school at St. John’s Preparatory School, is responsible for taking the photographs for the school yearbook.
1968
Begins to study liberal arts at Boston University, where he remains for two years. Here, becomes familiar with the work of photographer Minor White at MIT.
1970
Returns to Puerto Rico, where he continues his studies in literature, anthropology, sociology, and political science at the University of Puerto Rico. Takes his first photography courses in the School of Architecture.
1971
Obtains a B.A. with a major in Social Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico.
1972
Moves to New York City to study photography, where he obtains a certificate as a professional photographer from the Germain School of Photography and takes part in his first group show, with other graduates of that school.
During this period, becomes familiar with the styles of American photography by visiting pioneering galleries in the medium such as the Witkin Gallery and Light Gallery; he also goes to exhibits at the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, etc.
Marries Annette López; they live for one year in Greenwich Village.
Works after graduation for Vogue Studios and Ornall Color Laboratories, both in New York City.
1973
Before returning to Puerto Rico, travels across the continent by car, visiting the Grand Canyon in Colorado and Big Sur in California. Travels by bus to Yucatán, Mexico. Documents the journey in photographs.
In Puerto Rico, begins career as ophthalmic photographer for the Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico. For 15 years, takes part in the Diabetic Retinopathy Study and Early Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy Study, the largest studies of their kind in the history of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Has his first one-man show, titled Eslaids, a visual projection on the exterior walls of San Jose Church in Old San Juan. Also exhibits Experimental Photography in the El Morro Gallery in Old San Juan.
1974
In the summer, he travels throughout five different Latin American countries, documenting the ruins at Machu Picchu, the indigenous people of Perú and Bolivia, the waterfalls at Foz Iguazú, among other themes."
1975
Under Ricardo Alegría, begins masters-degree studies at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe in San Juan.
As part of his research, begins photographic essays on Puerto Rican culture. First subjects are Loíza Aldea, petroglyphs, and the world-renowned composer and cellist Pablo Casals.
At the University of Puerto Rico Theater, Río Piedras, shows this last photo documentary at an exhibit titled Homenaje a Pablo Casals (Homage to Pablo Casals) on the occasion of the Casals Festival.
With three other photographers, takes part in the show Imágenes (Images) in the Museum of Latin American Prints, Old San Juan.
1976
Travels for a photographic documentation project through five countries in Latin America, visiting the ruins of Machu Picchu, indigenous peoples in Peru and Bolivia, the waterfalls at Foz Iguazú, etc.
With Ramón Aboy, founds the Puerto Rican Photographic Association and takes part in the inaugural exhibit for the Galería PL900 in San Juan, titled El artesano en su ambiente (The Artisan and His Environment).
1977
Travels through Europe visiting photography festivals in France. From this point onward, becomes one of the most active local artists, taking part in important international events.
Attends workshops in portraiture and the preparation of portfolios with American masters George Tice, Arnold Newman, and Duane Michaels at the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, Arizona.
Prints his first limited-edition portfolio, Petroglifos de Boriquén (Boriquén Petroglyphs), which is exhibited at the Museo de Antropología, Arqueología, e Historia de Puerto Rico in Río Piedras. Is awarded first prize in photography at the First Photography Salon, sponsored by the Puerto Rican chapter of UNESCO. The award-winning works are exhibited at the Carnegie Library in San Juan.
1978
Travels for the first time to Mexico City to take part in the First Latin American Photography Colloquium. During the conference, becomes a member of the committee to found the Latin American Council on Photography. Also takes part in the exhibit titled Hecho en Latinoamérica (Made in Latin America) at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City.
In November, exhibits El ayer: recuerdos de un Puerto Rico olvidado (Yesterday: Memories of a Forgotten Puerto Rico) at the Ponce Museum of Art, an exhibit consisting of 46 photographs. The exhibit travels to the Library of the Mayagüez Campus of the University of Puerto Rico. Takes part in the group show Homenaje a Andrés Figueroa Cordero (Homage to Andrés Figueroa Cordero) at the Galería PL900 and the Cayman Gallery in New York City. Before the age of 30, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Museo de Arte de Ponce purchase his first limited-edition portfolio, Petroglifos de Boriquén (Borinquen Petroglyphs), for their respective permanent collections.
Documents and edits his first Super-8 film, titled La Última Cena (The Last Supper).
1979
At the Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, presents 100 photographs taken between 1976 and 1979, a collection titled Voces de Borinquen (Voices of Borinquén) which is later exhibited at the Foto Gallery in New York City. At the Parsons-New School of Design in New York, presents Petroglifos de Boriquén (Boriquén Petroglyphs). Takes part in the Rencontre Internationale de la Photographie in Arles, France. From this point on, begins to take part in important group shows in Europe, such as Masters of Twentieth-Century Photography in Venice, and the 4ème Salon Internationale d’Art Photographique in Dijon, France. With Puerto Rico’s major photographers, founds the Consejo Puertorriqueño de Fotografía, or CPF.
1980
Is a member of the selection committee for the exhibit titled Hecho en Latinoamérica II (Made in Latin America II), to be held at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City. Also shows Voces de Boriquén (Voices of Borinquen) at the Casa de la Fotografía in Mexico City.
Takes part in the exhibit titled American Vision at the Washington Art Galleries, New York City.
1981
Daughter Nannette Gabriela is born.
Exhibits his photographic essay on political prisoner Andres Figueroa Cordero, titled Los sueños del patriota (The Patriot’s Dreams), at the Casa de las Américas in Havana, where he is awarded Honorable Mention for the Casa de las Américas Prize. This exhibit later travels to the Casa de la Fotografía in Mexico City.
The Museo del Barrio in New York City purchases the portfolio Petroglifos de Boriquén (Borinquen Petroglyphs) for its collection and exhibits it alongside the work of Colombian artist Omar Rayo.
Takes part in the exhibit titled Autorretratos (Self-Portraits), which travels from the Museo del Barrio in New York to the Casa Aboy in San Juan.
1982
Is a member of the prize selection committee for the Second Photography Prize, Casa de las Américas, Havana.
Is invited by José Gómez Sicre to exhibit his photographic essay on Vejigantes (the Ponce carnival figures) at the Museum of Contemporary Art from Latin America, Organization of American States, Washington, D. C. The exhibit Hecho en Latinoamérica II (Made in Latin America II) travels to the Centre d’Art Georges Pompidou in Paris.
1983
Publishes his photographs in the Teodoro Vidal book Las Caretas de Cartón del Carnaval de Ponce (The Cardboard Masks of the Ponce Carnival). Has one-man show titled Tradiciones (Traditions) at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Old San Juan.
Takes part in the Second Casa de las Américas Photography Exhibit in Havana.
His photograph “Via Crucis, San Germán” is included in the exhibit The Great Passion, at the New Museum of Contemporary Part, New York.
1984
Has two one-man shows: Mascarada (Masquerade), at the Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte de la Universidad de Puerto Rico; and Tres ensayos fotográficos (Three Photographic Essays) at the theater of the Humacao Campus of the University of Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rican Foundation for the Humanities/National Endowment for the Humanities, San Juan, awards Méndez Caratini a grant for a series of lectures on his Mascarada (Masquerade) exhibit.
His works appear in the book 49 Artistas de América, edited by Argentine art critic Rafael Squirru.
Also takes part in the group show Hecho en Latinoamérica III (Made in Latin America III) at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana.
1985
Moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his wife Annette pursues doctoral studies at Harvard. During these two years, works as an ophthalmic photographer for clinical research studies at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.
Presents his exhibit Mascarada (Masquerade) at the Monroe C. Gutman Library at Harvard University in Cambridge. In his free time, experiments with new electronic technologies at the Boston Film and Video Foundation.
Takes part in the group show La nueva fotografía puertorriqueña (New Puerto Rican Photography) at the Museo de Historia, Antropología, y Arte de la Universidad de Puerto Rico.
1986
Takes part in several exhibits in the United States: Homage to the Fallen at the Grupo Ñ Space in Boston; A Decade of En Foco at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York; and Caribbean Art: African Currents, Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York.
Prints his portfolio of ten platinotypes titled Mártires (Martyrs).
Is invited to take part in the Second Biennial of Art, Havana, Cuba.
1987
The Ophthalmic Photographers Society recognizes Méndez Caratini as a Certified Retinal Angiographer.
Does his first art video, titled Xibalba, in which he electronically manipulates and colors his black-and-white photographs of pre-Columbian subjects. This work is presented at the Boston Film and Video Foundation Festival.
In July, returns to live in Puerto Rico and returns to his job at the Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico.
The Basic Assistance Program for the Arts, sponsored by the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña/National Endowment for the Arts, San Juan, gives Méndez Caratini a grant to print a portfolio of Cibachrome photographs with the Xibalba images.
1988
Presents his photographic essay The People’s Religions in Puerto Rico at the Puerto Rican and Caribbean Center for Advanced Studies in Old San Juan. Joins architect Rafael Pumarada and engineer Luis Pumarada O’Neill in a historical and documentary research project on coffee plantations in central Puerto Rico.
Pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme hires him to train ophthalmic photographers in Central and South America in techniques of stereoscopic photography for research studies. He takes advantage of his many trips to South America to familiarize himself with the religious rites and ceremonies of the black cultures.
1989
At the completion of the research projects for the Medical Science Campus, he becomes an independent ophthalmic photographer and begins to work at several hospitals and private offices.
The National Fund for the Financing of the Cultural Enterprise, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueños/National Endowment for the Arts, San Juan, gives Méndez Caratini a grant to continue his documentation of the coffee plantations in Puerto Rico.
Takes part in the Festival des Trois Continents, L’Espace Cultural Graslin in Nantes, France.
1990
For Xibalba is awarded the prestigious Leopold Godowsky, Jr., Color Photography Award from the Photographic Resource Center of Boston University.
Edits his video Loíza, which contains eight years of recordings, and presents it at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Juan. His photographic essay Las haciendas cafetaleras de Puerto Rico (The Coffee Plantations of Puerto Rico) is exhibited in the Rafael Carrión Pacheco Gallery of the Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, Old San Juan.
Receives a grant from the FPH/NEH for a series of lectures on the Las haciendas cafetaleras de Puerto Rico (The Coffee Plantations of Puerto Rico) piece. This work is awarded the Best Photographic Exhibit of the Year prize from the Art Critics Association of Puerto Rico.
Méndez Caratini revives the Puerto Rican Council of Photography, and as its director begins curating a series of group shows: Foto 90, Foto 92, and Foto 94.
During this decade, the Council sponsors three large Latin American photography shows, strengthening interest in art photography among both the general public and photographers themselves.
To celebrate its 80th anniversary, the law firm Brown, Newson & Cordova publishes Tradiciones: Album de la Puertorriqueñidad, with a selection of striking photographs by Méndez Caratini and an essay by sociologist Angel Quintero Rivera.
Takes part in the Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art’s Festival of Art and Communication, in which he presents his videos in the innovative “video wall” format, and in the exposition titled Guerra contra el hambre (War Against Hunger) in the Gallery of the Chase Manhattan Bank in San Juan.
1991
For his outstanding use of Kodak film, he is awarded the prestigious Kodachrome Award of Excellence by the Eastman Kodak Company of Rochester New York.
Curates the First Latin American Conference on Social Welfare in Industry in Caracas, Venezuela. Begins to document the rites and rituals associated with the worship of María Lionza in Venezuela and the voodoo and gagá ceremonies in the Dominican Republic. His photographs of masks are included in the exhibit titled Folk Festivals of Puerto Rico at the Meridian House International in Washington, D. C. His photographs are also included in the Pequeño formato (Small Format) exhibit at the Galería Luigi Marrozzini in Old San Juan, and in Bodegones (Still Lifes) at the Galería Latinoamericana in Old San Juan.
1992
Returns twice to the Dominican Republic to continue his documentation of gagá ceremonies, and in Martinique begins to document Hindu rituals in worship of Mariaman and the goddess Kali.
Is invited by the vice president of the Kodak Corporation to visit the Center for Creative Imaging in Camden, Maine, to familiarize himself with digital photography and to edit the videotape of María Lionza. This work receives first prize for a documentary at the QuickTime Film Festival in San Francisco. As part of the prize, the Apple Company publishes the videotape as a CD-ROM.
His three videotapes are presented at the San Juan Cinema Festival, San Juan; the Festival du Film Caraïbéen in Fort de France (Martinique) and Paris; the Plaza las Américas Art Festival in San Juan; and the Fourth International Festival of Caribbean Culture at the Central Library in Chetumal, Mexico. His article “Mucho sol: La fotografía contemporánea en Puerto Rico” (A Lot of Sun: Contemporary Photography in Puerto Rico) is published in the book Las artes visuales puertorriqueñas a finales del siglo XX (The Visual Arts in Puerto Rico in the Late Twentieth Century), edited by Adlín Ríos Rigau.
Is invited by the State Department and the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño to represent Puerto Rico at the Carifesta Festival, where he shows Traditions at the Barbados Mutual Centre in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and La presencia de Mallorca en Puerto Rico (The Presence of Mallorca in Puerto Rico) at the Antiguo Casino de Puerto Rico of the Puerto Rican State Department in San Juan.
He also takes part in the group shows Traditional Masks at the Spirit Square Art Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Masks from Latin America at the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Massachusetts. He takes part in two group shows in Puerto Rico: Pequeño formato (Small Format) at the Galería Luigi Marrozzini in Old San Juan, and Foto 92 at the Museo del Grabado
Latinoamericano in Old San Juan, which he curates for the Puerto Rican Council on Photography.
For the third time, receives a grant from the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño/NEA to edit the video Gagá and another grant to document sugar plantations in Puerto Rico.
1993
Is awarded Honorable Mention in the Second National Exhibit at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo for his computerized work titled Velaciones.
Publishes his photographs in anthropologist José Francisco Alegría Pons’ book Gagá y Vudú en la República Dominicana (Gagá and Voodoo in the Dominican Republic).
Once again receives a grant from the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño/NEA to work in the area of digital art. His videotapes are presented at the San Antonio Film Festival in San Antonio, Texas; at the Black International Cinema Festival in New York; and in Berlin.
On the occasion of a visit to Puerto Rico by members of the International Association of Art Critics, exhibits several electronically manipulated photographs at the Citibank Gallery in San Juan.
As director of the Puerto Rican Council on Photography, brings an exhibit of Mexican photography to Puerto Rico; the title of the show is Entre Mundos (Between Worlds), and it is exhibited at the Arsenal de la Marina Española building in Old San Juan.
Takes part in the following group shows: Fin del Milenio (End of the Millennium) at the Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Small Format at the Galería Luigi Marrozzini in Old San Juan; and Manos Puertorriqueñas (Puerto Rican Hands) at the Museo de Arte de Ponce.
1994
The Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas, Venezuela, purchases his portfolio on the Las haciendas cafetaleras de Puerto Rico (Coffee Plantations of Puerto Rico) for its permanent collection and displays it.
Shows color photographs at the Third International Symposium on Afro-American Religions at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras.
Attends the Second Congress on Afro-American Culture at the Convention Center in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, where he shows his photographs from Gagá. While in Brazil, begins photographic and videographic documentation of the Orishas, the African deities in Brazilian religions.
His photographs are used to illustrate the Teodoro Vidal book Los Espada, Escultores Sangermeños (The Espadas: San Germán Sculptors).
Coordinates and curates the Foto 94 exhibit, organized by the Puerto Rican Council on Photography, which is held at the Museo del Grabado Latinoamericano in Old San Juan.
Takes part in group shows: American Voices at the Foto Fest International, in Houston, Texas, and the Embassy Show at the Kenkeleba Gallery, New York.
1995
The Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño/NEA gives him the Award of Merit for his artistic career.
Takes part in three group shows: The Meaning of the Mask at the Martha Schneider Gallery in Chicago; Island Journey at the Hostos Art Gallery in New York; and Directions: North American Contemporary Photographers, during the São Paulo International Photo Meeting, Brazil. He travels once again to Salvador da Bahia to continue his documentation of the Orishas.
1996
Edits and presents his video Coaybay at the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño. His two-decade-long photographic documentation of Loíza: herencia negra (Loíza: Black Heritage) is shown at the Museo de las Américas in Old San Juan. He attends the Photography Colloquium and takes part in the Latin American Photography exhibit at the Center for the Image, both in Mexico City.
Presents his portfolio Las haciendas cafetaleras de Puerto Rico (Coffee Plantations) during the exhibit titled Página Liberada (The Freed Page) at the Museo de las Américas in Old San Juan, and at the Museo del Barrio in New York City. This portfolio is also exhibited in Trabajos sobre papel de la colección del Museo (Works on Paper from the Museum Collection) at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas, Venezuela.
1997
The San Juan Association of Sales and Marketing Executives awards him the Guanín de Oro Prize for promoting the image of Puerto Rico abroad.
Organizes four one-man shows: Máscaras de Puerto Rico (Masks of Puerto Rico) at the Instituto Norteamericano de Chile, in Santiago; Orixas: Cachoeira & Salvador de Bahía in the Museo de Arte de Ponce; Coffee Plantations in Puerto Rico at the St. Croix Landmark Society, Whim Plantation, St. Croix; and Gagá and Vudú at the DuBois Gallery of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Presents his video Orixas at the San Juan Cinema Fest, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
As director of the Puerto Rican Council of Photography, once again brings a huge collection of photographs to Puerto Rico, titled Muestra de fotografía latinoamericana (Latin American Photography), which is shown at the Arsenal de la Marina Española in Old San Juan.
In addition, takes part in four group shows: American Voices at the Smithsonian International Gallery in Washington, DC; Josunne Dorronsort: un curador y nueve fotógrafos (Josunne Dorronsort: A Curator and Nine Photographs) at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas, Venezuela; Taíno: Pre-Columbian Art and Culture from the Caribbean at the Museo del Barrio in New York; and Pequeño formato (Small Format) at the Galería Luigi Marrozzini in Old San Juan.
1998
Inaugurates retrospective entitled Héctor Méndez Caratini: Retrospective 1975-1995 for the Festival de Trois Continents at the FNAC Gallery in Nantes, France. This exhibit travels over the next year to several museums in France and Belgium.
Once again presents his photographs of the Las haciendas cafetaleras de Puerto Rico (Coffee Plantations of Puerto Rico) at the Museum of Art and History in San Juan. Is awarded a grant to print his limited-addition portfolio Mascarada (Masquerade).
His photographs are used as illustrations in Angel G. Quintero Rivera’s book Vírgenes, Magos y Escapularios. Travels to the opening of the exhibit Caribe insular: exclusion, fragmentación, y paraíso (Islands of the Caribbean: Exclusion, Fragmentation, and Paradise), in which four of his photographs are chosen to be shown at the Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo in Badajoz, Spain, and at the Casa de América in Madrid.
Takes part in two group shows: Carnaval (Carnival) at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and Island Journey at the Wisconsin Union Art Gallery in Madison.
As director of the Puerto Rican Council on Photography, brings Visiones De-centralizadas, a show of ten contemporary Venezuelan photographers to Puerto Rico, where it is shown at the governor’s mansion in Old San Juan.
1999
At the Museo del Barrio in New York, presents Searching for Miracles, sixty black and white photographs on popular religions in Puerto Rico.
Takes part in two large group shows: 12 propuestas electrónicas (12 Electronic Projects) at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, and One Way Ticket at the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center, New York.
Architect Andrés Mignucci Giannoni designs and builds Méndez Caratini's new photography studio.
Motivated by the widespread deforestation of Puerto Rico and the lack of laws to protect the environment, in his country house in Pulguillas inaugurates a center for the conservation of endangered tropical plants. The reserve has more than 250 fruit trees, heliconias, gingers, costuses (the so-called “spiral gingers”), and other species.
2000
Does a photographic study of environmental pollution, health problems, and civil disobedience in Vieques. Under the title Vieques: crónicas del calvario (Vieques: Chronicles of a Caribbean Calvary), documents the damage caused by sixty years of military exercises on the Island. With Antonio Martorell (showing his drawings from the sixties), Méndez Caratini presents 15 mixed-media canvases on the subject. The show is called Vieques: ayer y hoy (Vieques: Yesterday and Today) and is inaugurated at the Fortín Conde Mirasol on Vieques, later traveling to the Casa Escuté in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
2001
The Puerto Rican Senate awards him the Armando Mandín Rodríguez Prize for Journalism for two of his photographic essays published in the newspaper El Nuevo Día.
Travels to the Museo de las Américas in Denver, Colorado, where he presents his one-man show titled Ancestral Roots: African Rituals in the New World, an exhibit which combines the trilogy Gagá, Orixas, and María Lionza.
Travels to the Newark Museum in Newark, New Jersey, to inaugurate his one-man show Searching for Miracles.
Takes part in a number of group shows: Primera Muestra Nacional (First National Exhibit), Arsenal de la Marina Española in San Juan; El rostro oculto (The Hidden Face) at the Museo de Arte de Ponce; and the inaugural exhibit for the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in San Juan.
Edits his video Berto on young artisan Alberto González, who revolutionized the art of the mask and died prematurely at thirty.
2002
Pedro Meyer, tireless promoter of Latin American photography, includes Méndez Caratini’s show Vieques: crónicas del calvario (Vieques: Chronicles of a Caribbean Calvary) on HYPERLINK "http://www.zonezero.com" www.zonezero.com, a virtual gallery of photography.
Travels to the Houston Foto Fest International to present his video Gagá at the exhibit titled Art Has No Homeland, But the Artist Does at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas.
Once again receives a grant to print 100 photographs from the “Cowboying” series.
Presents his one-man show Vaqueriando (Cowboying) at the Arsenal building in Old San Juan. Two of his photographs from the platinotype portfolio Martyrs are chosen for the exhibit La fotografía como concepto (Photography as Concept) at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in San Juan.
2003
The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, purchases a copy of the portfolio Mascarada (Masquerade) for its permanent collection
Travels to the Taller Puertorriqueño in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to inaugurate his one-man show Ancestral Roots: African Rituals in the New World/ Loíza: Black Heritage.
Takes part in the group show Segunda muestra nacional (Second National Exhibit) at the Arsenal de la Marina Española in Old San Juan. Travels to New York City to attend the inauguration of Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self, in which one of his photographs on civil disobedience in Vieques is selected for the exhibit, organized by the International Center of Photography.
Publishes his limited edition portfolio Heliconias, containing 10 color digital photographs taken at his environmental reserve in Pulguillas.
2004
Begins coordinating his 30-year retrospective titled El ojo de la memoria (The Eye of Memory) at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico.
Takes part in the exhibit Our Journeys/ Our Stories: Portraits of Latino Achievement, organized by the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives in Washington, D. C. Gives an illustrated lecture at the Smithsonian on the art of portraiture.
2004
His photographs of prominent latin (Hispanic) personalities are included in Our Journeys / Our Stories which is exhibited at the Museum of American History, Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian Institution invites Méndez Caratini to give a conference on: The Art of Portraiture. Afterwards, for the next five years, this important exhibit travels to numerous museums and cultural institutions in twelve major cities of the states.
The Eye of Memory, his three decade retrospective, is inaugurated at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR. The local government's television station, TUTV Channel 6, prepares a thirty minutes documentary on the life and work of Méndez Caratini. It is titled The Archive of Memory and is transmitted in a special series of programs titled It is Prohibited to Forget.
Gustavo Collazo Marrero, his studio assistant, begins to design and print a unique series of Artist's Books based on the photo documentaries that Méndez Caratini has produced. During 2004, the following books were printed: Vaqueriando, Pathos, Xibalba, Los Sueños del Patriota and Mártires.
Méndez Caratini begins to work a new photographic series. He documents the race cars, and its drivers, in various race tracks located on the island.
His new web-site www.hectormendezcaratini.com is inaugurated on the internet.
2005
As part of an exhibition tour, Our Journeys / Our Stories is shown at the Gallery of Art, Sacred Heart University, San Juan, PR. He is invited to give a conference on: The Art of Portraiture. Channel 6, the local government television station, records a second thirty minutes documentary on his work.
Gustavo Collazo Marrero continues working on the Artist's Book project. During this year produces the following books: Heliconias, Mascarada, Loíza and Vieques: crónicas del calvario.
Continues documenting the automobile races in the local tracks. As the project progresses, he begins to assemble the first diptychs, digital collages, of Fiebre / Fever.
Marsalis Records commissions Méndez Caratini to do the publicity photographs for the next Compact Disc of renowned Puerto Rican saxo player Miguel Zenón.
During this year his photographs are exhibited at various group shows: Luz del Sur / Masterworks of Latino Photography, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA.; María Lionza: la diosa de Sorte, imágenes y representaciones, Museo Jacobo Borges, Caracas, Venezuela; Taxi Galería, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR.; Rewind 1, Arsenal de la Marina, San Juan, PR.; Centenario de El Pan Nuestro, Museo de Arte Dr. Pío Lopéz Mártinez, Cayey, PR.
2006
AICA, the Puerto Rico Chapter of the Paris based International Art Critic's Association, confers his exhibit The Eye of Memory: 1974-2003 the award for Best Retrospective of the Year 2004. During the spring, he travels to New York City to inaugurate The Eye of Memory: 1974-2003 at El Museo del Barrio.
Continues documenting the race car drivers and experimenting with the digital collages for Fiebre / Fever, his next individual show. Purchase an Epson large format printer and begins printing the photo-murals.
Commences to photograph orchids in various private collections for his next limited edition portfolio. His studio assistant begins to assemble the proofs.
Finally publishes the limited edition portfolio titled Mártires / Martyrs. The ten sepia colored digital photographs, included in the portfolio, were originally printed as platinum prints during 1986, while he was living in Cambridge, MA.
Gustavo Collazo Marrero continues working on the special Artist's Books series. During this year he designed and printed the following books: Petroglifos de Boriquén, Haciendas Cafetaleras de Puerto Rico and Luvi: Campeón.
La Voz del Centro/ The Voice from the Center, directed by Angel Collado Schwartz, records a one hour radio program titled: "Héctor Méndez Caratini : La fotografía como expresión cultura / The photograph as Cultural Expression" . This special program is transmitted by WKAQ Radio Station, San Juan, PR and can be accessed through the internet at: www.lavozdelcentro.org
In autumn, Méndez Caratini travels to Las Vegas to participate in the Ophthalmic Photographer's Society convention. There he takes special courses and workshops on digital ophthalmic photography.
His private conservation center of endangered flora, at his farm in Pulguillas, is selected to be included in the exclusive Heliconia Society International Conservation Centers.
Participates in the following group shows: Latin American Photography II, Lehigh University Art Galleries, Bethlehem, PA.; Rewind 2, Arsenal de la Marina, San Juan, PR.; National Art Show 2005-2006, Arsenal de la Marina, San Juan, PR.
2007
Gustavo Collazo Marrero concludes the special series of Artist's Books by printing: Raíces Ancestrales and El Ayer: recuerdos de un Puerto Rico olvidado. During his artist residency, at Méndez Caratini's studio, he designed and printed 14 books on the work of the noted photographer. Judithmar Brull, Méndez Caratini's new studio intern, finishes printing in large digital format the collages for the exhibit Fiebre / Fever.
Participates in the art auctions held at: En Foco, Inc., NYC and at the Universidad del Turabo. He is invited to participate in the following Group shows: Cardinal Points / Cardinales: A Survey of Contemporary Latino and Latin American Art from the Sprint Nextel Art Collection, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kansas City, MO.; Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR.; El Caballo en la Cultura Puertorriqueña, Museo de las Américas, San Juan, PR.; Actualidad de las Tradiciones Espirituales y Culturales Africanas en el Caribe y América Latina; Museo Casa Escuté, Carolina, PR. Melao, melao: Tun tún pá mi caña, the artist's most recent individual show, is inaugurated at the Hotel El Convento, Old San Juan. It consists of 18 unedited Black and White photographs on the subject of "Sugar Cane Mills in Puerto Rico".
Continues to photograph orchids, in numerous private collections, for his next portfolio. Méndez Caratini is unanimously elected as the next president of the Heliconia Society of Puerto Rico.
2008
After three years of field documentation, Fiebre / Fever, his new individual show, is inaugurated at the Museo y Centro de Estudios Humanísticos de la Universidad del Turabo, in Caguas, PR. It consists of 22 digital photo-murals, one of them measuring over seventeen feet long.
Publishes a new limited edition portfolio, titled: Orquídeas. The portfolio has ten Giclées -color digital photographs- and two title pages. He participates in various group shows. Among these: the Make a Wish Foundation's art auction, Museo de Arte de Ponce @ PLaza, San Juan, PR; Juxtapositions: Four Generations at the ArtFoundation, in Old San Juan, PR.
In the summer he travels to Perú to commence work on a new photographic project. He is invited by the Heliconia Society International to present an illustrated lecture and a digital photographic workshop at their convention, held in Iquitos, Perú. After a 34 year hiatus, visits again the ruins at the sacred citadel of Machu Picchu and other millenary archaeological sites. For the first time he travels down the Amazon River basin and explores the tropical jungle, where he is able to document extensively the flora and fauna of the region, as well as gathering endemic, exotic plants for his private conservation center.
Ten months later, he develops the symptoms of the rare tropical disease toxoplasmosis. His doctors believe he got contaminated while photographing deep down in the Amazon jungle. The parasite lodges itself in the retina of his right eye – the one he uses to photograph. His health and eyesight begins to deteriorate.
2009
Commences the year with a new studio intern, his third, Jaime Jesús Garratón. Begins to zealously edit and print, in large format, the images that make up his next individual show, titled: Inkaterra: a suite in three movements. The exhibit opens at the Museo de Las Américas, in Old San Juan, PR. By popular demand, the show lasts five months, until March 2010. To commemorate this special occasion, he publishes the Inkaterra book, which can be bought at: http://www.blurb.com/books/886499.
Aperture Foundation, in New York City, invites him to participate in their prestigious Auction. Wacon, one of his diptychs from the Inkaterra exhibit, is successfully auctioned to a prominent art collector.
He participates in several group shows. The Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, invites him to exhibit some of his Fiebre / Fever photographs at the Art Museum of the Americas, in the nation's Capital. A few months later, it is exhibited again at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. His portfolio of Petroglyphs (1978), from the permanent collection of the Museo de Arte de Ponce, is shown at the exhibit: Medio Siglo Mirando al Futuro, Museo de Arte de Ponce @ Plaza, San Juan, PR. The photographs from his Orquídeas portfolio are shown at La Subasta X, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico.
So as to familiarize himself better with the work of the Surrealist and Impressionist painters, during the summer he travels to Brussels and France. There, he is able to see first hand the work of René Magritte and Claude Monet. He visits Monet's house in Giverny, were he is able to appreciate the water lilies, the colorful gardens and his country house. On his return from Europe, he stops over in New York City to see Francis Bacon's retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
During autumn, he travels to San Francisco, CA, to participate in the Ophthalmic Photographer's Society Convention. He takes several courses in digital photography and eye pathology. While in 'Frisco, he begins to document several images of Buddhas for his next project -which is related to the cultural heritage of Asia. During the summer of 2010, he plans to travel to Cambodia, to document the centenary religious temples at Angkor Wat and the natural reserves of Borneo, among other sites in South East Asia.
Méndez Caratini actualizes and redesigns his artist's web-site at www.hectormendezcaratini.com
