Biography

Manuela Aponte I grew up in a magical world, where everything has a life of it’s own and is to be treated with utmost respect. That is the reason I paint. I have always been inspired by the natural cultural richness of the Caribbean and the connection to the spiritual realm. I was very fortunate to always have art lessons and to graduate from Moore College of Art with a BFA. I have exhibited in New York, Miami, Philadelphia, Santa Cruz, California, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago where I also had a theatre. I painted sets, marquees, props and costumes. I collaborated with fashion designers in painting fabrics for many a fashion show. I was involved in many collaborative art projects with various Trinidadian artists. I have four amazing sons and eight grandchildren and I have continued painting throughout all the phases of my life. My paintings reflect the magic of my environment. I bring that magic to this dimension for the world to see. There is a collection of the “Gods of Santeria” which was exhibited in Gainesville, Florida as “Gods of the Caribbean”. I felt as if these deities wanted to be brought into this dimension for all to see. They actually revealed themselves as I painted them on canvas even though I knew very little of them at the time. This was confirmed when coincidentally a young Babalalo called Ona was working at the same school that I was and when I told him of my project he wanted to see the work. It turned out that I had painted them accurately and with many of the idiosyncrasies they all possess. There is a collection of “Fairies and Nature Spirits”. These Have always been in my life and are Very difficult to paint as they have been depicted so much and commercialized. I do bring in the tropical ones that are familiar to me. I have a permanent collection called “Devotional Life” at the Seva Ashram Bhakti Yoga Center in Santa Cruz, California where I lived for five years recuperating from cancer. I presently have a series called “Love is the Answer”. It depicts lovers over places on the Earth. I do believe love is the answer although not necessarily Romantic love. Love as the energy that permeates the Universe and makes magical things happen. It is accessible to us in our hearts and we do not have to look for it outside of ourselves. We can manufacture it. These paintings are projecting visually that energy enveloping areas of our reality. Lately I was inspired to paint Warriors. Why Warriors when I am a pacifist? Well, one morning as I was waking up I saw them in my mind, marching in groups, lined up,ready to enter this dimension to protect our Humanity. They are very human and they love humanity. They are here to protect us from AI and those who want to steal our divinityy, that spark that makes us humans so special. This series is called “Mystical Warriors”. I have been posting some of them on Instagram @warriors.4.earth When I moved to Florida in 2020 I was fortunate to move to a place with a Mangrove preserve. Mangroves are a favorite of mine since I grew up by the ocean in Puerto Rico and spent a lot of time playing in the pristeen mangroves of my time. They are truly Magical and excruciatingly beautiful in their manic entangled wanderings. This particular series is called “The Magical Mangroves”. The Magical Mangroves continually protect our land, generously giving us life and connecting us to the realm of magic.