Pen Cayetano exhibition opens at Mexican Institute

Belizean artist and Punta rock musician Pen Cayetano may live in Germany, but every year he makes the pilgrimage home to Belize to join in the Garifuna Settlement Day celebrations. But while scenes of Garinagu life, culture, and spirituality are the main themes in his paintings, this year he is also exploring a little of Belize's logging history. News Five was at the Mexican Institute this afternoon for a preview of exhibition "Light and Colour," which opens tonight.

Pen Cayetano, Artist
"Today's major exhibition piece is going to be the dugu painting here that is representing the Garifuna cultural rites about the dugu ceremony. The painting is showing a woman in the hammock and the spirit medium making a spiritual healing over her. That's the major piece for tonight."

"I have already made so much music for Belize and now I am doing my fifth CD. The latest CD I did was with my daughter, Mali Cayetano, and she is signing original songs, and as well as doing some Punta Rock with the family group, Cayetanos."

Arturo Trejo, Mexican Ambassador to Belize
"The Embassy of Mexico, through the cultural institute in Belize City is extremely pleased to present Pen Cayetano, one of the most well-known Belizean artists. I personally like his work extremely, a lot. This is already the fifth or sixth time that we are presenting Pen at the Mexican Cultural Institute. He started before my time, before I came to Belize, but I have had the pleasure to have him for the first time during my term in Belize. I know it will be a great cultural night, because Pen always knows all the great cultural features. He is not only a great painter, he is a musician, he is a cultural man really in the widest sense of the word."

Pen Cayetano
"We have pieces that represent Old Belize, like the mahogany days, where they can reflect on the culture of Belize. And this painting here, especially "Old Belize Town" that shows from the 1700's in Belize. I think it's something that Belizeans on a whole could enjoy tonight and the whole two weeks of this exhibition here at the Mexican Institute."

"Light and Colour" runs through November twenty-fourth at the Mexican Institute at the corner of Wilson Street and Newtown Barracks in Belize City.