Principe Azul, solo exhibition by Salvador de la Torre

Daphne Art Foundation is honored to present "Principe Azul," a solo exhibition by Salvador de la Torre, at Casa Daphne on Friday, July 19 from 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Casa Daphne

1420 Washington Street

Laredo, Texas

Opening Reception

Friday, July 19, 2024

7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Artist Talk will begin at 8:00 p.m.

DJ Set by Tanis

Exhibition Statement for Principe Azul by Salvador de la Torre

Essay by Yezmin Villareal

Born in Jalisco and raised in Laredo, "Principe Azul" is artist Salvador de la Torre's long-awaited homecoming.  After undergoing a social and medical transition as a transmasculine person, de la Torre returns to Laredo as a new man. Imbued with tradition and ritual, Principe Azul subverts heteronormative fairytales and traditional Catholic and Mexican milestones tied to gender and sexuality.

The title, "Principe Azul" originates from a saying the elder women in de la Torre's family repeated to them as a child.  They would say, "Una siempre tiene que estar bien arreglada y maquillada, no importa a dónde vayas porque nunca sabes cuándo te vas a encontrr a tu principe azul." Growing up in this environment, de la Torre believed he needed to embody hyper-femininity and adhere to beauty practices that would make him attractive to the male gaze; so he could find his savior, his principe azul.

Principe Azul is set in the context of a Mexican house party, complete with cumbia blasting from a speaker, where in de la Torre's nostalgic memories of home, he attended dozens of baptisms, baby showers, and first communions. The traditional rituals of Catholicism and Mexican culture are seen through a queer, transmasculine lens in de la Torre's handcrafted offerings.

De la Torre uses his hands to crush and mold a new identity on the past. In his childhood, baptism cakes were topped with thich white icing and flowers and celebrated the birth of a new life, bun in Principe Azul, the cakes represent a celebration of the birth of de la Torre's transgender identity of confessional notes to his family that cannot be said in words. In de la Torre's interdisciplinary show, he constructs a world of his own, using clay, resin, and found objects to reimagine the recuerdos, cakes, gelatin desserts, and more from his childhood, to design a world where he, as an adult, finally becomes his own principe azul.

Other credits:

Postcard design by Lorenzo Castro

Photography by Maria

Exhibition presented by Daphne Art Foundation