"On Guard" American Bald Eagle, Symbol of Freedom

The Bald Eagle in this painting represents the strength and vigilance of the United States and the fundamental ideas of freedom and opportunity.  The eagle chicks represent innocence, more specifically every man, woman, and child who seek to live a life of freedom in which they have the inherent right to choose how they will live. The Viper is a classic symbol of evil. Here it represents the people and groups in this world that seek to attack or oppress the innocent.

    “It is said the eagle was used as a national emblem because, at one of the first battles of the Revolution the noise of the struggle awoke the sleeping eagles on the heights and they flew from their nests and circled about over the heads of the fighting men, all the while giving vent to their raucous cries. "They are shrieking for Freedom," said the patriots.

  

    Thus the eagle, full of the boundless spirit of freedom, living above the valleys, strong and powerful in his might, has become the national emblem of a country that offers freedom in word and thought and an opportunity for a full and free expansion into the boundless space of the future.”

-Maude M. Grant

    Escalera was a patriot who loved his country. He worked hard to come to America legally and make a life for himself in the land of opportunity. Escalera was a Mexican immigrant who came to the United States looking for the opportunity to work for a better life. Escalera’s life was by no means a story of “rags to riches” in the sense of monetary value, but in quality of life. In many ways Escalera represented the American dream. After becoming a US citizen Escalera worked as a common dishwasher, eventually he worked his way to becoming a private business owner.

    When Escalera was commissioned to create this Oil Painting he wanted to capture how he saw America, the country that gave him his opportunity… fierce protector of human rights and dignity.

Rodolfo Escalera Legal Immigrant

This is the true story of a legal immigrant and how he loved America. Today’s fervor over this issue has become headline news while the truth is overwhelmed by emotion. As Congress continues to debate ways to address illegal immigration, we must remember the many hard-working legal immigrants that contribute so much to our nation's economy and culture. This is the story of one such man.

Rodolfo Escalera was from humble beginnings, born in a small town, Lerdo Durango, Mexico. His father, an inventor and artist in his own right and his mother a full-time homemaker. An only son with two older sisters he was raised with an excellent work ethic. In his late teens his father passed away from a massive heart attack leaving him to step-up and fill the “man of the house” shoes. Shortly after his fathers passing his mother announced to her family that she was making arrangements for the family to move to the “land of opportunity”, the United States of America, to embark on a fresh start and a new life. She went through all the legal channels to prepare her children’s immigration papers as well as those of her own, wanting to do things correctly and just. Keep in mind that none of them could speak a word of English but all were determined to succeed.

Escalera knowing that he had to do his part to help support the family promptly secured a job as a dish washer, all the while listening to American radio and after hours watching American TV so as to learn the English language. From there he went on to work as a theatre attendant and was able to watch and listen to American movies all along picking up on the English language. For him it was not an option but a matter of survival. He was an immigrant in a foreign land and he knew that he had to play by the rules that applied there and learning the language was of paramount importance. He eventually was able to secure his “dream job” working in a commercial art company where he could actually apply his skills and get paid for it! With this new job came his opportunity to return to Mexico and marry his childhood sweetheart who had also already prepared for her legal passage into this great country. They married in Mexico and returned to their new home which they rented in Los Angeles California.

The rest as they say is history… Escalera went on build a beautiful family with his wife Susana as well as a successful commercial art business which afforded him the opportunity to place all his children in private schools, a nice home in the suburbs, new cars every few years, wonderful vacations etc… he truly realized the American Dream!

When asked about this country he would wax poetically as it being the greatest country in the world and one that early in his residence here had actually taken steps to fight for in its defense, having joined the US Army during a period of war only to be honorably, medically discharged before he saw any action.

He would defend this country passionately with his opinions and never understood the groups who would defend the rights of those who were here illegally. “This is our country” he would say, “and if you want to be here, then dammit, you need to be here legally or get out, go home until you can be here the right way” He would fume over seeing his tax dollars being channeled to those who were undeserving. He was all for immigration, its part of what makes this country so awesome, it just had to be legal immigration where all of our ways were respected and upheld. Anything less was unacceptable, not to be tolerated, and those who opposed had the freedom to go back from where they came from if they did not like it...

 

Realism in Latin American Art

Art is a very subjective pursuit, what one person believes to be beautiful another may not. Latin American Art like all other forms of art, comes to us in many styles. From abstract art to surrealistic art, cube art and yes, Realism. For centuries realism art was "thee style" of painting and not until the not too distant past has it taken more of a back seat to the other styles. To get an idea of how beautiful realistic Latin American Art can be, check out the artwork painted by Mexican Artist Rodolfo Escalera.


There is skill, creativity, passion and beauty to be found in all styles of Latino Art. Having been raised by Rodolfo Escalera and being a first hand witness of the endless hours and commitment he poured into his works, painting the majority of his pieces with "00" paintbrushes and some taking up to 20 years to complete, I can attest to that passion.


I salute all artists and their desire to create. Rodolfo Escalera created until he could no longer hold his brush in his hand.


1) What are your thoughts on Realism?
2) Who is your favorite Latin American Artist and why?
3) What type of art speaks to you?

-Roberto Escalera
President Escalera Art Inc.

Antonio Aguilar in "El Piropo"

This piece of Mexican art is a portrait of Antonio Aguilar and  Flor Silvestre the famous mexican singer and actress. “El Piropo is currently on display at the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center through the month of November.

 The veins on the horse’s legs and the hair on its body are an excellent example of Escalera’s ability to capture the natural beauty of an animal and make it come to life on canvas.One interesting fact about this piece is that there are over 1600 individual cobblestones on the road. Escalera is said to have known the exact number.

El Piropo is one of Escalera’s five masterpieces. He worked on the five paintings off and on throughout the course of twenty years completing many other works as well, but always returning to the five. Find out more at Escalera Art.com