Cairo Opera House exhibit boasts talents of six painters CAIRO: Thanks to the efforts of Ecuadorian ambassador Miguel Carbo Benites and Dr Abdel Moneim Kamal, chairman of the Board of National Culture, Egyptian art patrons were given the chance to view the talents of several Ecuadorian women painters. Visitors to the Cairo Opera House National Culture Center exhibition were welcomed by four striking women dressed in traditional attire consisting of puffy white shirts with colorful handmade embroidery. These were four of the six exhibitors who made it to Egypt. The artistic styles vary from still-life paintings of exotic fruits to landscapes of the mountains. Other paintings involve complicated symbolism, while others capture the simplistic architecture of the country. "The aim is to bring to the Egyptian people Ecuadorian culture to show what we are. Some are traditional and some are very contemporary and very different, explains Ambassador Benites.Ecuador has three main geographic regions that are very clear within the artwork.La Costa, of the coast, comprises the low-lying littoral region in the western part of the country. Its coastlines are on the Pacific.La Sierra, of the sierra meaning saw, is the mountainous, high-altitude vertical belt running through the center of the country. This region s topography is a result of the Andes mountain range running through it.El Oriente, literally the East , comprises the Amazon rainforest areas in the eastern part of the country, accounting for just under half of the country s total surface area, though populated by under 5 percent of the population.Although art clearly reflects culture, one of the artists Ma. Augusta Fernandez De Cordova explains that the women do not want to be categorized as simply Ecuadorian artists. "It reflects art in women. It's the way we see the world, this is the way we paint, the way we want to show our feelings. We are from Ecuador but that is too limited, we don't want to be limited by a geographic region, she says. Cordova's paintings are not only aesthetically beautiful, but also loaded with concepts of peace and life. She says, "Most people paint something they feel, I paint something I think. So I think of an idea, a concept, and then find the appropriate symbol. Fellow artist Salome Lalama produces masterpieces that are far from simple; she often includes animals and people in her work, using golden and bronze hues that strike a contrast to the colorful painting of the other artists. Lalama explains the reason she likes to include animals in her works, "Human beings always carry an animal instinct inside them, it is what makes us strong and what makes us who we are and it is also a symbol of freedom. Ecuador is the Spanish word for equator and as most people know it is a Latin American country that straddles the equator, hence the name. The name evokes images of lush rainforests and exotic cultures, but the exhibition shows that there is much more to Ecuadorian culture to discover. Silvana Littuma, an Ecuadorian woman married to an Egyptian who has lived here since 2000, feels like the exhibition is a good reflection of her country. "Because they [the artists] are from different provinces of Ecuador, it reflects their customs and traditions from the three regions: the coast, the mountain and the jungle. Maybe the artists are not directly depicting Ecuador, but the culture is deeply manifested in their work. Littuma says, "The traditions and the architecture are very obvious; those are two main things that make me feel at home. Art in WomenNational Culture CenterCairo Opera HouseEl Gezira, CairoTel: (02) 739-8132Until Nov. 30
