Editor's note

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, Feb-March, 2003 by Patrizia Rossi

This issue's main cover story is distinguished Colombian artist Fernando Botero, who we had the pleasure of interviewing in November 2002, at his New York apartment. What can I tell yon about his home? An oversized cat is located in the driveway, provoking an unexpected game of cat and mouse. The cat is inflated, as bloated as the figures in Botero's famed paintings; however, the artist himself is physically a far cry from the swollen masses that dominate his artistry. Ironically, he cuts a slender figure more akin to the sculptures produced by older contemporary Alberto Giacometti.

Despite his nationality, Botero's work is not tinged by the strife that riddles his homeland. Instead, he has transposed the violence of his native Colombia, going beyond the reality of conflict to produce work of voluminous intensity that gives enormous enjoyment and pleasure to the viewer.

Looking at his work is like being in a hall of mirrors, a playful distortion. The viewer is freed with exaggerated rotundity, Botero's predominant stylistic feature. Ii is volume pushed to bursting point. This determining factor can be found in decades of his work, encompassing hundreds of canvases and sculptures. Botero's work is a constant, when all else is chaos. The artist refuses to dabble in trends and disconnects himself from the avant-garde. The swelling of flesh remains unchanged.

Our cover story features his life, one as monumental as the figures he shapes.

Patrizia Rossi

Editor

editor@latinoleaders.com