The new exhibition “Trópico Agridulce” [Bittersweet Tropics], curated by Alexandra Méndez, opens at the Julio Rosado del Valle Gallery at the Museum of Contemporary Art [Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MAC), San Juan, Puerto Rico] on Friday, November 14, 2025, from 6:00 to 7:00pm. [Admission is free and open to the public for the opening. Starting at 7:00pm there will be an entrance fee for the (recurring) event Salsa en el Patio.]
Description: Trópico Agridulce focuses on the production, preparation, and consumption of food as a recurring theme in contemporary Puerto Rican and Caribbean art. By highlighting the essential relationship between harvest and culture, this exhibition offers an opportunity to showcase works from the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico, reflecting on the complexities of the livelihood networks that shape our daily lives.
The exhibition also includes collaborations with farmers and a commission from MAC en el Barrio, led by Luis Gabriel Sanabria and Santiago Álvarez at the Cabachuelas Workshop in Morovis. These initiatives, along with the visual art presented in the gallery, explore the imagery of national cuisine, contemporary food systems, and the complex political, economic, social, environmental, and ancestral networks to which they are intrinsically linked.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Gala Berger, Mónica Ching, Yolanda Fundora, Karlo Andrei Ibarra, Silvano Lora, Rafael Miranda Mattei, Joiri Minaya, Las Nietas de Nonó, Arnaldo Roche Rabell, Gamaliel Rodríguez, Gisela Rosario, and Edra Soto.
For more information, see https://www.museomac.org/eventos/apertura-tropico-agridulce