This text is Boletín No. 94, issued in September 1976, included in the volume of Boletines No. 63 to 118 (January 1971 to December 1978), bound [and published] by the Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia in Cali. This was one of a series of informational bulletins sent to MAM members in Cali. Detailed and in colloquial language, the Boletín described the activities and work of the institution and its branches in six paragraphs entitled: (1) Rotating Exhibitions; (2) The Portfolio; (3) Film Library; (4) Donations; (5) New Members; and (6) The Catalogue. The first paragraph points out both MAM’s management of the III Bienal de Artes Gráficas and the launch of the “rotating exhibitions” with a retrospective of the work of Beatriz González. In this section (see “Beatriz González” [doc. no. 1093273]), we find a letter from the painter Luis Caballero Holguín to González, an intimate letter in which he acknowledges the work she has done as a painter (with his first reference to her stated as pintor, the masculine form of the Spanish word). In addition, he speaks of the Colombian identity of her work and her ability to “make us see” what other artists have not been able to elevate to an aesthetic level. He believes that the chances that her work will be recognized beyond Colombia are not great, given the regional, provincial nature of her work. The second paragraph, The Portfolio, mentions the arrival of the Puerto Rican graphic artist Lorenzo Homar as technical director of the Carpeta de Serigrafías [Silkscreen File]. Some of the artists expected to participate in this MAM project are well known, such as the sculptor Édgar Negret, and the painters Enrique Grau Araujo, Juan Antonio Roda, Pedro Alcántara, Luis Caballero Holguín, and María de la Paz Jaramillo.

This document is important for two reasons. First, it serves as a record of the initial rotation of exhibitions at the Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia in the city of Cali, with the retrospective of the Colombian painter Beatriz González (b. 1938). In addition, it attaches a letter (in “Beatriz González” [doc. no. 1093273">1093273]) from the painter Luis Caballero Holguín (1943?95), which here serves as an introduction to the artist. It would seem that this letter only exists in a handwritten version, transcribed in this document.

The text suggests that through this letter, Luis Caballero places and backs González’s work within the scenario of contemporary Colombian art. Attached to the letter, there is also a text written by the artist herself on her work [doc. no. 1093273">1093273], although the times when the two texts were written do not coincide. What did coincide in Cali that September was González’s retrospective and a visit by Caballero, who came to participate in the Portafolio Gráfico directed by Lorenzo Homar (1913–2004) at the MAM.

The correspondence between the two Colombian artists was extensive and meaningful, and they exchanged frequent cards, videos, and documentaries that are evidence of their close professional relationship. Regarding the Carpeta de Serigrafías, Homar had been invited by the Colombian artist Pedro Alcántara (b. 1942) to teach silkscreen courses in 1972 in the MAM in Cali; this visit recorded by the Boletín was Homar’s second teaching trip to Colombia.

The Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia, located in the city of Cali, is the center for arts training of the Cauca Valley (Western Colombia). It has spaces for exhibitions, experimental film, and a performance shell. The museum opened in 1968 under the joint direction of Maritza Uribe de Urdinola and Gloria Delgado.