Wichie Torres

Wichie Torres (29 March 1952[1] – 7 February 2020[2]) was a Puerto Rican oil canvas painter. He was an exponent of the costumbrismo movement.[3] He is also the first person in the Central America and Caribbean region to have ever undergone two independent heart transplant operations and have survived both.[4]

Wichie Torres
Born
Luis Noel Torres Cubillé

(1952-03-29)29 March 1952
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died7 February 2020(2020-02-07) (aged 67)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
NationalityPuerto Rican
EducationPontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico
Academia de Arte de San Carlos
Known forPainting
Notable work
El Flamboyan
MovementCostumbrismo
Patron(s)Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, Puerto Rico Museum of Art
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Torres and the second or maternal family name is Cubillé.

Early years

Luis Noel Torres Cubillé,[5] alias Wichie Torres, was born in barrio San Antón,[6] Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 29 March 1952. From a tender age he showed an inclination for art and Puerto Rican customs and traditions which he started to capture in his adolescence via drawings and paintings. In his early years he studied painting under Carola Colón Coavas.[7]

Schooling

In 1967 he continued his training with Frank Cervoni at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas (School of Plastic Arts) of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1969 he attended the Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico where he completed his bachelor's degree.[8] He then studied in New York City under Rafael López Sustachí. In 1973 he traveled to Mexico to attend school at the Academia de Arte de San Carlos.[9]

Career work

After completing his training in Mexico, Torres returned to Puerto Rico where his fame grew quickly.[10] His paintings are found in various selective cafes and restaurants in his hometown of Ponce, including Cafe Cafe and La Casa del Chef. They are sought after works of art, and various prominent celebrities, including Javier Vázquez, are known to possess some of his originals.[11] His studio was located at 92 Comercio Street (PR-133) in the Ponce Historic Zone. As of 2010, Torres had made over 400 expositions and won over 250 awards.[12]

Personal life

In 1992, at age 40, Torres was told he needed an urgent heart transplant as his heart exhibited a viral condition. He underwent the surgery at the Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida. He recuperated satisfactorily.[13]

After 11 years enjoying good health with his new heart, he was once again told he needed a new heart transplant. As a result, on 5 July 2005 he once again underwent emergency heart transplant surgery, this time at the Centro Cardiovascular de San Juan (San Juan Heart Center) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He thus became the first person to have two heart transplants in the Caribbean. He once again recuperated satisfactorily.[14]

Style and characteristics

Torres' main themes are people and daily life.[15] He has many paintings inspired by Puerto Rican scenes such as the flamboyan tree, cock-fights, street-side merchants, and the piragüeros. He is best known as a folklore artist, with emphasis on the Afro-Caribbean roots of Puerto Rico.[16] Torres's works have been exhibited in many Puerto Rican towns, in North America, and in Europe.

Accolades

Torres has been in the White House, including at dinners with U.S. President Reagan.[17] Today, some of Torres' works can be seen at the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Museum of Contemporary Art in San Juan, at the Museum of History, Anthropology and Art at the University of Puerto Rico's Río Piedras campus and at the Puerto Rico Museum of Art. Torres is also honored at Ponce's Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.[18]

He created some 5,000 paintings, in addition to presenting over 400 expositions in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States and Europe.[19]

Death

Torres died at Hospital Cardiovascular in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 7 February 2020. He was survived by his siblings Atilano, María de los Ángeles, José Vicente and David Ricardo, his four children (Luis Noel Torres Ortiz, Wichie Torres Wale, Wilma Torres Wale and Héctor Alejandro Santiago Guzmán) and four grandchildren.[20] As of 9 February 2020, burial was scheduled to occur at Cementerio La Piedad.[21] His death was the result of "pre-existing conditions".[22] He died at Hospital Cardiovascular in San Juan.[23]

See also

References
  1. Archived on 2013-June-22 at the WayBack Machine from the original at Wichie Torres Biography. Estudio W. Torres. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  2. Ponce declara tres días de duelo por la muerte de Wichie Torres: Se anunció que las exequias darán inicio mañana en el Teatro La Perla de la Ciudad Señorial. Primera Hora. 8 February 2020. Accessed 9 February 2020.
  3. Con nueva cosecha Wichie Torres. Sandra Torres Guzmán. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 30. Issue 1479. Page 24. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  4. Archived on 2013-June-22 at the WayBack Machine from the original at Wichie Torres Biography. Estudio W. Torres. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  5. Ponce declara tres días de duelo por la muerte de Wichie Torres: Se anunció que las exequias darán inicio mañana en el Teatro La Perla de la Ciudad Señorial. Primera Hora. 8 February 2020. Accessed 9 February 2020.
  6. Ponce, Barrio San Antón. Encyclopedia PuertO Rico. Accessed 9 February 2020.
  7. Archived on 2016-March-04 at the WayBack Machine from the original at Wichie Torres, Nuestro Humilde Pintor de Puerto Rico. Noticias Online. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  8. Archived on 2010-January-11 at the WayBack Machine from the original at La Obra De Wichie Torres. Puerto Rico Fine Arts Galery. 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  9. Archived on 2016-March-04 at the WayBack Machine from the original at Wichie Torres, Nuestro Humilde Pintor de Puerto Rico. Noticias Online. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  10. Archived on 2016-March-04 at the WayBack Machine from the original at Wichie Torres, Nuestro Humilde Pintor de Puerto Rico. Noticias Online. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  11. Javier Vázquez: Astrology and Birth Chart. Astrotheme: A new Approach to Astrology. 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012. Archived at WayBack Machine. on 22 November 2012.
  12. Blanco: El nuevo Universo de Wichie Torres; De multi-color a blanco: Casi medio siglo de trazos. Gary Gutierrez. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 27. Issue 1335. 2009. p. 22. Accessed 4 May 2016.
  13. Archived on 2016-March-04 at the WayBack Machine from the original at Wichie Torres, Nuestro Humilde Pintor de Puerto Rico. Noticias Online. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  14. Archived on 2013-June-22 at the WayBack Machine from the original at Wichie Torres Biography. Estudio W. Torres. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  15. Archived on 2010-January-11 at the WayBack Machine from the original at La Obra De Wichie Torres. Puerto Rico Fine Arts Galery. 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  16. Archived on 2010-January-11 at the WayBack Machine from the original at La Obra De Wichie Torres. Puerto Rico Fine Arts Galery. 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  17. Blanco: El nuevo Universo de Wichie Torres; De multi-color a blanco: Casi medio siglo de trazos. Gary Gutierrez. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 27. Issue 1335. 2009. p. 22. Accessed 4 May 2016.
  18. Plastic Arts. TravelPonce. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  19. Muere el artista ponceño Wichie Torres: El artista plástico ponceño Wichie Torres falleció en la tarde de hoy, viernes, 7 de febrero. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Voces del Sur. 7 February 2020. Accessed 9 February 2020.
  20. Ponce declara tres días de duelo por la muerte de Wichie Torres: Se anunció que las exequias darán inicio mañana en el Teatro La Perla de la Ciudad Señorial. Primera Hora. 8 February 2020. Accessed 9 February 2020.
  21. Ponce decreta tres días de duelo por muerte de “Wichie” Torres. InterNewsService. San Juan, Puerto Rico:El Vocero. 8 February 2020. Accessed 9 February 2020.
  22. Muere el artista ponceño Wichie Torres: El artista plástico ponceño Wichie Torres falleció en la tarde de hoy, viernes, 7 de febrero. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Voces del Sur. 7 February 2020. Accessed 9 February 2020.
  23. Muere el pintor ponceño Wichie Torres. Ponce, Puerto Rico: EsNoticia. 7 February 2020. Accessed 9 February 2020.
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