Antonio Barrios: arts director links Northern Ohio Hispanics, Vets to communities
Title
Antonio Barrios: arts director links Northern Ohio Hispanics, Vets to communities
Creator
Kevin Milliken
Source
La Prensa
Date
January 12, 2018
Format
pdf
Language
English
Type
newletter
Text
January 7, 2018: 70-year Antonio Barrios of Lorain OH has done what many of us only dream to do-travel the world and settle in places like France and Italy to see the sites and absorb the culture. But the pangs of home eventually got the better of him- his grandkids, a more settled life.
But Barrios is bringing his own past to the present to help his hometown and its inhabitants. His recent efforts only bring all of those to light, making a difference for those he knows and some he may never meet. The former model, photographer, and Vietnam vet is combining all of those.
The Lorain Arts Council executive director recently received a grant from the Lorain Community Foundation to help his fellow Vietnam veterans reclaim their lives through art.
Six military veterans are being paid a small stipend to help create a series of murals on the backs of buildings to promote Lorain to tourists and increase community pride. At the same time, the program gives veterans a chance to gain proficiency in job-related and life skills. The vets also help to operate the arts council's community art gallery in a recently-purchased building.
"We're just giving them an opportunity to reconnect with their community, doing little projects to beautify Lorain," he explained. "We're doing artwork and putting it on the windows of the empty buildings. They feel quite good about doing something to actually help and give back. People have a lot of misgivings and misunderstandings about veterans. I find helping others is the best way to help yourself."
The Puerto Rico-born arts leader even organized a benefit concert in early December at a local high school, with the proceeds going to hurricane relief on the island territory. The effort raised about $2,000. Barrios estimates 60 to 70 families have fled to Lorain to wait out rebuilding.
"That's taxing the system here with the immediate influx, so I'll keep trying to help by doing different events," said Barrios. He's also working with El Centro to provide referrals to agencies willing to help those Puerto Rican families currently staying with relatives.
Barrios even spends his Sunday evenings broadcasting a bilingual radio show, never spending that time relaxing or getting ready for the work-week like most people. Instead, he's helping other Hispanics relax or stay connected to their communities.
Barrios is the "anchor" host in a series of Spanishlanguage shows that run 2 to 10 p.m. on the "Cool Cat Oldies" radio station. His show runs the last three hours of the programming. In addition to interviews about community happenings, Barrios plays jibaro, which he described as "old school Puerto Rican hillbilly" music.
"In Spanish, that's somebody from the countryside," he said. The show can be found on 1380 AM and is simulcast on 89.9 FM. Barrios also is experimenting with broadcasting part of the show via social media on Facebook Live. He is hoping to convince the radio station owners to allow them to start web-streaming their programming permanently.
Unlike the other show hosts, Barrios interviews people in both English and Spanish, hoping to attract younger Hispanics to listen. He has noticed many of Lorain's Puerto Rican families are now in their second and third generations, so Spanish is spoken a lot less often.
"This is just a way to keep the culture alive. Obviously, the older guys love my show. They're always telling me they listen all the time and love it," he said. "But it's just something to not forget where you came from. That doesn't mean you can't be American. We have Puerto Rican Americans, too. If you like the music and it touches you, doesn't matter if you didn't understand the words or not. The emotion is the whole object of the communication (of the songs)."
Barrios has been involved in the arts council since his return to Lorain, but became its executive director several years ago. His biggest passion the whole time was establishing a bigger presence for the arts community in his hometown, after watching other, smaller communities make the arts an important, vibrant part of their identity.
"There was no place where the arts were permanently based. We came into this building on Broadway and the rest is history. We've been here seven years," said Barrios. "Last year we opted to buy the building."
The first floor contains a community art gallery. Barrios hopes to establish a multicultural arts center on the second floor, which would house classes and workshops. The back of the building could eventually be home to a bistro to help fund ongoing programming. Outdoor entertainment on weekends has proven popular, which is prompting the idea of a permanent bistro. There may even be upstairs space available to use as artist lofts to hone their craft, make and create.
"These are just ordinary people with jobs and families and homes. A lot of times they don't have the space to be able to sit quietly and not be bothered to create their art," Barrios explained. "We have several smaller rooms in the back we could dedicate for that kind of activity, day studios."
Barrios was born in Puerto Rico, living in a small, working class neighborhood in Santurce made up of mostly sugar cane workers. His father came to Ohio to work in the steel industry, then moved the rest of the family to Lorain when he was four years old.
Barrios led a rough-andtumble childhood, living as one of Lorain's first Puerto Rican families that settled in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood. He learned English mostly on his own. After graduating high school, Barrios joined his father in the steel mills for a short time, attended college for a couple of years, then enlisted in the Marines and served during the Vietnam War.
Barrios came home for a short time after the war, then, moved to New York City. He joined a program for veterans who were given menial jobs to allow them to reconnect to civilian life. His job sweeping floors at a highfashion store led him to sales, and eventually a modeling career.
"This was after the Vietnam War had me thinking differently, wanting to see the rest of the world," he admitted. "I was never thinking of being a model. Things happen, fell into place. I took a leap of faith, left for Europe with a one-way ticket and $100 that was in my pocket. I slept on a lot of couches, in spare rooms before I met people and learned things."
Barrios spent 18 years living in Europe and working as a model. He first moved to Paris at the encouragement of friends and lived there for three years, then fell in love with the Italian countryside. He also lived in Munich, Germany, as well as Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland.
"The train system there is so economical and easy to move from country to country," he said. "It was so easy to move around Europe and that's what started the wanderlust, the adventurer. That interest, that curiosity is what took me all over the world."
Barrios added a GQ magazine spread to his modeling credits while living in the fashion capital of Milan. He also spent some years in Florence and Rome.
To supplement his modeling career, Barrios developed an interest in the other side of the camera. He ended up studying photography while living in Italy and honed his craft. That also led him to learn the film industry as well.
"I spent eight years, fondly, in Italy itself. I never even thought of that craziness at the time. I'm just a country boy from here in Ohio. I had some friends in New York who were pushing me to do it and I thought they were crazy."
Barrios developed a love for art while working in Europe, especially since major art museums like the Prague and the Louvre were so accessible.
"It was enjoyable and beautiful to look at. A lot of times when you were walking around the city and unemployed, you could just go into a museum and look at all of the wonderful masterpieces and forget about everything," he said. "For me, it was always a pleasure and I've grown to love art in that sense."
Barrios owns a photography and video business called FrameWorks. But he admits the arts council and new arts center take up most of his time, so his business has lagged a bit as a result.
But Barrios is bringing his own past to the present to help his hometown and its inhabitants. His recent efforts only bring all of those to light, making a difference for those he knows and some he may never meet. The former model, photographer, and Vietnam vet is combining all of those.
The Lorain Arts Council executive director recently received a grant from the Lorain Community Foundation to help his fellow Vietnam veterans reclaim their lives through art.
Six military veterans are being paid a small stipend to help create a series of murals on the backs of buildings to promote Lorain to tourists and increase community pride. At the same time, the program gives veterans a chance to gain proficiency in job-related and life skills. The vets also help to operate the arts council's community art gallery in a recently-purchased building.
"We're just giving them an opportunity to reconnect with their community, doing little projects to beautify Lorain," he explained. "We're doing artwork and putting it on the windows of the empty buildings. They feel quite good about doing something to actually help and give back. People have a lot of misgivings and misunderstandings about veterans. I find helping others is the best way to help yourself."
The Puerto Rico-born arts leader even organized a benefit concert in early December at a local high school, with the proceeds going to hurricane relief on the island territory. The effort raised about $2,000. Barrios estimates 60 to 70 families have fled to Lorain to wait out rebuilding.
"That's taxing the system here with the immediate influx, so I'll keep trying to help by doing different events," said Barrios. He's also working with El Centro to provide referrals to agencies willing to help those Puerto Rican families currently staying with relatives.
Barrios even spends his Sunday evenings broadcasting a bilingual radio show, never spending that time relaxing or getting ready for the work-week like most people. Instead, he's helping other Hispanics relax or stay connected to their communities.
Barrios is the "anchor" host in a series of Spanishlanguage shows that run 2 to 10 p.m. on the "Cool Cat Oldies" radio station. His show runs the last three hours of the programming. In addition to interviews about community happenings, Barrios plays jibaro, which he described as "old school Puerto Rican hillbilly" music.
"In Spanish, that's somebody from the countryside," he said. The show can be found on 1380 AM and is simulcast on 89.9 FM. Barrios also is experimenting with broadcasting part of the show via social media on Facebook Live. He is hoping to convince the radio station owners to allow them to start web-streaming their programming permanently.
Unlike the other show hosts, Barrios interviews people in both English and Spanish, hoping to attract younger Hispanics to listen. He has noticed many of Lorain's Puerto Rican families are now in their second and third generations, so Spanish is spoken a lot less often.
"This is just a way to keep the culture alive. Obviously, the older guys love my show. They're always telling me they listen all the time and love it," he said. "But it's just something to not forget where you came from. That doesn't mean you can't be American. We have Puerto Rican Americans, too. If you like the music and it touches you, doesn't matter if you didn't understand the words or not. The emotion is the whole object of the communication (of the songs)."
Barrios has been involved in the arts council since his return to Lorain, but became its executive director several years ago. His biggest passion the whole time was establishing a bigger presence for the arts community in his hometown, after watching other, smaller communities make the arts an important, vibrant part of their identity.
"There was no place where the arts were permanently based. We came into this building on Broadway and the rest is history. We've been here seven years," said Barrios. "Last year we opted to buy the building."
The first floor contains a community art gallery. Barrios hopes to establish a multicultural arts center on the second floor, which would house classes and workshops. The back of the building could eventually be home to a bistro to help fund ongoing programming. Outdoor entertainment on weekends has proven popular, which is prompting the idea of a permanent bistro. There may even be upstairs space available to use as artist lofts to hone their craft, make and create.
"These are just ordinary people with jobs and families and homes. A lot of times they don't have the space to be able to sit quietly and not be bothered to create their art," Barrios explained. "We have several smaller rooms in the back we could dedicate for that kind of activity, day studios."
Barrios was born in Puerto Rico, living in a small, working class neighborhood in Santurce made up of mostly sugar cane workers. His father came to Ohio to work in the steel industry, then moved the rest of the family to Lorain when he was four years old.
Barrios led a rough-andtumble childhood, living as one of Lorain's first Puerto Rican families that settled in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood. He learned English mostly on his own. After graduating high school, Barrios joined his father in the steel mills for a short time, attended college for a couple of years, then enlisted in the Marines and served during the Vietnam War.
Barrios came home for a short time after the war, then, moved to New York City. He joined a program for veterans who were given menial jobs to allow them to reconnect to civilian life. His job sweeping floors at a highfashion store led him to sales, and eventually a modeling career.
"This was after the Vietnam War had me thinking differently, wanting to see the rest of the world," he admitted. "I was never thinking of being a model. Things happen, fell into place. I took a leap of faith, left for Europe with a one-way ticket and $100 that was in my pocket. I slept on a lot of couches, in spare rooms before I met people and learned things."
Barrios spent 18 years living in Europe and working as a model. He first moved to Paris at the encouragement of friends and lived there for three years, then fell in love with the Italian countryside. He also lived in Munich, Germany, as well as Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland.
"The train system there is so economical and easy to move from country to country," he said. "It was so easy to move around Europe and that's what started the wanderlust, the adventurer. That interest, that curiosity is what took me all over the world."
Barrios added a GQ magazine spread to his modeling credits while living in the fashion capital of Milan. He also spent some years in Florence and Rome.
To supplement his modeling career, Barrios developed an interest in the other side of the camera. He ended up studying photography while living in Italy and honed his craft. That also led him to learn the film industry as well.
"I spent eight years, fondly, in Italy itself. I never even thought of that craziness at the time. I'm just a country boy from here in Ohio. I had some friends in New York who were pushing me to do it and I thought they were crazy."
Barrios developed a love for art while working in Europe, especially since major art museums like the Prague and the Louvre were so accessible.
"It was enjoyable and beautiful to look at. A lot of times when you were walking around the city and unemployed, you could just go into a museum and look at all of the wonderful masterpieces and forget about everything," he said. "For me, it was always a pleasure and I've grown to love art in that sense."
Barrios owns a photography and video business called FrameWorks. But he admits the arts council and new arts center take up most of his time, so his business has lagged a bit as a result.
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Citation
Kevin Milliken, “Antonio Barrios: arts director links Northern Ohio Hispanics, Vets to communities,” Latino Lorain , accessed September 20, 2024, https://latinolorain.oberlincollegelibrary.org/items/show/27.