“Pachamama and the Moon” by Blanda Santander

Next up at The Gallery at Tacoma Community College will be the Latino Art Exhibition, now to Feb. 1, featuring a number of hot Latino artists including the likes of Juan Alonzo and Alfredo Arreguin â€" Latinos living the Pacific Northwest who have become fixtures on the regional art scene.

I first met Alonzo way back in 1988 when he ran his own gallery in Seattle, the Alonzo-Sullivan Gallery. Since then he has gone on to establish a reputation as a leading West Coast artists with gallery representation in L.A. and has recently been included in exhibitions at Tacoma Art Museum, including the latest Neddy Awards show.

“I have found that more than anything, humanity is the driving force in my work,” Alonzo says. “The fact that I was born in Cuba, the quick loss of innocence I experienced as a young person in a foreign place, learning a new language, and growing up without my immediate family will always effect my work. …I am influenced by balance, perceived symmetry, alter-egos, architecture, growth and decay, weathered beauty, and sexuality.”

Alfredo Arreguin, currently represented by the Linda Hodges Gallery in Seattle, is known as a leading figure in the pattern and decoration movement. His paintings tend toward the fantastical and are somewhat contrived, but have a brilliantly sparkling surface and are rich in complexity of pattern and peek-a-boo forms.

Also included in the show are Marcio Diaz, Juan Gimelli Hemme, Maria Juanita Guzman, Amaranta Ibarra-Sandys, Hugo Ludeña, Rick Mahaffey, Maria Olga Meneses, Lesley Rialto, Antonio Rojas, Blanca Santander, Daniel De Siga, Juan Le Torre and Carmen Williams.

I was able to preview only a handful of works, and those only in reproduction, but if the pieces I saw are indicative of the whole show, you can expect it to be as colorful and festive as a mariachi band â€" I suspect we can also see works that are darker and less festive as well as tender and loving, because Latino artists are as varied as any others.

"TCC's Latino art exhibition in 2005 was such a success that The Gallery has decided to organize another exhibition of Latino artists of the Northwest," said Jennifer Olson-Rudenko, gallery coordinator.

An opening reception is slated for Nov. 1 to honor artists and celebrate Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead); a three-day holiday dedicated to loved ones who have died. Artists, community members and students are invited to build altars in TCC's art department for the reception.

The Gallery at TCC is located on Tacoma Community College's Tacoma Campus at 6501 S. 19th St., in Tacoma. â€" Alec Clayton