By Cliff Lewis

The First Friday of June ‘09 was a soggy one. The rains had persisted most of the day and pressed on through the evening hours; but the regular crowd of monthly art-walkers was largely undeterred. Sidewalks along Prince and Queen were clustered with open umbrellas, bobbing from one gallery to the next—and even spilling off beyond the typical track of Gallery Row.

Out on 257 W King St, the Latino- and Hispanic-oriented “Cosas Gallery” was running “The Magic of Black & White,” it’s third First Friday art display to date. The gallery was recently founded by Connie de Alva Higgins, an artist and resident of York, PA. Although over 30% of Lancaster City is Latino or Hispanic, “Cosas” is the first art gallery to represent this crucial portion of our local culture.

De Alva Higgins explained that, although she lives in York, she chose to start a gallery here because Lancaster City has a far more active art scene than does its White Rose counterpart. The founder herself, who hails from Mexico, displayed some work of her own in the gallery. De Alva Higgins’ pictures are created on sheets of metal through a complex etching and coloring process. The other artist represented was Pedro Arocho, a Lancaster resident from Puerto Rico. Arocho presented a selection of delicately lit charcoal drawings that depicted scenes from both Puerto Rican and Lancastrian culture.

The gallery was catered with a delicious spread of empanadas, plantains, cheese, fruit, and wine—most of which was provided by “Victoria’s Restaurante,” a Caribbean/Latino restaurant and catering service based at 509 E Strawberry St.

The video below provides a few snapshots of the evening’s festivities (music courtesy of Matthew Monticchio, performing at the Christiane David Gallery):

Or click here to the watch it through NewsLanc’s YouTube channel.