Rico is a Colombian multidisciplinary artist currently based in Barcelona. Known for their colourful and creative style, they are a graphic designer, art director and photographer. We caught up with them about their work and their latest project, Chimbites.

Rico: My name is Rico, and I'm never in one place for too long. I’m currently based in Barcelona, but grew up in Colombia, and lived in Canada for 13 years. I love my culture, I love colours, and I love people.

I go back to Colombia as much as I can, and I take many of my photos there. A lot of my work is documentary or editorial. I mostly photograph people I love and the people I collaborate with, and I always shoot with film. I love analog. Even in my design practice, I love starting with a painting or a drawing and then it becomes something else.

Malaika Astorga for Also Cool Mag: Who inspires you for graphic design, and why?

Rico: I take a lot of inspiration from things that aren't graphic design. Growing up in such colourful streets in Barranquilla made me become almost obsessive about colours. Luis Barragan is a big inspiration (he was in his turn inspired by North African architecture). His book on emotional architecture "Obra Construida" really resonated with me, so I dedicated a semester to studying his work and did a three-part book about it.

My dad was my first exposure to graphic design, without realizing it. He's obsessed with stamps. He has a lot from Colombia from the 1940-50s and 1800s as well. I didn't understand why he liked them so much when I was younger. Now that I'm trying to find more Colombian graphic design, I go to them for inspiration and plan on making zines to document them.

I truly admire the work of Ramon Tejada and Jerome Harris on decolonizing design and documenting African-American/Latinx work in our field. I’m also really inspired by Leah Maldonado’s take on typography and education. These days I’m really into 3D typography, early 2000’s internet art and anything that shines.

“Ver, Leer, Sentir” on Luis Barragan by Rico Rica

AC: How have you been able to find your style?

Rico: My style has always been really colourful. Quarantine has helped me get out of all the practices that have been in my head from school. I think I just had to go the complete opposite way. I'm still exploring, I'm experimenting with, for example, how many textures and gradients I can add to something.

AC: How are you managing your freelance work? How have you been able to figure out balancing it with your routine?

Rico: Balance is a big word. (laughs) I think the most challenging part has been balancing mental health and freelancing.

AC: Well, you seem very like on top of things.

Rico: I'm trying. I think something that's helped to get the ball rolling over the years has been building up a network of other artists and collaborators. That way, we're working together, and I don't take all the responsibility on myself.

I enjoy coordinating in general, getting people together, or building a team for a project. It's something I'm slowly starting to do more, and spending less time on the details of the project.

Social Distancing campaign by Rico Rica x Florient Aniorte

AC: What are you working on right now?

Rico: I'm working on a collaborative project called Chimbites with my friend Julicore from Bogota and a community of Latinx artists in Montreal. It's an intersectional Latinx Artist Network, focused on encouraging collaboration, community building and solidarity within the Queer Latinx Immigrant community and Latinx artists in Latin America.

The initial idea came up in April and is finally coming to fruition with our digital event on September 11th. It will be a fundraiser and a collective performance in solidarity of two organizations: Taking What We Need and Dos Latinas.

The event will showcase artists from the Latinx community and allies performing to raise funds for various organizations, aiming to support Femme, Trans, Two-Spirit and Marginalized communities in Canada and Colombia.

Chimbites will happen in two parts: a Mixcloud Livestream, showcasing short films, music sets and performances, and a Zoom afterparty with Club Quarantine.

Taking What We Need is an informal volunteer-run community group dedicated to helping trans women, trans-feminine (AMAB), and Two-Spirit people get what they need through discretionary funding, primarily in Tio'Tia:ke-Montreal.

Dos Latinas is an organization that provides food, basic hygiene products, contraceptive care and sexual education workshops that seek to protect women in marginalized territories in Colombia. Their work is crucial throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of unwanted pregnancies augmented, and the poverty situation is worse than ever before.

Menstrual cups and contraceptives will be sent to the womxn in Baru, Colombia, and their neighbouring islands. Food baskets will be sent to the Afro-Colombian community in the urban Palenque in the city of Barranquilla.

AC: It's really cool to see how you integrate community into your creative practices. Do you think that this is something that you want to continue, like past this event and into the future as well?

Rico: Definitely. It's attracted people from all around the world, who are a part of the Latinx community. There's a lot of interest in participating in the next one.

We want to keep using this platform to collaborate, creatively, or even find and allocate funds. We're also not exclusive to Latinx people only. Anyone can help, and we encourage non-Black people to help by opening up their wallets and donating.

AC: Is there anything else you'd like to put out into the world right now? Advice or otherwise?

Rico: I feel like this article is a bit of a goodbye letter to Montreal. My last advice is to follow your gut feeling and to listen a lot.

Ensure that your intentions are in the right place and that you're listening to the community around you. Listening to the people, you're trying to help. If you're in a position of power, delegate it. As hard as that can seem for some people, it's an important thing to do.

Set boundaries for your time and take care of your mental health. Take care of yourself and your friends more than anything.

Rico

RICO RICA I Instagram

Chimbites

GoFundMe I PayPal I Instagram I Nequi: 3212476229⁣

🥂𝐸𝓍𝓅𝑜/𝒫𝑒𝓇𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒🥂⁣via MixCloud⁣

SHORT FILMS

Eléctrica Rogil @edsoniebla⁣ Tupamara Alta @La_crymoso⁣

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FASHION PERFORMANCES

Rastros de Amor @posadas.apparatus⁣ CoctelCancer @analcancer2009⁣ Neus Lakraviadus @neagonorrea @_lakras_ @otrusextraviadus⁣ Chimbites Collab: @viasus_ x @culonahigh⁣

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