Nights in Sara Roosevelt Park: Con las manos llenas by Raul Ayala
Opening reception for Con las manos llenas
an illuminated art installation
by Raúl Ayala
Lighting Design by John Sloane
Commissioned by FABnyc
6pm – Reception opens / music from Horacio Martínez Trio
6:20 – Ryan Gilliam- Welcoming remarks
6:25 – Caridad de la Cruz (Aka La Bruja) – Spoken word performance
6:35 – Raúl Ayala – Remarks
6:45 – Mural is illuminated
7-7:30 – Reception and music from Horacio Martínez Trio
Made possible through support from NYC Parks, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and Councilmember Christopher Marte, New York State Council on the Arts, Assemblymember Grace Lee, and City Parks Foundation. Special thanks to Convey Lighting, Diversified Group, Targetti, Enterprise Lighting Sales and Casambi for their generous donations.
Artist Statement
Con las manos llenas is a site-specific series of paintings designed for public display at ”The Pit” in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, where communities from diverse backgrounds intersect, share space, play, and gather. The installation utilizes dynamic light and moire patterns – creating shifting visual layers to conceal and reveal compositions that celebrate the immigrant experience.
Human movement is a force of nature and an essential catalyst for cultural evolution. While the contemporary political landscape often criminalizes this natural mobility, and the nation state relies on the labor of those it simultaneously disenfranchises, Con las manos llenas envisions an alternative reality and honors the vital contributions of immigrants to the American experiment.
Through the metaphor of the hand as a tool of labor, creativity, and solidarity, Con las manos llenas activates this public space, imagining a world where the migrant journey is fundamentally valued, visible, and celebrated.
– Raúl Ayala
Bios
Raúl Ayala’s practice bridges art, social engagement, and pedagogy through large-scale paintings, site-specific installations, collaborative murals, performance, and other public interventions. As a drawing and painting lecturer at Rutgers University, his classroom mirrors his studio: a space for connection, storytelling, and hands-on experimentation. Honored with awards in both New York and Ecuador, Ayala’s work weaves cultural narratives and ecological themes into the fabric of shared spaces, inviting audiences to see familiar places anew.
Caridad De La Luz is a world-renowned spoken word artist known as La Bruja. She became the Executive Director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in Jan. 2022 after beginning her career there in 1996. She won an Emmy for the cultural short: Legacy of Puerto Rican Poetry which aired on ABC during the National Puerto Rican Day Parade 2021.
Horacio Martínez is an Argentine-American guitarist, composer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and teaching artist based in New York City. His work blends South American folk traditions, jazz improvisation, and contemporary songwriting, creating a distinctive musical voice rooted in both heritage and innovation.
Horacio Martínez – guitar and Andean instruments. Leo Genovese – keyboards. Juan Carlos Polo – drums and percussion