Modesto “Flako” Jimenez, a name synonymous with impactful community-driven art, is premiering his latest multimedia installation, Mercedes, Part 1, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). This deeply personal project, opening December 3rd and running until the 8th, serves as a powerful tribute to his grandmother, Mercedes Viñales, and her enduring influence on the Bushwick, Brooklyn community she nurtured. For those interested in the intersection of art, community, and personal narrative, Mercedes Modesto offers a compelling and immersive experience.
Mercedes, Part 1 installation view
Mercedes, Part 1 is not simply an art exhibition; it’s a multifaceted exploration of memory, community, and the legacy of a woman who shaped the life of the artist and countless others around her. Jimenez, who immigrated from the Dominican Republic at the age of nine and was raised by Mercedes in Bushwick, dedicates this production to her profound impact. Later in life, he became her caregiver as she navigated life with dementia, further deepening their bond. This installation, a culmination of three years of dedicated research and community engagement, expands on previous iterations of the Mercedes project, including a stage play and a VR experience, each demanding its own unique process of discovery and creation.
Central to Mercedes Modesto is the theme of community, a driving force behind Jimenez’s extensive outreach efforts. He and his team have forged partnerships with organizations like Citymeals on Wheels, gaining invaluable perspectives on the lives of elderly individuals beyond the art world. These collaborations have informed the project deeply, allowing Jimenez to share his art directly with elderly recipients of Citymeals and integrate their experiences into the installation.
The design team for the BAM premiere, deeply invested in the Mercedes project from its inception, has meticulously crafted an environment that reflects the heart of Mercedes’s world. Flako Jimenez speaks highly of each designer’s artistic contributions. The gallery space itself is a recreation of Mercedes’s apartment, complete with a bedroom, kitchen, and foyer, inviting audiences to walk through and experience her lived environment. Complementing this is a dedicated healing room, offering art supplies and a supportive space for reflection after engaging with the installation. A social worker and art therapist will be present in the healing room, providing resources and guidance for visitors. The evocative sets for the gallery and healing room are designed by Michael Minaham, with Megan Lang’s lighting design, Drew Weinstein’s sound design, and curation by Cricket Brown, all working in concert to create an immersive and emotionally resonant experience.
Video design plays a crucial role in Mercedes Modesto, with Victor Morales and Juan “Wamoo” Álvarez contributing distinct yet interconnected elements. Wamoo designed three television feeds within the gallery, one for each room, visually representing the different stages of dementia as experienced by Mercedes. He also created a poignant video composed of letters written to Mercedes by her family, adding a layer of personal narrative. Victor Morales focused on the documentary aspect, creating AI-generated imagery, including evocative flowers and a scene of Flako’s father reading a letter to Mercedes. The documentary, directed by Brisa Areli Muñoz, is central to the installation. As Flako Jimenez explains, “Let me not tell you about the story, let me show you the story that is my grandmother and me. And that taps into family and community, and not just art.” This documentary element promises to be a powerful and moving centerpiece of the Mercedes Modesto experience.
Jimenez actively challenges conventional narratives surrounding the death of a loved one. He emphasizes the celebratory nature of Mercedes Modesto, stating, “If I’m sharing a moment of a celebration of a person who passed, some people might consider that trauma, and I’m constantly reminding an article or a person who wants to write about it, like, ‘Hey, hey, hey, hey, stop projecting.’ I’m here to celebrate my family and the legacy of Jimenezes who now are all over different states. … People die, yes—let’s celebrate their life. That lady brought a lot of us and gave us space to be able to gather our thoughts. Why wouldn’t I want to celebrate that?” This perspective frames Mercedes Modesto as a powerful act of remembrance and a testament to the enduring power of family and community.
Reflecting the community-focused ethos of Mercedes Modesto, the BAM production incorporates resources for elderly individuals. Building upon their ongoing community engagement, Jimenez and his team are hosting private morning showings for six senior groups on December 4th and 5th. These special viewings include meals provided by Citymeals on Wheels in the healing room and to-go plates. This initiative mirrors the Mercedes team’s borough-wide pop-up events with Citymeals, which include documentary screenings, dance instruction, live music, and healing rooms with social workers and art therapists. Their outreach extends to senior center visits and home visits across New York City boroughs as part of a musical tour accompanying the Mercedes band. Longer two-month healing room programs at senior centers have also resulted in a collaborative coloring book, which will be distributed at the BAM production, further solidifying the project’s commitment to community engagement.
The BAM premiere of Mercedes Modesto aims to bring together these diverse communities. Jimenez explains, “And now at BAM, we’re kind of bringing all those worlds together and then asking those people we had been visiting to come and see the final product of a moment of healing, and a migrant story that forgot themselves, and her son, or grandson, documenting that story so it’s not forgotten for the family.” This event serves as a culmination of their outreach and a moment of shared experience for the communities they have engaged with.
Jimenez clarifies that Mercedes’s community impact was not through formal activism, but through her inherent nature as a caregiver. “She was a home attendant, so she worked…she was herself a caregiver her whole life, and she also took care of a tribe in an apartment. You could be family or not, you still could stay in this apartment. So it wasn’t about her making community activities, no. She just took care of a whole community in a third floor apartment, railroad apartment, in New York City. There was always space for you to come and process, whether it was just for one day, whether it was for three years.” This intimate and personal form of community care is at the heart of Mercedes Modesto.
Through his Mercedes project and ¡Oye! Group, Jimenez emphasizes art as a tool for community building and communication. He describes their approach as developing “research tools that have come by community, for community, that can be shared.” This community-centric approach allows the Mercedes team to directly address the needs of specific communities, gaining feedback “from the people actually going through it, and not just what books we’re reading about it.” This real-time understanding of community needs informs Jimenez’s work as both an artist and an educator.
Flako Jimenez’s dedication extends beyond Mercedes Modesto. As the artistic director of ¡Oye! Group, founded in 2012 with his cousin Kevin Torres, he champions creating “spaces of caring, of care, for your community or for the people that look like you.” ¡Oye! Group’s mission is rooted in ensuring that “other Latinos are being heard, that all people of color have the space to be able to process,” highlighting the therapeutic and empowering nature of artistic expression within communities of color.
¡Oye! Group offers a range of free monthly and seasonal educational workshop programs for all ages, led by local artists. These workshops utilize art as a tool for self-exploration and community strengthening. One notable program, Fresh Start, provides arts education for incarcerated youth and offers them “sneakers and a bookbag full of supplies” upon release, providing tangible support as they reintegrate into society. The curriculum in these programs is responsive and adaptable, constantly evolving to meet the immediate needs of the participants.
Jimenez views his art as a set of tools for fostering communication and connection. He humbly states, “My art is not going to change the world. At all. I hope my art is going to bring a little smile somewhere for a couple of minutes and make you forget we’re all fucked in this climate change, damaged-as-fuck world. That’s all. If I did that, I could die happy. I’m not here to change the world. I am here to provide some tools that I learned. If people need them, grab them. If you don’t, thank you for coming. Take care of yourself.” This perspective underscores his commitment to art as a service to community, rather than a vehicle for personal aggrandizement.
In essence, Jimenez’s work, exemplified by Mercedes Modesto, emphasizes the vital role of community and connection. He believes in the power of theatre and art to foster a sense of belonging and shared experience. When asked about his motivation as an artist and educator, he emphasizes that it’s not ego-driven, but rather a deep-seated desire to contribute to his community, drawing from his “toolbox” of learned experiences to offer support and facilitate collective healing. His approach is flexible and responsive, adapting to the specific needs of each moment and community he engages with.
Reflecting on a pivotal moment of artistic recognition, Jimenez recalls his role as Benvolio in a high school production of Romeo and Juliet with the Wooster Group. He recounts the powerful experience of having gang members, “my people,” risk their safety to see him perform. This early experience solidified his understanding of the profound impact theatre and art can have, transcending social boundaries and fostering unexpected connections, ultimately laying the groundwork for the community-centered ethos of ¡Oye! Group and projects like Mercedes Modesto.
