Hong Kong New Town Plaza – Joe Bravo’s exhibition in Hong Kong was a tremendous success with thousands of people viewing his tortilla paintings at the entrance arena of New Town Plaza Shopping Center, http://www.newtownplaza.com.hk/eng/promotion_highlight.php?init=1. While the exhibit ran from August 11–24, Joe demonstrated his painting technique for five days. He also did a portrait of Kate Tsui, Miss Hong Kong 2004 and a Chinese TV actress at a press conference.
Bravo’s exhibition paid tribute to the beautiful Chinese and Asian culture with paintings of Chinese Opera Masks, a Panda Bear, Anime, Chinese Dragons, and other relevant themes on tortillas.
Arte Americas Cultural Center – Bravo has a current solo exhibition at the Arte Americas Cultural Center in Fresno, http://www.arteamericas.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=55. Joe is exhibiting 20 large tortilla paintings and 10 of his canvas paintings in the Ruiz Gallery.
Washington Post – Joe was interviewed by the Washington Post and published on Saturday, August 4. The article was written from a tongue-in-cheek perspective by staff writer William Booth, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/03/AR2007080302039.html
Good Morning America – Bravo will appear live on ABC’s "Good Morning America" morning show on Saturday, August 25 after his return from Hong Kong. The show starts at 7:00 a.m.
Hispanic Magazine – Joe and several of his tortilla paintings will be featured in the September, 2007 issue.
Ripley's Believe it or Not! – Joe's tortilla artwork will appear in the fifth annual international book of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! due out in the Autumn of 2008, http://www.ripleys.com/. Previous books include Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!–Planet Eccentric, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!–Expect The Unexpected and Ripley’s Believe It or Not!–The Remarkable Revealed.
The books are highly illustrated ‘encyclopedia of world oddities’ and have been very successful in the States and around the world. They are fun and exciting reference books for the whole family which frequently features artists, especially those with unusual styles.
CBS The Early Show – Joe appeared nationally on the CBS Early Show on Thursday, June 21. Interviewed by correspondent Hattie Kaufman, Bravo demonstrated and talked about his tortilla painting process. To read and view segment, please go to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/21/earlyshow/main2960729.shtml or http://cbs4denver.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_172115032.html.
KTLA Morning Show – Joe was interviewed live by Gayle Anderson for the L.A. morning news program on
KTLA Channel 5, on Tuesday, April 3, at the Mexican Cultural Institute on Olvera Street.
Tyra Banks TV Show – Bravo's appearance on the Tyra Banks television show was repeatedly broadcast throughout the month of May, 2007. Joe presented his tortilla portraits of Tyra and Hillary Duff to them after conducting a tortilla painting workshop before a live studio audience.
Los Angeles Times – Joe Bravo's interview by Agustin Gurza appeared on the front page of the L.A. Times Calendar section on Monday, March 26, 2007. The article titled, “May Lead to Craving” gave a good overview of Bravo’s art background and history of his tortilla artwork. Several peoples’ impressions were also recorded concerning Joe's art exhibit at the Mexican Cultural Institute, http://www.calendarlive.com/galleriesandmuseums/cl-et-tortilla26mar26,0,7141497.story?coll=cl-home-top-blurb-right.
KCRW – Joe was interviewed by Evan Kleiman on L.A. radio station KCRW’s Good Food program on
Saturday, March 24 at 11:00 a.m. where he talked about his tortilla art, http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/gf/gf070324food_travels_tortill.
| Joe with Flea & his painting |
| ...Joe with "Despierta America" crew |
| ...with Homies at Bravo's Wilhall Mural. |
Here are some of the media coverage and events that resulted from the Bravo exhibit on Olvera Street:
Gastronomica – Bravo’s tortilla painting, "Besos y Balas", was featured in the Spring 2007 national issue of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture.
Tortilla Painting Sale – Bravo’s “Virgen de Guadalupe” tortilla painting was purchased by “Flea”, the bassist for the rock group, the “Red Hot Chili Peppers”.
Food Network – Joe’s tortilla artwork was nominated for a Food Network Award in the category “Play With Your Food: Artwork With an Edible Twist”, http://www.sobewineandfoodfest.com/2007/events_info.php?id=21.
Bravo walked the red carpet at the awards ceremony on February 23rd in South Beach, Miami, Florida.
The show aired nationally on the Food Network on April 15th, 2007.
The Insider Exclusive – Bravo’s taped interview for The Insider Exclusive TV show on January 20 can be viewed at http://insiderexclusive.com/insider.html. Scroll down and click “Watch” where Joe Bravo’s name appears.
Telemundo – Joe Bravo's artwork appeared in the Telemundo youth program, “Nitido”, on Sunday, February 18, 2007 at 12:00 p.m., Channel 52; http://tv.telemundo.yahoo.com/nitido/index.html. The pre-taped segment showed his artwork at the Mexican Cultural Institute and his tortilla preparation process in his studio.
Univision – Joe appeared January 8, 2007 on Channel 34’s 2-hour morning news program, “Primera Edición”, doing a live tortilla painting as well as being interviewed by the anchor people.
Telemundo – Bravo was interviewed by Francisco Cuevas in his studio and at the Mexican Cultural Institute on his tortilla painting technique which aired on the Spanish news magazine, “Al Rojo Vivo”, on January 12, 2007.
SiTV – Joe did an interview on January 8, 2007 with SiTV’s Veronica Jacuinde at the Mexican Cultural Institute which will air on the program “On the Up”.
Pocho Hour – The Friday evening before the opening, November 17, 2006, Joe was interviewed on KPFK’s “Pocho Hour of Power” on his Tortilla Art exhibition and process by Lalo Alcaraz and co-hosts.
Los Angeles Times – Five of Bravo’s tortilla paintings accompanied by an article appeared in a quarter page section of the Sunday Calendar print edition as well as their website on November 26, 2006,
San Fernando Sun – Joe was featured on the front cover in both the English and Spanish sections. Several of his tortilla paintings were published and each section had a two page spread on January 11, 2007,
DowntownLALife – Joe appeared on their internet home page during the month of December.
McDonald's Photos – Above: Joe Bravo working on a tortilla painting during the 8-1-06 launch of McDonald’s new tortilla Snack Wrap http://www.usalatintrade.com/print.php?l=in&id=6725&cha=4. Joe was contracted to be a spokesperson for the new menu item because of his unique tortilla art.
Some of Joe's artworks were published in Triumph of Our Communities, Four Decades of Mexican American Art (pages 258 and 281) in 2005. The 11"x14" colorful, coffee-table book depicts Latino artists and Latino arts organizations/galleries throughout the United States.
www.asu.edu
The Tate Gallery in London included Bravo's Fridalupe tortilla painting in the catalogue for their Frida Kahlo exhibit, which ran from June thru October, 2005. The exhibition's curator, Emma Dexter, used the artwork as a comparative illustration in her catalogue essay.
www.tate.org.uk
