“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”
Song by John Lennon.
By Dalia Diaz and Alberto Suris
It is true that age and experience give us the greatest lessons; it is also up to us to reach out and take advantage of opportunities as we go through life. The problem is that we realize it when life has passed us by. The story of José “Bugzy” Martínez is that of triumph, worthy of being told.
He grew up in Lawrence, educated in our public schools, surrounded by the same ailments this society garners including temptations and eventually leading him down the wrong path.
He had a wife and a family but that was not enough to control his appetite for drugs. Many families can relate to that seeing a member of their family unable to stamp out that miserable curse.
Eventually, Bugzy went to prison for violating his parole. In fact, he turned himself in to police because it was the best thing to do. It took an unbelievable amount of courage to decide that going to Middleton was the beginning of his independence from all evil.
In time, he established the Canal Street Gym, earning him recognition for the leaders he was creating within the sport, traveling and winning. When Frank Benjamin wrote his book Mr. B’s Sports Stories based on a column appearing in Rumbo for over 15 years, he dedicated all of the proceeds from the sales to the Canal Street Gym because he was his friend and knew of his work.
Along the way, José was relaxing by listening to soft jazz music on YouTube and reading lessons he found there on how to paint and appreciate art. After expressing his curiosity to his wife Daisy, she surprised him with a set of beginners’ paints from a craft store. Concentrating and practicing absorbed his time and developed a style of his own.
While the untrained eye can only see strokes of different colors, for him they represented the confusion and anxiety in his soul. His paintings began to make sense describing his life and today, while it is still difficult for him to express what it took for him to get to that point he knows this new interest saved him.
Upon entering the display area at Heritage State Park, the first work you’ll see is a huge wall-hanging with the words DENIAL! WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE and in the center, there’s a spoon feeding a hypodermic needle. The graphic tells you immediately what it is about but the entire surface is overloaded with symbolisms. It has skulls everywhere, people crying, in jail, and red hand prints all over. The hand prints represent us; we all have blood in our hands for allowing this tragedy to persist.
Don’t think that this exhibit is sad or grotesque. See it as a glorious accomplishment of one human being who saw the light and went after it. This is exactly what John Lennon sang about: people stopping to find out what life has to offer.
Another very impressive work of art was the events in the news during the year 2017. Bugzy was very observant of his surroundings as well as what was happening all over the world. It looks as a news magazine looking at every single detail of atrocities occurring that year while wondering why it has to be that way. It is poignant, indeed!
That piece has already been sold just like his very first job. That was another form of encouragement seeing that he had something of value to offer the world. His large paintings are valued at several thousands.
It has been said that the beauty of art is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes we see something that touches us deeply and Bugzy’s paintings do just that.
The exhibit will be available at Lawrence Heritage State Park on the third floor until December 31 and the admission is free.