KeghartClick on “Huérfanos de Armenia, Ángeles del Cielo” for the Spanish text
Buenos Aires–The “Orphans of Armenia, Angels of Heaven” mural, co-created by artist, composer and poet Dr. Juan Yelanguezian and his brother, architect and fashion designer Claudio, was unveiled on May 1 in Buenos Aires, their hometown. Requsted by the Argentine Armenian Center and the Tekeyan Cultural Center, the work commemorates the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.
The colorful mural, measuring six meters by three-and-a-half meters, imparts enormous sensibility and brilliance. It has already been considered by well-known Argentine art critics as a creation of great ethereal beauty, spirituality and mysticism. The work, donated by the artist brothers, is in the courtyard of the Saint Paul’s Armenian Apostolic Church (San Pablo) in Liniers, Buenos Aires, and is dedicated to the church and to the parents of the Yelanguezian brothers.
Click on “Huérfanos de Armenia, Ángeles del Cielo” for the Spanish text
Buenos Aires–The “Orphans of Armenia, Angels of Heaven” mural, co-created by artist, composer and poet Dr. Juan Yelanguezian and his brother, architect and fashion designer Claudio, was unveiled on May 1 in Buenos Aires, their hometown. Requsted by the Argentine Armenian Center and the Tekeyan Cultural Center, the work commemorates the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.
The colorful mural, measuring six meters by three-and-a-half meters, imparts enormous sensibility and brilliance. It has already been considered by well-known Argentine art critics as a creation of great ethereal beauty, spirituality and mysticism. The work, donated by the artist brothers, is in the courtyard of the Saint Paul’s Armenian Apostolic Church (San Pablo) in Liniers, Buenos Aires, and is dedicated to the church and to the parents of the Yelanguezian brothers.
The idea of the mural originated in an epic poem titled "Orphans of Armenian", written by Juan in 1985. In 2005 the poem was declared of “cultural interest” by the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires. Since then it has been translated and published internationally in numerous languages. Appropriately, the very courtyard of the St. Paul's Church, where the mural now stands was part of the first school (Nubarian) that sheltered the first orphans to arrive from Armenia. And again appropriately, a great number of members of the Yelanguezian family hail from Tarsus, the birthplace of St. Paul.
The Armenian orphans were considered angels who were taken to heaven by Christ and protected by Virgin Mary, long before Catholicos Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, announced in 2015, that all who suffered and died in the Genocide of Armenians were saints.
The unveiling ceremony was presided by Bishop Maghakia Amiryan and accompanied by deacons and Jorge Karamanukian who represented the Armenian Church Commission. The latter also addressed the gathering.
On a clear and sunny autumn day, numerous Armenians, community and city authorities, as well as sympathizers of the Armenian Cause, attended Holy Mass which was followed by an emotional blessing. During the blessing ceremony, Juan Yelanguezian, visibly moved, recited in Armenian and in Spanish one of his poems and sang “In the Fatherland”, which he had composed when he visited Armenia for the first time in 1970. After singing "In the Fatherland", he read his award-winning prose poem “The Children of the Mural”. The poem was recently published in an English/Spanish anthology of Argentine poetry entitled “Letters on Paper”.
Sumptuous lunch for attendees followed the official unveiling, along with Armenian songs. The event was covered by the Armenian and Argentine newspapers.
The mural legend (in Armenian) is as follows:
Orphans of Armenia, Angels of Heaven
El 1° de mayo de 2016, se bendijo e inauguró el Mural “Huérfanos de Armenia, Ángeles del Cielo”, diseño del artista plástico, compositor y poeta, Doctor Juan Yelanguezian, ejecución del artista y de su hermano, el artista plástico y diseñador de modas, Arquitecto Claudio Yelanguezian en conmemoración de los cien años de la perpetuación del Genocidio Armenio. Convocados por concurso por el Centro Armenio de Argentina y el Centro Cultural Tekeyan.
El mural de seis metros de ancho por tres y medio de alto, de una enorme sensibilidad y brillantez, considerado por conocidos críticos de arte argentinos de una gran belleza etérea, espiritual y mística. Obra donada por los artistas se encuentra en el patio de la Iglesia Apostólica Armenia “San Pablo” en Liniers,
ciudad de Buenos Aires, y está dedicada a la Iglesia y a los padres de ellos concluida en diciembre de 2015. La idea inicial tiene su origen en un poema épico que Juan escribió en 1985, y que en 2005 fuera declarado “De interés cultural” por la Legislatura de la ciudad de Buenos Aires, titulado “Huérfanos de Armenia”, y además fue traducido y publicado a numerosos idiomas internacionalmente. Paradójicamente este mismo patio de la mencionada iglesia, fue parte del primer colegio llamado Nubarian, que albergó a los primeros huérfanos que llegaron de Armenia. Providencialmente gran parte de la familia de los artistas proviene ancestralmente de Tarso, la ciudad natal de San Pablo.
De una manera profética, los niños fueron ideados como ángeles llevados al cielo por Jesús y protegidos por la Virgen María en 2014, aún antes de que en Armenia el Katolikós Karekín II, Supremo Patriarca de la Iglesia Apostólica Armenia, anunciara que todos los que padecieron y fallecieron en el genocidio fueran declarados santos, el 23 de Abril de 2015.
La ceremonia de bendición del mural, la ofreció el archimandrita Maghakia Amiryan acompañado por sus diáconos y las palabras de Jorge Karamanukian en nombre de la comisión de la Iglesia.
El día, de una claridad soleada y bendita de otoño, acogió a numerosos fieles, autoridades de la comunidad y de la ciudad; y simpatizantes de la causa armenia, primero en una misa, luego en la emotiva ceremonia de bendición, en donde Juan Yelanguezian, visiblemente emocionado, recitó en armenio y en español una poesía de su autoría y cantó una canción, En la Madre Patria, que compuso cuando conoció Armenia el 1° de enero de 1970. Luego leyó su poema en prosa Los Niños del Mural, recientemente publicado en una antología de la poesía argentina, premiado y titulada: “Letras sobre Papel” en versión bilingüe inglés/castellano.
A seguir hubo un almuerzo para todos los presentes, con espíritu vivamente armenio, con canciones de Juan Yelanguezian y varios otros presentes entusiastas. La prensa de la comunidad armenia y argentina, difundió y escribió artículos sobre este evento.
La leyenda del mural es como sigue:
Huérfanos de Armenia, Ángeles del Cielo (en armenio)
Keghart
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1 comment
Correction
The name "Archimandrita Maghakia Amiryan" in the Spanish original should have been translated as "Archimandrite Maghakia Amiryan" (=վարդապետ/vartabed) and not as "Bishop."
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