Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Born in Isla Veracruz 36 years ago - a town so tiny you will not likely find it on a map - early recognition of Edgar Cano's prodigious primal talent resulted in a scholarship to the University of Veracruz Fine Arts program that changed his life.

Yet his roots in the municipality of Santiago Tuxtla have given him with a uniquely valuable perspective that we can discern in his art.

The natural voluptuousness of the landscape of his youth is evidenced in the violent strokes and soft warm shadows of his work; in the undercover of the canvas and the paintings' savage textures.

"Growing up in Santiago de Tuxtla encourages humility," Cano states. "It breeds simplicity. It breeds good will. It celebrates life."

Asked how his Afro-mestizo identity has influenced his art, Cano says he has benefited culturally from all points of view - "not only from the African essence, but from the Southern essence as well. It is something very enriching; it is something that we can project into a future as we discover the importance of understanding where we came from."

"Here in Mexico many people ask me about my name, Cano, whether it is an indigenous last name. I tell them that I honestly don't know the real history of my ancestors, the synthesis of Africans, Cubans and Indigenous Mexicans taking place long before the Spanish arrived. I like the rhythm and sounds of Santiago, like the rhumba. I like the cadence that sparks vibrations... these types of sounds from the Port of Veracruz are Afro-mestizo. I feel this process of crossbreeding and represent it, as well. I believe that we need to integrate everything that surrounds us, and, more than anything, make our lives fruitful."

Convinced that art heals, Cano focuses on the greatness of life rather than its misery. Yet, as one reviewer pointed out, on occasion he uses a dark palette one might associate with the Dutch Masters.

For example, a portrait of his nearly naked, pregnant wife, La Mala Education, is daring in both its very dark palette - the only light comes from the glow of the TV illuminating the woman's belly - and the message implicit in the canvas. That is, your children will potentially absorb everything to which you expose them.

Cano has held more than a dozen solo exhibits and 40-plus group shows in Mexico, the United States, Canada and Serbia, winning numerous awards and acknowledgments.

And now we get to experience his evocative works right here in Puerto Vallarta at Galería Contempo, during his Opening Reception on Friday the 21st of March from 6 pm to 10 pm.