Stop. Look. Listen.

Following your dreams is one of the main threads running through the work of Connie De Alva Higgins, now on display through Nov. 30 at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center’s first-ever art exhibit, “Latin Soul/Alma Latina,” at its 150 S. Prince St. building. I stopped by on First Friday, Nov. 7, and spoke briefly with the artist. A native of Monterrey, Mexico and a graphic designer, she has been living in the U.S. for two years and had her first show in July in York. A painter since she was a child, she owned a print shop in Mexico for 18 years before getting married and moving to York two years ago. “I wasn’t working and I had to do something,” she comments. She had her first area show at the Moondancer Winery in Wrightsville in July, and has also shown her work at the York Art Association and other locations. She uses a lot of different textures in her acrylic paintings, using materials like paper and sand, and, in one painting, finely-ground cedar chips. In another painting, “Running” (shown at right), she has incorporated bits of sea glass, smoothed by sand and waves. The figure plays an important role, as in “Manten tu Cara al Sol, y Nunca Veras las Sombres” (shown at above left with Higgins) and in “Mother Nature,” a double image of trees that form the torso of a woman. “I love nature; I love the changing trees up here,” she comments. Her work is also on display at the Lancaster Red Rose Credit Union’s newest branch on S. Prince St, right next door to the Cultural Center. Other works shown here are “Agave” (left) and “Flor Roja” (right). More information is available at the center, (717) 397-8597.