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You may have noted that several images in my portfolio portray a small portion of the city of Old San Juan. This is because I have a desire to highlight and exposed its paradoxical location, as a mini suburban neighborhood, and history. Note in the photograph, the three small three houses and the conditions around them; they are "jailed" between the old city wall, seen in blur at the bottom foreground in order to increase perspective, and the rabid Atlantic Ocean, which at least provides the residents with the best view of this side of its cost, enjoy the sound of the waves, the wind, and the immensity of blue ... . As you can imagine, in order to shoot this photograph I had to literally climb one step so as to obtain the view that is seen here. This magnificent high and long wall runs up the Norzagaray street in the city. More specifically, the city wall stretches or about 650 yards 600 along the rocky coast of the Atlantic Ocean immediately east of the Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery and down up the slope north of the Norzagaray street. Residents of La Perla at Old San Juan mostly have to live in poor old houses.

Most Puerto Ricans and tourists today consider La Perla, the paradox of the beautiful city of Old San Juan, which is so full of splendor, interrupted in a rather dramatic fashion by the presence of this neighborhood. La Perla is a heavily populated urban area characterized by substandard housing and squalor situated on both sides of the northern historic city wall. It is also one of Puerto Rico’s poorest neighborhoods, composed of 200 homes, routinely referred to as a slum and shantytown, marked by crime and poverty, and historically neglected by the Puerto Rican police and government. However, before making any judgments or naming La Perla with condemning adjectives, one must know its roots. La Perla was established in the late 19th century, the late 1800’s. Perhaps, as a premonition of what it would eventually become, the area was the site of a slaughterhouse because Spanish law required these as well as the homes of former slaves and homeless non-white servants, and indigents to be established away from the main community center. That is, outcasted and outside the city walls, as it still remains today. Actually, I ask what is the origin of its name, La Perla, which means The Pearl. Was it a sarcastic act to name it La Perla? I certainly would not be surprised.

These facts have been intertwined in time. Today, those unaware or insensitive of this history, sadly not a small number, consider the beautiful oceanfront and secluded location the main reasons for the high level of drug related activities in the area. However, think what if things had been different under Spain's rule over the region? What if proper housing, education, and socio-economic justice for La Perla soon or at any time after Puerto Rico became a US territory? Isn't also paradoxical that is is called "La Perla", which literally mean the pearl, or was the name established sarcastically? I wonder all these things and ask: what if ... ? Today, La Perla residents are said to feel persecuted, abandoned, and targets of discrimination and prejudice because they live in a poor community.

I mentioned in my bio and also in my first blog entry that I am an autodidactic fine & digital art photographer. As a scientist, my learning was initially lead by conventional university-lead learning practices. Eventually, however, I began to practice autodidactism in science as well. To earn a doctorate degree in philosophy (Ph.D.) in any field, the student must become a problem solver. This is a characteristic of all scientists with a Ph.D.; that is, an enhance qualification to solve problems at hand. From such a position, jumping to autodidactism in science and most of every area of my life became natural. Actually, I think there is something natural in me, driving me so.

Well, all this conversation of being an autodidactic scientist and artist and the talk of autodidactism, yet still I have
not defined these for you. A person who is autodidactic, as the term implies, is one who teaches him or her self. Thus, autodidactism is when you learn on your own, by yourself; you are your own teacher. Sounds familiar? Since no one is “spoon feeding” you the information to be learned, it requires time and commitment, just as if you were to attend a particular college or school to obtain a Masters in Fine Arts (MFA). Based on my own life-long experience as an autodidact, because thinking back even when I was learning in school or at the university I also spent a lot of time learning plenty of things on my own, learning on your own involves great inquisitive searching, meditation on newly learned information, and the absorption of such information into our minds. I remember that when I was around 9 years old, my father who used to be a merchant marine brought me this wonderful illustrated dictionary from Spain. I spent days and hours just studying all the illustrations and the information related to them; my hunger for learning was and still is insatiable! This is the very characteristic of all true autodidacts. Some people are like me, starting mostly as conventional learners, while paralleling with self-learning, and eventually become pure autodidacts. Actually, you may become an autodidact at any point of your life; so you still have time to dive into this!

In today’s world, were everything is at the tip of your fingers, while working online, reading published manuscripts, watching video tutorials, sending emails to contact experts, or questioning experts, I have discovered that I really do not need to go back to school to get a degree in art in order to become a fine art and digital art photographer. I really wrestled with this question, because even though I had a graduate degree, it was not related to art. I considered applying to online programs, the good one, but as you know, obtaining such degrees even online can be like paying a “king’s ransom” in tuition and fees. So think about it, in the movie Good Will Hunting, Will (played by Matt Damon) chides an arrogant Ivy League student for paying a fortune for an education that would be free but for the price of a library card. The main problem, people are seeking to have and to see your credentials. Do you have a MFA? Where did you studied? However, I can tell you that autodidactism has existed for centuries and many notable figures in history, which made significant chances in society. I will just share with you one name and leave to practice your autodidactic skills to learn what defined this most significant person as an autodidact, his name: Leonardo Da Vinci.

Today, I define myself as an autodidactic artist and have joined a wonderful group of similar minded artists in Fine Art America, name Autodidactic Artists Association. I look forward to continue creating my original art pushing the edges of my own imagination and creativity, coupled with the application of specialized techniques that make fine art and digital art photography the true artistic expression form that it is.

References:
1. Autodidactic Press (http://www.autodidactic.com/profiles/profiles.htm)
2. SEPTEMBER UNIVERSITY: 
Summoning Passion for an Unfinished Life by Charles D. Hayes
3. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodidacticism)