Víctor Ramos Rosado (El Nuevo Día) reports that leading Puerto Rican artists — painter and writer Antonio Martorell and singer/songwriter Roy Brown — recently collaborated to produce a work of art to raise funds for the People Foundation. The work was unveiled on February 4, 2026, at a fundraising event for the Foundation, where both Martorell and Brown were present to sign copies. [We will add photos of the artwork to this post when they become available.] Here are translated excerpts.
When two masters combine their creative minds, wonderful things can emerge from their work. That was the result when multidisciplinary artist Francisco Zamora wanted to combine the lyrics of one of Roy Brown’s most celebrated songs with the iconic graphic vision of Antonio Martorell.
“Two years ago, I approached Maestro Martorell and asked him to create a piece I had in mind, something I had always wanted. Since Maestro Martorell’s great skill lies in graphology and text, I wanted to use a fragment of a Roy Brown song that I’ve always loved, from the song ‘Sal a caminar’ (Go for a Walk). It’s the bit that says, ‘Anyone can sing just by using their throat and letting their soul take flight’ [cualquiera canta con solo usar la garganta y echar el alma a volar]” Zamora explained.
According to him, when he received the piece created by Martorell, he immediately thought he didn’t want to be the only one to enjoy it. So, he spoke with both Brown and the painter about creating recreations of the work and using the sales to benefit his foundation, which he started in 1998, to support emerging artists. His long-term vision is to create a place with an endowment fund that can provide a dignified retreat [“retiro” may mean retreat or retirement] for artists in Puerto Rico.
Brown, one of Puerto Rico’s most celebrated singer-songwriters, wrote the lyrics to this song at a particular moment in his life and career when he became interested in the importance of walking in ancient cultures. The song is a call to follow your instincts and let yourself be carried away by the sounds of the world; it’s a call to be present.
Explained how the song came about, Brown said, “’Sal a caminar’ is inspired by a discovery I made about the pictorial and visual art of the Aboriginal people of Australia. I was very curious to see and learn about their destinations and long journeys. They were people who never stayed still; they traveled constantly. But then the Europeans arrived and constrained them, imprisoned them, placed them in concentration camps, and stole their youth. But they, in a way of reclaiming their history and their stories, dedicated themselves to painting what is nothing other than a map— maps of the journeys they undertook. Not literal maps, but maps of how they recounted them. Walking is how you encounter your own mind, because often when you walk, your mind begins to imagine things. And it adopts a rhythm. Walking is phenomenal. That is the origin of the song.” [. . . ]
Listen to “Sal a caminar” (Roy Brown, ft. Tony Croatto) here:
Excerpts translated by Ivette Romero. For the original article (in Spanish), see https://www.elnuevodia.com/entretenimiento/cultura/notas/antonio-martorell-y-roy-brown-se-unen-en-una-obra-visual-inspirada-en-la-cancion-sal-a-caminar/