Van Gogh VIVO! An Immersive Experience in Cuenca

“Ecuador” (NOT “Panama!) hat shopping with chum Melissa  in SigSig

As you all well know – I ADORE living on this 8,400+ foot mountain-top in Cuenca, Ecuador. And there’s plenty to do here – visiting little artisanal towns like SigSig (authentic “toquilla” straw  hats – a.k.a. but misnamed “Panama” hats as they originated right here in the Andean mountains of Ecuador); the village of Chordeleg (silver jewelry, handmade leather shoes, and orchids); Gualaceo (exquisite ikat textiles), etc. Not to mention my personal favorite (that I wrote a trio of posts on back in 2015) the sweet Andean mountain village of Saraguro.

Then there’s the (various) thermal hot springs at Baños (just a short 7 mile bus hop from Cuenca); the stunning Inca ruins at Ingapirca; Mirador del Turi (w/ a breathtaking view overlooking the entire city of Cuenca – not to mention the option of a heart-stopping SWING over the edge!); plus our own community theater, numerous craft classes, weekly Trivia Night, our (most impressive and modern) Museo Pumapungo; and frequent concerts by the (free!) Cuenca Symphony Orchestra.

All this, in addition to just blissfully wandering amid the cobbled streets and colonial architecture of El Centro (sampling the street food, the succulent “hornado” (roast pig) with creamy “llapingachos” (little potato patties), feather-light empanadas (stuffed w/ a tiny gob of cheese and dredged in sugar, just 25¢ each), tiny bags of hard-boiled quail eggs dusted with salt, cumin and paprika, street-side hibachi’s offering grilled sweet plantains stuffed with fresh “queso fresca” cheese for a single $1, etc.)

In short, a lass could want for nothing here in the way of happy pastimes. But still…

I must say – I sometimes miss the world-renowned art galleries, museums, and entertainment on offer in larger cities of the globe (e.g. my old hood, Seattle, but also NYC, Mexico City, etc.) Furthermore, one of my favorite memories of my 3 week romp in Mexico last year was the amazing 360° “Frida: La Experiencia Inmersiva” sound and light show in CDMX. Alas, I said in that TL post – such was:

“…not gonna happen here on this 8,400+ foot mountain-top in little ol’ Cuenca, Ecuador.”

Ah but I was WRONG!

Well o.k. – perhaps not quiiiite as technically polished as the ceiling-to-floor-and-every-blessed-wall-and-corner extravaganza of Mexico City’s Frida immersive – but nonetheless, when I initially learned of the “Van Gogh VIVO!” Immersive event at the convention center here in Cuenca – I was all COUNT. ME. IN!

And in retrospect – at $7 entry (not to mention but a mere $3.50 for we dodderin’ “tercera edads”) my beloved little Cuenca did quite a good job.

For starters… the first thing we (chum, Cameron and her houseguest, Dave) bumped into was the requisite (these days) Instagram Van Gogh Selfie Frame…

And then… at first blush, the “immersive” installation seemed to be simply a round-about stroll through a series of paintings on translucent cloth backed w/ glowing lights…

A glowing collage of self-portraits…

Ah but soon things started to get more interesting…

A gazillion blooms in “The Sunflower Room”!

Along with a quirky sunflower-topped “mirror” room:

Plus a life-size 3-Dimensional replica of Vincent’s famous painting of his bedroom:

“The Bedroom”

And btw… here’s a good YouTube video w/ the details of the painting – in Vincent’s own words that he wrote in a letter to his brother Theo:

At this point in our wander amid the exhibit, we thought that we’d pretty much seen it all. Ah but…

We were oh so wrong! The true “immersive” fun had only just begun. Stepping gingerly through this (admittedly a bit funky, but nonetheless fun) glowing “Starry, Starry Night” hallway…

We finally entered what turned out to be – a huge room with the myriad of projections one expects in such “Immersive” installations.

Note: This one pic really doesn’t do it justice. You can see the large dimly lit room (with comfy benches and beanbags for relaxed viewing), and all the walls were covered in (constantly changing) glowing Van Gogh paintings – all set to a soft background of relaxing music. Indeed, I actually took several videos of the wondrous 360° projected surround scenes. But sadly, I was using my (otherwise uber-nifty) new Galaxy phone and (apparently) hadn’t yet figured out how to use all the new camera/video options. Cuz… alas, none of the videos turned out. 🙁

In any case, you get the idea – “Van Gogh VIVO!” turned out to be much like a true “Immersive” experience. All in all – perhaps not quite as spiffy as what some of you may have enjoyed in places like NYC, or London, Milan, Sydney, Australia, etc. But – hey – for this sweet little corner of the South American Andes, I must say…

Cuenca my dear – you most certainly didn’t disappoint.

P.S. OMG!!! Speaking of “Immersive” experiences (and coincidentally a sneak-peek of where I’m headed for my next adventure – hint: back across the “The Pond” come September), look what I found in London!