BETHLEHEM, Pa. — With its artwork now having been featured at the head of a premier festival’s 40th year, one Lehigh Valley clan of muralists is looking to communicate with others through its completed works, and those to come.
- Maltas Con Leche, a Macungie family of artists, was the hands and minds behind the Musikfest 2023 program art
- Rafael Menendez, the family's father, reflects on the work involved and its inspiration
- You can see more of their work around Bethlehem and Allentown, among other places
For Maltas Con Leche — a Macungie family of artists with a presence in Bethlehem and credit for the Musikfest 2023 program art — it all started with Rock Band video game jam sessions.
What went on to be the name of the artist group was once their family gamertag, father Rafael Menendez said.
Menendez said the namesake malty drink turns into a whole other concoction once you add sweetened condensed milk. That’s symbolic of what’s gone on to become a local, “low-key” operation alongside his children and their talents, with murals now completed around the Lehigh Valley and tri-state area, he said.
With his history of studying and being influenced by art over the decades, Menendez said he felt moved to share that with his children.
And it seems to have stuck for kids Luz, Esperanza, Binico, Caterina, Camila and Santiago.
Sweet family fun
Almost all of the Menendez children graduated from Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts in Bethlehem, Rafael said.
“We’re very local for Bethlehem, at least Southside. We’ve always just been in that pocket.”Rafael Menendez, Maltas Con Leche artist
“We’re very local for Bethlehem, at least South Side,” he said. “We’ve always just been in that pocket.”
The kids have a knack for art, Mendndez said.
“All my kids have different strong points, as far as their mediums,” he said.
He said his oldest daughter enjoys animation. She worked up the two characters dancing on the left of the 2023 Musikfest art.
Menendez also works out of a Third Street tattoo parlor, C23ink, where one of his daughters worked alongside him for some time as an apprentice. She enjoys working in portraits and painting.
His son enjoys fine arts and sculpting. He came up with the idea for the child sitting on the speaker in the Musikfest art.
Another of his daughters plays bass guitar, which you can see on the right side of the poster.
Not their first rodeo
Rafael said he’s been influenced by art for as long as he can remember, later ending up studying communicational arts in New York.
“I started teaching special effects at one point in Manhattan, and got into makeup,” Menendez said. “To me, it’s all art.”
After having a go at a handful of jobs outside of art, Rafael and the kids ended up in the Lehigh Valley in 2007. And with “being a dad early,” he said he figured sharing his artistic knowledge with the kids was the right move.
“I always try to push them like, ‘You are who you say you are. So if you feel like you’re an artist now, then you’re an artist now.’ We started creating these themed shows, and we just started rolling together as a family everywhere.”Rafael Menendez, Maltas Con Leche artist
“It was like a selfish reason just to have fun with the family,” he said.
After Menendez was invited to do an art exhibit in Allentown, he said he asked his children if they wanted to tag along and help.
“I always try to push them like, ‘You are who you say you are,’” Menendez said. “So if you feel like you’re an artist now, then you’re an artist now.
“We started creating these themed shows, and we just started rolling together as a family everywhere.”
The Musikfest 2023 art, inspiration
After being contacted by ArtsQuest to draw up some designs for the Musikfest art to be potentially used for a later festival, Menendez and the gang understood they’d have to highlight certain cultural aspects within the piece.
Those included the main Musikfest logo, the Star of Bethlehem and SteelStacks, among others.
The family was given space to complete the poster mural at South Bethlehem’s Banana Factory, with four of the children handling the painting alongside Rafael.
He said the project started with just him and one of his daughters.
“When we went through the process, we figured out what we like, what we don’t like, we picked out a color palette as a family. And then we just took elements from each of our designs and tried to put it together.”Rafael Menendez, Maltas Con Leche artist
Other family members joined in eventually, with his 14-year-old walking down the street after school to join in on the work. His 5-year-old tagged along at some point as well.
“When we went through the process, we figured out what we like, what we don’t like, we picked out a color palette as a family,” Menendez said. “And then we just took elements from each of our designs and tried to put it together.”
But for the bunch, one question rang clear: “What does music mean to us?”
“For one of my kids, it meant dancing,” Menendez said. “One of my kids is a bass player.”
Another one of his daughters decided to draw up a portrait of her sister playing bass. That character is featured on the right side of the poster.
“My other kid just loves to listen to music, so he drew a character sitting on a speaker enjoying the music,” Menendez said.
His days in New York
For Menendez in particular, he said thinking of music takes him to his days of growing up in New York, where he’d attend block parties featuring huge speakers blasting great tunes.
He said the centerpiece of the artwork, a Vejigante character holding a microphone in one hand and a corn cob in the other, represents not only themes near and dear to Bethlehem festival culture but also others around the world.
“It’s always associated with a festival or celebration or carnival, if you will. Usually there’s someone in the getup, they’ll put the mask on — and it’s usually to celebrate something joyous. I felt like that would make a lot of sense, and especially when I know how passionate some cultures are when they see them.”Rafael Menendez, Maltas Con Leche artist
“It’s always associated with a festival or celebration or carnival if you will,” Rafael explained. “Usually there’s someone in the getup, they’ll put the mask on — and it’s usually to celebrate something joyous.
“I felt like that would make a lot of sense, and especially when I know how passionate some cultures are when they see them.”
Rafael's reflections
Considering a reported 1.3 million people attended this year’s Musikfest, Menendez said witnessing his family’s artwork on mugs, posters, shirts and more left him “dumbfounded.”
He said he also was impressed that elements of the artwork were used across many different forms of marketing materials before and during the event.
Still collaborating at the Banana Factory until September, Rafael said the family has looked to create new artwork every month. Other artists are invited to join in on the fun, as well, he said.
“We’re trying to get other people involved that are into art, to join us just to create something new. Something new just to give them that energy you get when you’re creating art.”Rafael Menendez, Maltas Con Leche artist
“We’re trying to get other people involved that are into art, to join us just to create something new,” Menendez said. “Something new just to give them that energy you get when you’re creating art.”
You can see more of the family’s Bethlehem work at Yosko Park, 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, Little CALI Colombian Restaurant and The Taste Smokers, as well as two murals behind the Alternative Art Gallery in Allentown.
Others you may recognize include work at the Lynfield Community Center as well as Showstoppers Boxing Gym in Allentown, with one piece featured at the old location and another in the works at the new one.
