{"id":2552,"date":"2025-04-14T11:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T11:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=2552"},"modified":"2025-04-14T11:49:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T11:49:00","slug":"book-review-rosalba-torres-leal-the-santa-of-roses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=2552","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Rosalba Torres Leal: The Santa of Roses"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rosalba Torres Leal: The Santa of Roses<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Dokali (Duke) Megharief<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Nonfiction \/ Biography \/ Art<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798891325487<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 172 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher: <\/strong>Atmosphere Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Chelsey Tucker<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>Humanity prevails, even during devastating life circumstances.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rosalba Torres Leal might be an 83-year-old woman with Alzheimer\u2019s, but she\u2019s got a talent that continues to blossom. As a painter, she creates beautiful scenes that encapsulate so much about the human experience. This book is about a dazzling talent that perseveres throughout the battle with memory loss.<\/p>\n

Ten of Rosalba\u2019s paintings are the centerpieces for this book. Megharief, an author who\u2019s been acquainted with Rosalba for fifty years, dissects the beauty she puts on canvas to show us who the artist truly is. The paintings are nature scenes painted with vivid colors: \u201cHer palette held colors unseen by mortal eyes\u2013shades of longing, joy, and melancholy.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Rosalba\u2019s artistic skill and expression bring the secrets of the painting to life over time with each new view.<\/p>\n

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Megharief also delves into legends and folklore that influenced and surround Rosalba\u2019s works. This is a unique type of biography\u2014there are artistic choices that demonstrate an understanding that couldn\u2019t be achieved by just repeating facts about her life: \u201cThe artist painted it with reverence, knowing that sunsets fade, but their ache lingers.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Some portions of this book feel short, choppy, and repetitive. But it feels rather intentional. Alzheimer\u2019s causes those afflicted to see the world in a different, rapidly changing way. This also affects their loved ones whose interactions with them become more painful as memories fade away. Megharief does a beautiful job introducing the world to this talent.<\/p>\n

A person is more than a set of dates or the labels that get slapped on them. Each person has a unique set of abilities and potential, regardless of disease, disability, or roadblock. This book highlights the power of art in the face of dissipating mental cognition. Each piece of Rosalba\u2019s artwork starts but transforms into a living entity, \u201cwhere time flowed like honey and shadows dance with moon beams.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This book sends a wonderful message appropriate for all audiences\u2014that we should practice tolerance and encouragement for those with diseases and disabilities, that they too can express themselves and still reach their full potential.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Art lovers who enjoy a sneak peek into artists\u2019 lives will fawn over the art and relish getting to know the person. It is a short, fast read that lets you explore the artistic expression and long-lasting memory of art by someone whose memory is fleeting.<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Chelsey Tucker\u2019s book review of Rosalba Torres Leal: The Santa of Roses <\/em>by Dokali (Duke) Megharief! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: Rosalba Torres Leal: The Santa of Roses<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rosalba Torres Leal: The Santa of Roses by Dokali (Duke) Megharief Genre: Nonfiction \/ Biography \/ Art ISBN: 9798891325487 Print Length: 172 pages Publisher: Atmosphere Press Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Chelsey Tucker Humanity prevails, even during devastating life circumstances.\u00a0 Rosalba Torres Leal might be an 83-year-old woman with Alzheimer\u2019s, but she\u2019s got a talent that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}