Visit the Bittersweet exhibition at the Somerville Museum this week and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa in exchange for a promise of a good deed. Hours are Thursday, March 17, 2:00 – 7:00 p.m., Friday, March 18, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.,  Saturday, March 19, 12:00 – 5:00 p.m.,Westwood Road, Somerville.

Created by two of Latin America’s leading artists, José Falconi from Peru and Santiago Montoya from Columbia, Bittersweet expands upon their original collaboration in Columbia, titled, El Dorado Chocolaterie.

This reference to the foundational myth of “El Dorado”— that elusive city where everything was covered in gold, derives from the earliest days of colonization in the 16th century when countless explorers mounted expeditions in search of it.

Over the years, the myth has served as an allegory for the ongoing search and exploitation of Colombia’s immense natural wealth, a symbol for get-rich-quick schemers who traffic in its resources from gold to quinoa, from emeralds to cocaine.

Sure to attract the attention of critics and art-lovers from Somerville and beyond, Bittersweet reimagines the elusive paradise of gilded beings long sought by South American explorers. Instead of gold, however, these explorers will enter into the subconscious world of sweets, turning the Museum into an enormous chocolate factory wherewith the exchange for a hot cup of cocoa will be the visitor’s time.

A special thanks to Taza Chocolate for their very generous in-kind chocolate donation. This show wouldn’t be possible without their support.

This program is made possible by a grant from Mass Humanities, which provided funding through the National Endowment for the Humanities via the American Rescue Plan.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Somerville Arts Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.