We present to you the Tarifa Baffa family, Argentinian artists. For 30 years they have put God at the center of their art and they have come to Rome to tell the pope. One example of their work is this Jesus doll who is able to walk in the streets.
FERNADA BAFFA
Artist
'We both studied Fine Arts and one day we decided to dedicate our art to God. Then, through art we could express with different artistic manifestations. With puppets, dolls, paintings, drawings, murals.'
JORGE TARIFA
Artist
'We realized that Jesus is an attractive image to everyone. Everyone on the street is attracted to Jesus. They all say: It's Jesus, it's Jesus... They take pictures, they hug him, they want us to pray for them. We take their hands and they take pictures with him. It also happened here in St. Peter's Square.'
In Argentina, they take this Jesus doll to the streets and plazas. They say that first he attracts the children, then later parents and teenagers.
JORGE TARIFA
Artist
'Many people react by crying, many people hug him and say things to Jesus. Therefore, the person who puts on the Jesus costume is praying too. You have to get into the body of Jesus and embrace people, realizing that they are embracing Christ at that time.'
The majority of the time, it is their children who want to dress up as Jesus and the parents go with them.
NATANAEL TARIFA
'They see the image and it's like, Jesus, Jesus! They get close, they hug him and the one inside the costume gets all the affection from everyone passing by.'
TOBIAS
'Yesterday I dressed up so the pope would see me, Jesus. But all the police came to make me leave. They wanted to take me away.'
MIQUEAS
“When people see it's me, they laugh.”
JORGE TARIFA
Artist
'I have put on the costume on many occasions, and the truth is that it is a prayerful experience. At that moment you realize that it is Jesus who is walking, beyond that He is an image, a icon.'
They call it “creative evangelization,” yet it's much more than just a game. For so many, receiving a hug from this doll is to embrace and feel the closeness of Jesus.
