Opening

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La Rada – Spazio per l’arte contemporanea is delighted to present the third instalment of its 2026 exhibition programme, LÌ DOVE NON SIAMO 2026, hosted at Casa Azul in Gordola. The exhibition Perché il cacao vuole diventare cioccolato? brings together the results of Ecuadorian artist Diego Ledesma García’s three-month residency in Switzerland, curated by Yimei Zhang.

Drawing on his family roots in the cocoa-growing landscapes of Montalvo, Ecuador, Ledesma García develops a body of work that explores the invisible connections between cocoa cultivation in his country of origin and chocolate production in Switzerland. Through the project Cacao Ghosts: Echoes in the Landscapes, the artist brings to light the ‘ghosts’ of cocoa: persistent traces of memory, labour and ecological transformation that continue to inhabit these territories.

The exhibition stems from the observation that, in the Swiss collective imagination, cocoa often appears relegated to a marginal role compared to the final product, chocolate. From this reflection arises the desire to forge a dialogue between two parallel landscapes – that of cocoa and that of chocolate – by linking their histories, economies, cultures and identities.

For Ledesma García, the landscape becomes a narrative space where memory and imagination intertwine. Drawing inspiration from the book How Forests Think by Eduardo Kohn and the more-than-human anthropology perspective, the artist assigns the cocoa tree the role of protagonist and narrator of a series of contemporary tales and fables, through which to explore the relationships between the places that have contributed to his personal and collective history.

The project finds particular resonance in the context of Casa Azul, a historic building in Gordola whose history is deeply linked to Ticino migration to other continents. Built in the late 19th century thanks to the fortunes accumulated by Ticino emigrants in South Africa, the house bears witness to a long history of cultural exchange and transnational mobility.

Among its key figures are Luigi Firanza, who emigrated to South Africa during the gold rush, and later Galdino Borradori, who returned from America. Over the course of the 20th century, the building has served various purposes, yet has retained its value as a historical testament to the relations between Ticino and the wider world. After facing demolition in 2023, Casa Azul was saved and converted by the Verzasca Foto Association, becoming the first House of Photography in the Canton of Ticino.

The exhibition is therefore set in a place which, like Ledesma García’s project, tells stories of departures, returns, exchanges and transformations. Through a comparison between Ecuador and Switzerland, cocoa and chocolate, memory and landscape, the exhibition invites the public to reflect on the connections that unite territories that are geographically distant yet historically intertwined.

Perché il cacao vuole diventare cioccolato? 
The exhibition is hosted and organised in collaboration with Casa Azul in Gordola.

Pro Helvetia supports the project and residency