Inequitable-Repression

The first piece in this series was completed in May 2020, the black and red female., "Ramona." She represents the fire I feel on the inside when I am silenced as a woman, silenced as a Latina, and the daughter of immigrants, the silencing of my culture, my beliefs, and my heritage. We are told to stay in line, don't rock the boat, we are treated differently, don't cause trouble. This constant silencing because of who we are builds and builds and just adds fuel to fire already inside me. A fiery people, a passionate culture, and a beautiful heritage is what we bring and our silence is coming to an end.

Ramona

Humberto

Ramona y Humberto

Maria Guadalupe

Eduardo

Maria Guadalupe y Eduardo

Concepción

Constantino

Concepción y Constantino

About Inequitable-Repression

These pieces started after I lost my mother and the many injustices that sparked outrage in 2020. The final piece in this series was completed in February 2021 after a very trying year personally and globally, between loss of loved ones and friends, to fear, fights for justice and the right to be treated as human beings first, turmoil and the regular battles we have for equity across our society. During this time, I needed a way to process all of the emotions of losing my mother, the anger I felt in the months thereafter, and feeling silenced.

There was so much to unpack during this time and the way I chose to process it all was through the creation of Inequitable-Repression. I love my Latino culture and chose to showcase who I am and how I feel not only through the expression in these pieces but also through their beauty and Latino attributes.

They come in pairs, spouses/partners if you will. When I display them, I always hang the female slightly higher than her male counterpart. In Latino culture, the male is the head of the household, and the woman is expected to be at his every beck and call, supporting his every endeavor. I flipped the script and have the male supporting the female and her endeavors. The female will always support her partner, but here, I choose to visually display the male doing so. I see myself in these masks, the traditional braid from my Folklorico dancing days, signifies strength and beauty, honor. The feathers for me is that fiery anger I hold in sometimes that needs to come out and so it does. With the male figures, I make them Mariachi's with their charro bowties, pride and strength. He lifts his woman up, because despite both figures being silenced with the "X" across their mouths, due to their culture, who they are, their "status", language, beliefs, the woman will always have to fight harder to belong and then excel, no matter her culture. No matter what, they will hold on to each other, lift one another, support each other, and fight the good fight, together.

I gave them all names from my family tree, which makes them even more special to me. I am so proud of these pieces.