Mujer

“Mujer” is a compilation of memories and stories passed down through the generations through being a Latina in the United States. A world of juxtaposing forces: strength and insecurity, love and anger, domesticity and independence, pride and shame, and English and Spanish. Sometimes they stay silent. Sometimes they thrive. In this series, I explore this world of clashing forces, where women work behind the scenes sometimes shadowed by men, and rarely given enough credit for their accomplishments and endeavors.

To construct the scenes, I re-appropriated photographs from my family archive, both taken by myself and those taken by others. They became stories into the depths of being Latina-American, through the lives of the women closest to me.

I celebrate these women in their entirety with papel picado, a traditional paper-cut decoration used for fiestas and other gatherings. Each papel picado i adorned with quotations from well-known Latinas, quotations from the Mujeres represented in each piece, and things I have said. Elements of language barriers, the ongoing border conflict, and necessity and opportunity line each piece. The cards that have a separate object on each, come from a Mexican bingo game called Loteria, where chance is your friend or your enemy. Each card also represents something about each Mujer, either a personality trait or an obstacle they may have had to overcome.

Together, these elements give insight into the lives of these Mujeres. Being Latina-American is a balancing act. These external and internal conflicts have shaped a group of women that have made me who I am today. These Mujeres have everything to do with how I now carry and define myself. Mujeres in my family and all over the United States continue to influence each other and define what it means to be Latina-American.