For
this art piece I was inspired by guest lecturer, Professor Wei Ming Dariotis. The
talk about her book War Baby/Love Child:
Mixed Race Asian American Art. Some
of her pieces really inspired this self portrait. I am at the root of my family history. I have a voice
in letting people know who I am. I feel that I can be seen as being a race
traitor. Viewed from an outsider’s perspective where they assume they know. I
was born in the United States but my roots are Mexican. I have struggled with
my self-identity, feeling as though I am “ni
de aqui, ni de aya” which means that I am not from here, or from there. I
consider myself to be both, which means that if I am to identify as just
Mexican I leave my American identity aside, and if I embrace my American
identity I set aside my Mexican roots. That is one of the reasons why I showcased
my two flags in the background of my picture. The two flags are fused in the
center showcasing that I am a fusion of both worlds and in the bottom I have
the self-identifying title of Mexican American. The title, Mexican is first
because I was born with cultural practices, language, food, music of Mexico and
my American identity comes afterwards because it is where I have lived all of
my life. Combining them makes me my whole. Also, I contrasted the picture to
highlight my bright red curly hair. It was important for me to point out my
curly hair since it is another major part of my identity. In one of my Chicano
classes I learned that the curlier the hair from people of Mexican descent the
closer their ancestral lineage is to that of the Spanish. This has stuck with
me for many years, and makes me want to question my roots.
Furthering the complexity of my self identity.
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