Hablamas Juntos

Finding that teens rarely had access to contemporary Latinx art, Museo Eduardo Carrillo launched an initiative to bring images by those artists directly to youth in our region. We wanted to make the experience significant to them, to deepen the meaning of looking closely. To do that we found the perfect partner in the Young Writers Program. Their training of community volunteer mentors results in turning reluctant students into assured writers.

Museo curated the images, selecting work for its vigor and potential to resonant with the students. We designed posters for each artwork so students would have their own unique image. The classroom teachers entrusted us with their students to offer this unique program. The mentors spent 13 sessions with the students to help elicit responses toward the art, draft personal narratives, and revise, revise and revise their writing to complete the keenest writing each could achieve.

The writing, paired with accompanying artwork, was transformed into books—printed, beautiful, hard cover books. The look when the students—now published authors—received their copies was priceless. Then excerpts of the teen writing (both in Spanish and English), with its unique artwork was made into 1.5’x3’ banners. They here mounted in street facing windows in the downtown corridor in Watsonville, California, the students home town. These banners were available for viewing 24/7.

For this exhibition, we selected excerpts from their narratives. We hope you will enjoy viewing the art of these contemporary Latinx artists and reading what today’s youth have to say about the images and their lives

There was still some racism in my childhood. One day, I finally stood up for myself because I was fed up.

Aún había un poco de racismo en mi infancia. Un día, finalmente me defendí porque estaba harta.

—Anthony Garcia

This picture reminds me of my grandpa because he used to come here to work. He came here to support my family, and he taught me to work hard so you can get what you want.

Este cuadro me hace pensar en mi abuelo porque él venía aquí para trabajar. El vino aquí para mantener a mi familia y me ensenó a trabajar duro para conseguir lo que uno quiere.

—J.M.M.

Growing up as a Mexican American makes me very proud of my race because most jobs here in the U.S.A. usually ask for a bilingual person. I love my culture and I will never be ashamed of it.

Creciendo como una Mexicana Americana me hace sentir orgullosa de mi raza porque la mayoría de los trabajos en los Estados Unidos piden a una persona bilingüe. Amo a mi cultura y nunca me sentiré avergonzada de ella.

—Daisy Delgadillo

The barb wires in this picture made me think of a lot of difficult times I’m still going through.

El alambrado en esta pintura me hizo pensar en los tiempos difíciles que aún estoy viviendo.

—Elizabeth Albor

Maria’s childhood was difficult. She grew up in a neighborhood where guns were like fireworks at night. Houses were falling apart, with broken windows. It was a very lonely neighborhood.

La niñez de María fue difícil. Ella crecío en un barrio donde las pistolas sonaban como fuegos artificiales durante la noche. Las casas se caían a pedazos con ventanas rotas. Era un barrio muy solitario.

—Alexis Rangel

This picture reminds me of the time I tagged up my local alley. I did this because I wanted to let people know who lives in this neighborhood. I am territorial.”

Este cuadro me hace pensar en la vez cuando pinté mi callejón con grafiti. Lo hice porque quiera dar a conocer quien vive en este barrio. Yo soy territorial.

—Angel Campos

My grandma is special to me because she took me in when I was a couple of months old.

Mi abuela es especial para mí porque ella me crío desde que tenía dos meses de edad.

—Enrique Ayala

The picture I picked out reminds me of my Uncle Georgie. My Uncle Georgie is a buff, ‘tall ass foo’ and he’s all tatted up from his neck down to his legs.

El cuadro que escogí me hace pensar en mi tío Georgie. Mi tío Georgie es un tipo alto, fuerte y divertido y él tiene tatuajes de su cuello hasta sus piernas.

—Chris Rosete

Another thing this picture reminds me of is my gym workout because of the way he looks. He seems tired and has sweat on his face from working out hard or something like that.

Otra cosa en la que me hace pensar esta foto es en mis ejercicios en el gimnasio debido a como él se ve. Parece estar cansado y lleva sudor en su cara por los ejercicios o algo semejante.

—Jose Juarez

No matter what happens, I will always be happy with my grandparents.

Pase lo que pase, siempre estaré feliz con mis abuelos.

—Jaqueline Valdez

The artwork I chose reminds me of my Grandpa because he was a hard worker in life. He never gave up on the things he wanted and that meant he wanted his children to have a better life.”

El obra de arte que escogí me hace pensar en mi Abuelo porque fue un gran trabajador en la vida. Nunca se rendía por las cosas que querían y esto significo que quería que sus hijos tuvieron una mejor vida.

—Leslie Hipolito Ortiz

This artwork connects me to my mom because she worked in the strawberry fields. She is selfless but pushes on because of her love for us.

Este obra de arte me conecta con mi mama porque ella trabajaba en los campos de fresa. Ella sacrifica mucho por nosotros y sigue luchando debido al amor que nos tiene.

—Juan Mendoza

The title of this artwork is called “The Portal.” This symbolizes the transformation I made from being a kid to the high school teenager I am today.

El título de esta obra de arte es “El Portal.” Simboliza mi transformación de niño al adolescente de secundaria que soy hoy día.

—L.R,

What I like about construction is that it’s outdoors and you get to experience new things. People thank you for the great job you do and it makes you feel good when they compliment you on the job you worked hard on.

Lo que me gusta de la construcción es que es un trabajo al aire libre y en el cual puedes experimentar cosas nuevas. La gente te agradece por el buen trabajo y te hace sentir bien cuando te felicitan por el trabajo bien hecho.

—Oscar Gonzalez

The message I see in the picture is trust. Trusting someone for me is when you can count on someone and not be scared to tell them anything.

El mensaje que veo en el cuadro es confianza. Tener confianza para mi es cuando uno puede contar con alguien y no tener miedo de decirle cualquiera cosa.

—Leilani Hernandez

I’m Mexican and I’m proud of that—I wouldn’t change it even if I could.

Soy Mexicano y estoy orgulloso de serlo. No lo cambiaria, aun si pudiera.

—Jose Antonio Ortiz

This picture reminds me of what I am proud of. I have eight tattoos on my body, all in different places. They all mean something special to me.

Este cuadro me hace pensar en lo que estoy orgulloso. Tengo ocho tatuajes en distintos lugares de mi cuerpo. Cada uno significa algo especial para mí.

—Kalen Zamora

I thought it was a perfect day to go to the beach. The sun was out and it was really hot. I want to thank Mother Earth for all these places, because no one made them.

Pensé que era un día perfecto para ir a la playa. El sol brillaba y hacía mucho calor. Quisiera agradecer a la Madre Tierra por todos estos lugares, porque nadie los hizo.

—Richard Rodriguez

My grandpa’s farm is this painting. The landscape is comforting, like a hug to me.

Esta pintura es la granja de mi abuelo. El paisaje es reconfortante, como si fuera un abrazo.

—Josie Moreno

This art also caught my eye because of the colors. The colors attracted me because my culture is colorful and I have a colorful history.

Esta pieza de arte me llamó la atención debido a sus colores. Los colores me atrajeron porque mi cultura es multicolor y tengo una historia colorida.

—Juan Contreras

My favorite hobby is being a mechanic. Why? Because I love working with tools and using my hands.

Mi pasatiempo favorito es ser mecánico. ¿Porque? Porque me encanta trabajar con herramientas y utilizar mis manos.

—Tony A.

I chose this picture because when I look at it, the first thing that comes to mind is my beautiful cousin and grandpa who passed away.

Escogí este cuadro porque cuando lo miro, lo primero que me viene en la mente es mi bella prima y mi abuelo quienes fallecieron.

—Osvaldo Cortez

My first reaction to this work is a gut-clencher. ‘New World’ denotes greed and power, and the colonization of native life.

Mi primera reacción al ver este obra es como un gancho al hígado. El Nuevo Mundo denota la codicia y el poder, y la colonización de la vida nativa.

—Debra Niemira, community member

My muscles ache, too. His labor goes unnoticed by many, but not by me.

Me duelen los músculos también. Muchos no se fijan en su trabajo, pero yo sí.

—Yesenia Matias Chavez, USCS Student and Writing Project Assistant

I have friends in invisible places—the places everyone sees, but doesn’t know.

Tengo amigos en lugares invisibles – los lugares todos los pueden ver, pero no lo saben.

—Brian Goulat, UCSC Student and Writing Project Assistant

Coming to Santa Cruz for college after growing up in a very suburban town has opened my eyes to so many natural settings. I sometimes find myself wandering in the forest in total awe of the beauty around me.

Llegar a Santa Cruz para ir a la Universidad después de haber crecido en una ciudad suburbana me ha abierto los ojos a la naturaleza. A veces me encuentro vagando en el bosque, asombrado por la belleza que me rodea.

—Kiana Pineda, UCSC Student and Writing Project Assistant