“The young phoenix spread it’s wings
and delivered nutrients across vast lands,
crossing fictional borders
without even carrying a green card…”
-Cezar A. Cruz
“To Comfort the Disturbed, and to Disturb the Comfortable: Onward Children of the Sun” 1997
¡Yo Soy Chicana!
We must do more than hear our neigbors, we must listen to them. We need eachother more than ever!
I’ve spent most of my life listening to both sides argue the same issues. Always same problems with different scapegoats. But somehow those scapegoats always end up being Indigenous and Immigrant communities. Religion is used against us. Cultures are used against us. Our Love for eachother is used against us.
They tell us that people will take advantage of your kindness while They take advantage of our Trust and Compliance.
Do Not Comply
Do not go quietly
Change is Imminent, let us make it Good.
— Former CustomerNow more than ever it is imperative that we stand together. That we support eachother.
We need eachother and that means healing.
That means taking responsibility for our own ignorance and our own lack of action.
Love and Goodness and Hope cannot be bought. It is an endless supply that we create. They cannot have it but we are free to give it.
I want my art to convey the goodness that i see everywhere. I want my art to speak to hope. But we must acknowledge that where we need hope there is also going to be loss.
Where we are today is disheartening as a whole, but when you look into your communities you will find hope. Hope is always found within the heart of the people.
The people, Us, we are all in this together. It’s our job to stand up for eachother. Our job to protect eachother. I try my best to speak with Love and Unerstanding, to Live in alignment.
I believe I still speak to that when I say I don’t care if you don’t like eachother. I don’t care that you think someone’s food stinks or their music is obnoxious. Our differences are what make us a beautiful place. Immigrants Make America. They always have. There is no language of America. Ameica is ALL of us.
— Former CustomerMy life’s work has been keeping my ancestory alive through stories and art and practice.
My name is Erika Rose; Erika for my oma and Rose for my Bisabuela.
Some were easy, My oma on my mother’s side is German and she was here to pass on her culture. My granny on my dad’s side always felt called to to the same, tracking and recording our forebearers. She took the same responsibility for her husbands side and wrote a lot down for him as well. My oma’s ancestry record may end short with a second or third great grandparent. But the traditions and language she passed on are irreplacable. My maternal grandfather knew a decent amount and had the records but there were pieces missing in some areas. This is where I have put my energy into for the past 8 years.
My bisabuela grew up speaking spanish. Her mother Senaida and her father Eduardo are one of the strongest connections i have with my heritage; through them I connected with living relatives, shared stories and memories, living traditions that can continue to be passed down as they were meant to.
For nearly a decade i have fought internally with myself, strugling to feel entitled to connect with my mexican and pueblan heritage. It felt like i was stealing. I felt uncomfortable. And on some level I think that was appropriate, to really reflect on the significance not just on the cultures themselves but the significance and importane of me moving past my own insecurities to heal. I could openly practice what they likely couldn’t. For many families assimilating to the govening body was survival. Prioritizing english and converting religions and celebrating new and different holidays were what helped.
In life I have learned that sometimes you have to form survival skills that get you safely through a dangerous time. But once the danger has passed, those skills become harmful. Assimilation is a survival skill. And in todays world i have the priviledge to not only learn and pass it on but the responsibility to celebrate it loudly. I reject the assimilation. I am endlessly grateful for what they had to do to survive; for me to be where i am. And I will proudly bear their language, their holidays, their traditions. I have the torch now, it I intend to let it Shine with all of its beautiful colors.
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