Crecí entre dos costas, Nueva York y Tijuana, Baja California. Hace poco he estado pintando Ciudad de México. Siento que hay mucha más policía en Nueva York y cultura pandillera en California. Tijuana tiene un poco de todo: policía, gánsteres deportados, cárteles, de todo. Viviendo entre ellos fue como visitando crisoles de culturas distintos. Todo lo que he aprendido viajando se ha condensado en un solo nombre, igual que estos lugares.
Articles
DALE187 <ENG>.
I grew up between two coasts, NYC and Tijuana, Baja California. Lately I’ve been painting Mexico City. I feel like there’s a lot more police in New York and gang culture in California. Tijuana is a little bit of everything: police, deported gangsters, cartels, everything. Living between them all was like visiting separate, distinct melting pots. Everything I’ve picked up from traveling has all melted down to one name, just like these places.
JAVIER CABRAL: Editor-in-Chief of LA Taco, Vox/Guitar in Foolanos.
It’s never about the writer or person creating the journalism. It’s always about the subject, and I feel like that’s been lost.
P.I.G. – People Infected by Greed.
I don’t feel obligated to stand for femmes across the board. I believe each of us can do that for ourselves if we feel so compelled. I can be described as an angry woman, but I don’t speak for angry women, I speak for myself and hope it’s cathartic for others. Sometimes I wonder, “Who does my freedom free?” But I do what I do because I am compelled to, or I will perish; I don’t create under a plan of activist action. My truth is political because we live in a political world. You can’t be unpolitical, but you can be ignorant.
ALISON BRAUN – Archiving those we loved & lost.
It made me realize that scenes aren’t just built on sound, but on relationships, values, and shared experiences. Interviewing bands shifted them from being subjects in my frame to people with layered stories. I saw how much effort and sacrifice went into touring, recording, surviving — how much of it was done purely out of love for the music and the community.
Miguel Maldonado-Velasco III.
It’s inspiring to see so many people put out art their own way, which is something I’m still learning to do with my career aspirations. Instead of waiting or relying on resources, DIY means looking towards your communities and peers to create whatever you want while learning in the process. I love that you can brush shoulders with iconic creatives while working alongside people who are passionate about learning the craft just as you are.
MAURO DE LA TIERRA.
I grew up in a punk house on the east side of San Antonio, Texas. I saw a lot of addiction and the effects of the prison industrial complex firsthand. Finding art taught me to be more confident in myself, and how to extend myself to others.
Mr. Chino – PRAYERS, Cholo Goth Night.
I feel like the mentalities from harder lifestyles never go away. No matter where you go, you were raised by your community and it molded you into the person you are.
Sofia Enriquez.
My work revolves around a MUCHO ethos, which comes from culturally understanding every Hispanic worker I know as doing a lot, all the time. We fix cars, build homes, harvest people’s food, then cook, plate, and serve it. We work in warehouses and on top of roofs, in poor working conditions for less than our worth, and still find the time to create and dance and laugh with each other. We’re jacks of all trades. We have to be; we don’t come from money, so we have to know how to do everything because that’s how we got here, right?
Joker Brand’s Estevan Oriol for Desmadre World.
At the time Joker Brand began, there weren’t any clothing lines repping our culture other than what we considered old-school. We wanted our own to add a twist to fashion by putting our art on what we produced.