Mexican culture is not just one brimming with powerful women, but a culture built on vibrancy and color. From papel picado to paper flowers, it’s a heritage that is instinctually visual. But in most museums and galleries, there are not many Mexican artists on display — and it’s even rarer to find the works of Mexican women getting proper platforms. With that being said, the Bay Area has a flourishing community of Mexican women producing insightful artwork that can be universally appreciated while being grounded in their cultural experiences, and that is something that deserves attention. So without further ado, The Daily Californian arts & entertainment department is shedding a light on three local Mexican visual artists: Dulce María López, Ana Teresa Fernández and Juana Alicia Araiza.
— Maisy Menzies
UC Berkeley alum Dulce María López creates her visual art to ‘cross cultural and national borders’
Because the education in the area was so poor, Lópezattended elementary school in Ciudad Guzmán, a center of murals from a revolutionary era in Mexican history. These murals, painted by notable artists José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera, were the background of López’s childhood.
— Malini Ramaiyer
Ana Teresa Fernández: The artist behind the sculptures (and the stilettos)
Growing up in both Mexico and the United States, Fernández had no female artists in her family to whom she could look up. Yet she was always creating and spent countless odd hours in her bedroom doing so while growing up.
— Alex Jiménez
Mi vida con Frida
If an earthquake hit, we were safe as long as Frida’s framed picture didn’t fall. And if I lost sight of who I was, her artwork and her lasting energy grounded me.
— Maisy Menzies
Bay Area muralist Juana Alicia Araiza discusses her work, social justice and accessibility
“(Murals) allow me to make my work a lot more public. So people don’t have to pay to purchase the work to go see it, they don’t have to pay to go to a museum, they don’t have to go to a gallery,” she said.
— Grace Orriss
