Portfolio

Risograph prints

"Chapulín", 2021
11 x 17 in.

A celebration of chapulines (grasshoppers), made as a gift for my partner.

Linocut prints

"Lejania," 2023
15 x 22 in.

For this print I drew from Lisandro Meza's 1982 cumbia "Lejania," specifically the line "en mi pecho florecio una cumbia," which translates to "in my chest flowered a cumbia."

Although the song's lyrics speak of longing for one's homeland, I re-interpreted the words from a queer and trans lens to depict the feeling of gender euphoria.

"Simplemente Amigos," 2023 
22 x 15 in.

Inspired by Ana Gabriel's 1988 ballad "Simplemente Amigos," this print is a part of a series that explores the (oftentimes hidden) queer themes that are present within selected Latin American songs from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. 

"amigos - simplemente amigos - y nada mas" is a lyric from the song that translates to "friends - just friends - and nothing more." The song's lyrics describe loving someone in secret and pretending during the daytime as if the romance is not happening because "es que en realidad no aceptan nuestro amor" ("the truth is they won't accept our love"). Although the gender pronouns used in the song are ambiguous, many in the LGBTQ+ community have claimed the lyrics are queer-coded in recent years, and there are rumors that Ana Gabriel wrote the song about her love for singer and actress Veronica Castro. 

"Tío Alfonso's Fresh Start," 2022
15 x 11 in.

My cousin was visiting me in the Bay Area from Texas, and while we were walking around San Francisco he quoted our great uncle, Alfonso: "You can be yourself in california." Alfonso was the first in our family to leave El Paso, moving to East LA. He liked that he could be who he wanted to be while living there, free from the judgment of the community where he grew up. I'd never heard this quote from our tío before, but it resonated with me as a queer person living in the Bay Area today and inspired me to make this print. I also drew inspiration from Laura Aguilar's photography of Latina lesbians in LA in the 90's.

"Unfurled," 2021
7.5 x 11 in.

This self portrait explores my relationship to my gender identity.

"Let Me Be Me," 2019
11 x 15 in.

A print I made as part of the Queer Ancestors Project, where I learned how to create linocut prints.

"Paz y Amor," 2019
11 x 15 in.

"At the AIDS Memorial Grove," 2018
11 x 15 in.

"Ancestors Within Me," 2018
11 x 15 in.