Luchadora in Pandem[onio]ia
Tzinti Aguirre-Medina
This body of work is an exploration of representing life in the present pandemic through my cultural background, revisiting my childhood interests, and responding to environmental concerns through sustainable making. It is ultimately about the question of existence as a form of resistance when placed in the context of our current living conditions.
As a Mexican American who grew up watching famous Mexican wrestling icon El Santo, I was impressed from a very young age by the luchador outfits, particularly the vibrantly colored masks they wore. Similarly, my childhood was marked by playing heavily with fashion, and it wasn’t until this past year that I have begun producing garments and making an effort to create original pieces of my own design. Nowadays, our lives have been marked by a global health crisis, one experts say will repeat itself in the future unless we drastically reduce our environmental impact and rethink the systems through which we operate. As a result, our bodies have also been marked internally and externally – masks have become an everyday staple and significant precautionary tool to protect us from receiving or spreading the virus. It can be thought of as a necessary part of our armor to resist and fight back against the pandemic. Luchadores wear masks within the Lucha Libre fighting tradition, and we wear masks as we work through fighting and fending off COVID-19. Now, over a year into the battle against the virus, the words pandemonio and pandemia have become synonymous and reflective of our lives in the present.
Luchador - wrestler
Lucha Libre - free style wrestling within Mexican culture
Pandemonio - Spanish for pandemonium
Pandemia - Spanish for pandemic
Pocha - Spanish slang term to describe a Mexican American woman
Rosa Mexicano - Mexican pink, a color very similar to fuschia or magenta
“El Santo, el enmascarado de Plata”
roughly translated as “The Saint, the Silver-Masked Man”
The mask is our most valuable, tangible device of resistance to preserve our health in the present*, so why not take advantage of it and embrace it in relation to my Mexican heritage?
*with the exception of la vacuna (the vaccine)
100% HANDMADE / 100% HECHO x [hu]MANO
Masks made entirely of upcycled textiles without the use of machines.
No waste was created in the making of this project. Remaining fabric scraps will be repurposed.
Rosa la Riveter
Corporate Cabrona
Se Manda Sola // Aqui Yo Mando
Receiver's End
Inspirations: Here's to all the self-directed, unapolagetic, and fierce corporate cabronas. Chingona vibes only!! #GirlBoss
Portrait of Madre Tierra
Water Your Plantas
Salutations
¿Quieres, mijo?
Inspirations: The global pandemic has allowed for a seemingly slower pace of life that has allowed me to rekindle and strengthen my relationship to the Earth.
Oh, that reminds me - time to water the mango tree! Don't forget to water your plantas.
Star Spangled Stare
SS Gesto 01
Star Strangled Pocha
SS Gesto 02
Inspirations: If I could be one age for the rest of my life, I'd pick any part of my childhood. This one's for the child that remains with me, the one that still loves the color pink, playing dress up, and learning how to style Barbie doll hair.
Special thanks to the Triton Research and Experiential Learning Scholars (TRELS) Program and Prof. Ricardo Dominguez for the support and guidance.
With utmost gratitude for my inner child and her sense of play.