I am a Chicana artist from Northeast Los Angeles. My artwork is deeply rooted in my identity. It conveys my personal experiences and emotions, social issues and community, and love for culture and Hip Hop.

I use a variety of mediums such as aerosol, markers, acrylic paint, pencil, charcoal, and ball point pen to depict my Mexican/Chicana roots immersed within the underground Hip Hop scene in Los Angeles. The endless colors imprinted on the streets, witnessing my people living their day-to-day life, the joy and grief that my family expresses, and the laughter and tears that my homegirls and I share with each other inspire me in so many ways. As well as participating in community organized events such as protests for social justice or Hip Hop shows that showcases various talents from my community.

My interest in Hip Hop culture is what motivated me to learn more about myself and others. Hip Hop’s elements are graffiti, MCs, DJs, and break dancing. MCs like KRS One emphasized knowledge and unity, which resonated deeply with me. Graffiti taught me the beauty of my community while others thought otherwise. While others might criminalize it, I see skills that has been developed and practiced just like any other artist. I also have seen and felt the freedom of not being limited on what and where you can create. It became my medium of choice as a teenager and eventually led me to the artist I am today. The music taught me about my roots and culture. It brought me external and internal awareness.  Witnessing Hip Hop as a whole at events curated by folks from my neighborhood, taught me about community and social justice put into practice. It led me to actively be vocal on social issues and strive for social justice. Due to these factors, my artwork is inspired by Hip Hop as well as what it taught me.

An example of what Hip Hop taught me that inspired me to be the artist that I am today is when I listened to “Aztechnical” by KRS One. The song revealed a history that my K-12 education never covered. This song taught me about the importance and richness of my Mexican culture and history. With the knowledge that I gained, I started to participate in boycotts and protests in my community. Especially if it had anything to do with gentrification and immigrant rights because I am the daughter of immigrants that worked so hard so I can have the privileges that they did not have. Therefore, seeing my community being displaced and having our culture and years of hard work being erased by wealthy people has brought an overwhelming rollercoaster of emotions. In addition, I can not stand and do nothing when my immigrant family and community has given me everything. As an artist and educator, I feel responsible to express not only my point of view of the social issues that are affecting my community and self but also creating for those who do not have the resources to do so.

With the experiences and passion that I have I hope to share my knowledge to the youth of my community. My community has given me so much till this day, and I want to give back. Therefore, I am studying to be an art teacher in my community so that I am able to provide resources and foster self love and creativity. I would also like to encourage my students to be social justice leaders and show them how a work of art can be as loud as a march for social change.