My Story

My undergraduate experience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) was where I reclaimed space as a first-generation college student. My mother and her brothers existed at this university environment back in the 80s-90s. My uncle Danny went to high school near the university to escape gang violence in La Villita, Chicago. My uncle Jaime who was an undergrad at the time, (who also housed Danny) became an activist and was part of the 1992 protest wherein students of all backgrounds (predominantly led by Latino students—especially Latinas) took over a university building in protest of the lack of resources and representation for Latina/o/a/e/x students. Unfortunately, my uncle Jaime did not finish his degree following the death of his father because he had to help take care of his mom and his siblings (including my mother) back in La Villita, Chicago. It is vital to recognize that even after the protest of 1992, it was a slow process to make positive changes in terms of the resources for Latina/o/e/x students. Therefore, my mother Gloria who attended UIUC after the 1992 protest was not able to complete not even one college course there because the adjustment proved too difficult. My mother and her brothers made their return journey back to Chicago and I feel they left a piece of them at UIUC because whenever I bring it up there is a sense of defeat and blame they place on themselves for not finishing. 

As I began to process the experiences of my family through my Latina/Latino studies degree I was at the same time witnessing a historical moment. About 10 years before my family attended the university, a Puerto Rican undergraduate student, Oscar Martinez (along with help) painted a mural (around 1974) at the cultural house for Latino/a/e/x students at UIUC. The mural was painted as an act of protest due to the lack of resources and representation of Latino/a/e/x students. This mural existed during my family’s time at UIUC and almost 50 years later, it was being re-territorialized on campus grounds as I started college. It was a catalyst for conversations and unveiled a history of Latine presence on campus that felt long forgotten. Like my family, the mural made its return journey to Chicago, where it was being conserved thanks to student activism pushing for its restoration after the original Latino cultural house was demolished. 

As I began conducting research on the mural's journey and impact for my undergraduate thesis I realized that I was piecing the puzzle of my family’s own journey. I saw myself and my family in that mural. Unpacking the attached identities and iconographies only left me with more questions. As a Chicana growing up in the Midwest, in the inner-city of Chicago, I felt deprived of my cultural history— I felt lost. This is a similar sentiment felt by the subjects I interviewed who were impacted or involved with Martinez’s mural. The journey of a mural—  the deterritorialization, reterritorialization,the indoor/outdoor, public/private, legality, etc— has been deeply studied by scholars but I am more concerned with these elements as it relates to Latine murals. The context for the Midwest complicates the notions of Chicano art, but it is this complication that spurs solidarity. 

An inner-city kid that went from living near skyscrapers to cornfields in southern Illinois, it only seemed right for me to continue traveling and challenging myself in different spaces/locations. Now, amidst a new giant (the mountains) facing my next feat to accomplish (an M.A.) I feel thoroughly both outside of my comfort zone but at the same time, never more at home. My background is in print/digital journalism doing community reporting and arts/culture/art criticism reporting. Through a multimedia approach I hope to combine my passions of academia and journalism to bring forth stories/histories not told or not told enough in more nuanced ways; it is this type of thorough research/reporting/archival work that I aim to participate in especially regarding the Midwest Latine experience.

 My research currently explores contemporary Latine murals/muralists in Chicago. The University of Arizona's unique Bilingual Journalism program is what attracted me to this college compared to other Spanish-language strict journalism programs. As a grandchild of immigrant grandparents (third-generation Mexican-American/Chicana) I know the importance of place/context when reporting and understanding where you are and who you can/should inform. This program will help me to fully focus on journalism more intensely and in different facets, perspectives, and languages. As a Chicana woman that grew up in Chicago I feel I am a necessary voice in this research especially considering the male-domination in this field and in the mural scene itself. I also feel that there is a lack of research on the US-Latino/o/e/x experience and their part in the mural art scene, especially pertaining to their presence in the Midwest.