CAMPO SANTOS IN THE BORDERLANDS
The cemeteries I have decided to focus on, from 2009 to the present day, have been identified as “Mexican” by the people of the Rio Grande Valley. Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, Anahuac, Havana and La Puerta cemeteries have in common structures and color schemes. Space plays a great role in this identification since they do not follow the minimalistic and monochromatic structures of American cemeteries. I have omitted to portray the tombs that glorify the honorable and rich. My paintings are about my people, the poor and alienated who break constrictions at the time of building their last testament in life, their tombs. Here, I portray my identity, shaped by transculturation, still present even in death and not contained by borders.
Cemeteries are the uncomfortable landscape that no one wants to address until we are forced by our nature to face it. The color schemes and items seen at these border cemeteries make it easier for me to talk about death. It holds for me the only tangible space delineating my heritage of transculturation. A “Mexican” cemetery holds two generations of transculturation: the Aztec blended in with the Spaniard Catholic religion which in turn blends in with the globalized perception of the Anglo seen in Europe which was transferred to the United States. My decision to omit the tombs that follow only the Anglo perception have to do with my constant struggle not to acculturate to the Anglo culture and my continuous desire to accept my border identity.
Cemeteries are the uncomfortable landscape that no one wants to address until we are forced by our nature to face it. The color schemes and items seen at these border cemeteries make it easier for me to talk about death. It holds for me the only tangible space delineating my heritage of transculturation. A “Mexican” cemetery holds two generations of transculturation: the Aztec blended in with the Spaniard Catholic religion which in turn blends in with the globalized perception of the Anglo seen in Europe which was transferred to the United States. My decision to omit the tombs that follow only the Anglo perception have to do with my constant struggle not to acculturate to the Anglo culture and my continuous desire to accept my border identity.
