The injustices I saw as a child became accentuated and dramatized in my teens as I witnessed the racism imposed on people of color in this country. At that time I along with many of the minorities of my generation, took on the struggle to resist and rebel against oppression. As brown people, we learned of our proud history (pre-Hispanic) and of the shame of the genocide of our ancestors and of present generations. This motivated me to create art that told of such history.

Nucleus

Incorporating the cultural icons of the Corn Goddess and Father Sun, I paid tribute to the Chicana Mother Earth, La Mujer rising, leading the way back to Aztlan.

The Return of Quetzalcoatl/Them

By 1984, although Jessie Jackson ran for president and Ronald “Ray-gun” won, the “Big Brother” was us Chicanos infiltrating all aspects of urban life, dramatizing the prophesy of the return of our Aztec/Mayan God Quetzalcoatl back to Aztlán. The legendary Anglocentric, guilt-ridden paranoia of Indians (Native-Americans), enlightened my perception of why I empathized with the “monsters” in a 1950s science fiction movie called “Them.” In the movie, atomic giant ants from the desert invade and take over the city of Los Angeles.