Zine Project - Short, Research Essay Drafts
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Nov 24, 2024
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Zine Project - Short, Research Essay Drafts
Essay 1:
Paintings, prints, and sculptures by Carmen Lomas Garza are known for exploring her
Mexican-American heritage. In one of her most famous works “Curandera”, Garza depicts a
traditional Mexican healer treating a young boy. The room is filled with the curandera’s herbs,
candles and incense as she attends to the child hence showing the continued relevance of
curanderismo within chicano culture (Goldman, 1990). Garza’s vibrant colors and intimate
domestic setting provide glimpses into this cultural practice that has been handed down through
generations in Mexican and Mexican American communities. Being a Chicana artist, Garza uses
her art to preserve and transmit her community’s traditions across generations. Works such as
“Curandera” demonstrate that despite being marginalized by mainstream western medicine and
culture, curanderismo and other folk healing practices have endured. Garza’s detailed portrayals
capture the sensory richness of the curandera’s practice, from the preparation of herbal remedies
to the ritualistic elements of candles and smoke. The young boy’s trusting gaze indicates an
ongoing transmission of curanderismo within Chicano/a families. Garza’s celebration of
curanderismo pushes back against its dismissal and asserts its continuing relevance (Cordova,
1998). Overall, “Curandera” demonstrates Garza’s commitment as a Chicana artist to document
and validate her community’s lived experiences and cultural inheritance. By honoring
curanderismo through detailed depiction, Garza resists attempts to erase or stigmatize this
tradition. She conveys its sensory dimensions and holistic healing power. Her magical realist
style dignifies curanderismo and other folk practices as equally valid, complex systems of
knowledge. "Curandera" serves as a visual record of cultural customs preserved orally and
through practice. Garza’s art enables intergenerational connections by sharing representations of
these traditions with younger generations. Works like “Curandera” assert Chicano/a identity by
validating cultural heritage often denigrated in mainstream Western society.
Essay 2: Food and cooking are common themes in Carmen Lomas Garza's art. Works like
"Abuelita Preparing the Tamales" (2020) provide a glimpse into Mexican and Mexican-
American food traditions. Tamales are filled and wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves before
being steamed, requiring extensive preparation. By depicting her grandmother making tamales,
Garza pays homage to the women who passed down culinary customs (Lomas Garza, 2020).
Garza often portrays multigenerational kitchen scenes, connecting cooking to childhood
memories, family bonds, and cultural pride. Her vibrant, detailed paintings capture the sights,
sounds, and smells that make the kitchen the warm "corazón" of the Chicano/a family. Images like "Abuelita Preparing the Tamales" demonstrate how food preparation
facilitates both literal and symbolic nourishment, sustaining bodies and relationships. Garza's
focus on women making tamales highlights the gendered nature of food and caregiving. By
celebrating their labor, she pushes back against the cultural invisibility of domestic tasks.
Tamales require time-consuming work, yet abuelita calmly and steadily folds each husk,
demonstrating skill gained from years of practice. The scene suggests an affectionate bond
between grandmother and granddaughter, who may gain more than just a meal from time spent
together in the cocina. Garza's kitchen scenes allow viewers to immerse themselves in the comforts and
connections of Chicano/a family life. Her loving portrayals of food preparation rituals counter
stereotypes about domestic work. Garza’s rich sensory details invite the viewer into intimate
spaces of nurturance typically overlooked and undervalued. Works like “Abuelita Preparing the
Tamales” center Chicana experiences and knowledge, conveying cultural heritage through
depictions of shared ancestral foodways.
Essay 3:
Carmen Lomas Garza's papel picado-inspired prints celebrate Mexican folk art traditions.
Papel picado involves cutting intricate designs into tissue paper to make banners for holidays like
Día de los Muertos. In "Papel Picado: Seven” (2019), Garza adapts the skeleton figures and
floral shapes of papel picado into a vivid papercut print (Lomas Garza, 2019). By rendering a
folk art form in fine art prints, the artist asserts the value and complexity of these everyday
cultural practices. Garza also connects papel picado to her Mexican-American identity, stating
the tradition reminds her of the "color and texture" of the universe she grew up in (Villarreal,
2019). Her stylized prints continue papel picado's legacy through new artistic mediums. Works
like “Papel Picado: Seven” demonstrate the resonance of this tradition for Garza across time and
space—from Mexico to Texas, from childhood memories to mature artistic practice. The contrast
between the fluorescent, contemporary print colors and allusions to Mexican grave decorations
and afterlife conveys the dynamic, evolving nature of cultural traditions. Garza’s abstracted
shapes suggest her innovative artistic vision while still referencing the streamers' originally
celebratory function. By reinterpreting papel picado in an unexpected context, Garza prompts
viewers to appreciate its aesthetic richness as more than craft or folklore. Her vibrant papel picado prints assert Chicano/a art’s ability to be both contemporary and
connected to communal heritage. Garza pushes papel picado into the realm of fine art, reframing
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disposable folk ephemera as something to be displayed and collected. Works like “Papel Picado:
Seven” highlight the interconnectivity between Garza’s identity, childhood memories, traditional
practices, and mature artistic outlook. Essay 4:
In several paintings, Carmen Lomas Garza depicts the rasquachismo or creative resilience
of Chicano/a communities. Works like "Coca Cola Party" (1986) show family celebrations in
humble backyard settings, with decorations creatively crafted from soda bottles and other
inexpensive materials (Stewart, 2014). Garza's scenes of inventive decor reflect rasquachismo's
practice of making the most out of limited resources. By highlighting marginalized experiences,
Garza's art counters narratives of deficiency or deprivation. Instead, she conveys the power and
pride her community found in family, tradition, and hardship. Garza's focus on rasquachismo
affirms the capacity for creativity and joy even in difficult circumstances. In "Coca Cola Party," the glowing string lights and party atmosphere transform a modest
gathering into a festive celebration of Chicano/a resourcefulness. The glowing Coca Cola bottles
become beautiful decorative objects when altered and repurposed. Garza's painting suggests that
rasquachismo relies not on money but rather determined ingenuity. The smiling, socializing
guests convey the rasquachismo values of family, community, and perseverance. Works like “Coca Cola Party” document the resourceful essence of Chicano/a culture that
Garza witnessed growing up. Her proudly defiant art asserts that material limitations cannot
constrain the Chicano/a spirit of celebratory resilience. By foregrounding creative improvisation,
Garza portrays her community as resourceful agents, not helpless victims. Scenes of festive
rasquachismo counter external perceptions of poverty while highlighting values of generosity,
solidarity and joyful pride.
References
Cordova, C. (1998). Curing with herbs and rituals. In Y. Chavez (Ed.), Curandero: A life in
Mexican folk healing (pp. 9-24). University of New Mexico Press.
Goldman, S. (1990). The iconography of Chicano self-determination: Race, ethnicity, and class.
Art Journal, 49(2), 167-173. https://doi.org/10.2307/777131
Gonzalez, R. (2010). Carmen Lomas Garza. In Words of the true peoples/Palabras de los seres
verdaderos: Anthology of contemporary Mexican indigenous-language writers (Vol. 2,
pp. 75-81). University of Texas Press.
Lomas Garza, C. (1986). Coca Cola party [Painting]. Smithsonian American Art Museum.
https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/coca-cola-party-39485
Lomas Garza, C. (1990). Curandera [Painting]. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
https://www.pafa.org/museum/collection/item/curandera
Lomas Garza, C. (2019). Papel picado: Seven [Linocut print]. Smithsonian American Art
Museum. https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/papel-picado-seven-80917
Lomas Garza, C. (2020). Abuelita preparing the tamales [Painting]. The RISD Museum.
https://risdmuseum.org/art-design/collection/abuelita-preparing-tamales-lomas-garza-
carmen
Medina, L. & Garza, C. L. (1996). My name is Carmen Lomas Garza. Children's Book Press.
Mesa-Bains, A. (1986). El Mundo Feminino: Chicana Artists of the Movement - A Commentary
on Development and Production. Espina: A Chicana Feminist Journal, 2(2), 10.
Stewart, J. (2014). Latino graffiti murals as territorial markers. In J. Monroe (Ed.), Local actions:
Cultural activism, power, and public life (pp. 96-111). Columbia University Press. Villarreal, A. (2019, July 31). Carmen Lomas Garza: Masters of Spanish folk art. NBC News.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/carmen-lomas-garza-masters-spanish-folk-art-
n1035541
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