La Virgencita

I grew up with "La Virgencita" in the background of my childhood. She was posted in peoples living rooms, painted on the walls of local liquor stores, panaderias, and cell phone shops as well as tattooed on people's limbs. I never really knew what she was about since she wasn't present in my Salvadorian household. She was an object of admiration for all of my Mexican friends and I was, and still am continuously fascinated by her image. Just as an art piece her image is extremely arresting, the religious aspect comes second to me, but is just as fascinating. I see her image as tool that the Spanish Catholic crown used to incorporate elements of the Aztec mother earth figure of Tonantzin, mixed with elements of the Virgin Mary herself. It's a powerful piece of religious indoctrination done through art! I've seen it be appropriated as a powerful Chicana feminist symbol and I think it's amazing that art can have that transformative sense for a person and their culture.

(Image courtesy of Shizu Saldamando's Tumblr http://saldamando.tumblr.com/)