W2: GDA and La Virgen

The dialogue that we had this past class session was really heartwarming and a reminder about the impact of identity politics along with the importance that our ancestry has had on our culture today. With Proffe Gaspar de Alba sharing her exposure in the arts or rather the lack of in regards to the arts of Chican@ artists and more so Chicana Artists. Listening to her moving testimony about the highlights of the CARA traveling exhibit, It reinforced the reality that the representation of our identities can't be something we hope will be presented but rather it is and can be taken into our own hands. That advocacy was definitely something those UCLA graduate students did in starting the exhibit.

Speaking to my cultural upbringing, I did grow up with the Virgen in my household. To me the Virgen serves as a cultural icon even though my family holds her as a sacrilegious figure. Which then leaves me indifferent or rather really open to hearing the feminist discussions and deconstruction of the Virgen's story. Alot of the conversations of the Virgen serving as the intermediate to further the assimilation and the colonization of the indigenous peoples. Reflecting on my own experiences, we would actually reenact the "colonization framework" when my danza circulo would perform for the Virgen's birthday, December 12th. Can definitely relate to the idea as the Virgen serving as a symbol of hope and resistance. Looking through at the strong evidence that her appearance might not have happened it can still be safe to say that her existence serves as a reminder of our ancestry in a modern context. La Virgen continues to give me hope that even in the face of white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalist exploitation we as a community and culture will continue to thrive and survive.