Week 8: Carmen Lomas Garza

I chose Cama para Sueños because it is the only painting from Carmen Lomas Garza that I feel connected to. This connection comes from my childhood dreams and my recent experiences in life. 

 The importance of the painting is that it conveys multilayered meanings. Although Garza’s mother is preparing the bed for the night, she and her sister are reclining on the roof looking at the moon. Here, the night’s sky and its bright moon are symbols of infinite possibilities for their future. Not only I can see her memory in this painting, but hope for the future is also apparent. More importantly, the undercover message which Garza tries to bring across is that in order to reach our dreams we have to take a risk. The risks involved in this painting, which are climbing off the trees and lying on the sloped roof, make the sisters’ dreams of the future more powerful. 

 I remember my childhood when in my wildest dreams I wanted to pursue architecture in one of the best schools in the United States. Three years ago, I had the opportunity to come to this country, and I did not ignore it. However, I had to leave my past behind to make this bright future for myself. Now that I am studying at UCLA my dreams are bigger and wilder. I want to change the living conditions of the worlds’ poorest regions. Although there are risks and dangers in the paths we take towards our dreams, we should not sacrifice these dreams even if the chances of reaching them are very low.