Barajas, Elias

Hi, my name is Elias Barajas, but i just go by Eli. I am a Navy veteran, i was an Airborne Mine Countermeasures Aircrewman and Aviation Machinist's Mate. I transferred to UCLA from Cerritos College, which i attended for three years because i kept changing my major. I am currently a Senior in the Psychology major. I am a father of two, my son Eliseo who is about to turn 5 next month and my daughter Audrey who is 18 months old. I commute everyday from Alhambra so i spend about three hours on the road round trip, got to love that L.A. traffic.

I'm really into comics and anime art and i was recently exposed to Chicano/a art through a Day of the Dead course i took here. This stemmed my interest in Chicano/a art, thus i enrolled in this course to learn more.

Growing up in a Catholic family i know of "La Virgen de Guadalupe." Although i did get baptized and did my first communion i refused to do my confirmation because Catholicism simply did not align with my views. However, i still remember my grandmother lighting candles and praying to "La Virgencita" to keep us safe, so i am familiar with what she stands for. We also covered her in my Day of the Dead course talking about how she was a symbol for resistance and unity during "La Revolucion." Since i grew up with a religious family who celebrated all the associated holidays i would call myself culturally Catholic but not religiously Catholic.