Bravo-Lazaro, Francisca

Hello Everyone, my name is Francisca Bravo I am a 4th year anthropology major and minor in the history of science and medicine. My interest in this course stems from a long love of the visual arts since childhood. I became very interested in this course because, as a Mexican, I have had very little exposure to Chicana, Latina/o and Hispanic art and I wanted to be able to experience a part of my heritage that I don't know much about.

I was born in Mexico in a small village where the people, including myself, are indigenous. My parents moved to the United States when I was about two years old, therefore, I didn't get to experience the life of being an indigenous Mexican woman. I currently reside in the San Joaquin Valley (also known as California's Central Valley) where I have lived my entire life. I transferred from Fresno City College where I earned my Certificate of Achievement in Archaeology-Archaeological Technician.

Being Mexican, I grew up with the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe. To my family she was the mother of Jesus, protector of women and children and mediator between humans and god. She is an important entity to my mother. As a former Catholic my parents didn't force me nor my siblings to attend church. I, however, view the Virgen as an image of great artistic power, the type of power that the Mona Lisa, or Leonardo da Vinci's David have to move people into one or another direction. This is my art.