Ketzalzin Cruz

Hello everybody,

My name is Ketzalzin Cruz, I am a second year undeclared major, and  I am taking classes in order to apply to both the Latin American Studies major and this quarter I’m also applying to the Art major.  I’m specifically interested in focusing on the art component of the Latin American Studies program because each beautiful region has a complex history that motivated the creation of such colorful and vibrant art.

I was raised all over the Los Angeles area, New Mexico, and the Bay Area as well.  I have been exposed to the arts at a young age, the cities where I lived were low income, underrepresented communities, so where there is struggle, there is art.  I began creating art in high school when I joined a community mural program called the Mural Music and Arts Project from the Bay Area.  The program provided components of mural painting , media production, graffiti, rap, and DJ.  I bounced around with painting, media, and graffiti.  However I loved painting the best because it seemed the most natural to me.

I grew up with a semi-religious mother.  She raised us to be spiritual but not religious, so we hardly went to church or participated in cultural catholic events.  I have seen the Virgen de Guadalupe growing up in murals and rosaries, however I never found her image appealing to me because the story that I heard is that she was fabricated in order to help with the conversion of the indigenous people.  I just think there is a lot of mystery behind her story and I’d rather not associate her with my idea of a Mexican identity.