Laura Alvarez

In her several of her artistic pieces, Laura Alvarez creates the “Double Agent Sirvienta”  which serves to illustrate her personal life through this sirvienta who is undercover and is presented in several different ways in various of her paintings, videos, and even animations. In her class presentation, Laura Alvarez shared her personal stories, family history, and cultural experiences to provide a brief background of her artistic creations. Personally, it was very interesting listening to Laura Alvarez and how the people in her life, especially her mother and father, not only influenced her as a person, but even more how they influenced her as an artist because she uses their life experiences in her creation of the “Double Agent Sirvienta” series.  

The image that I selected is “I’m with my Nanny” which presents the sirvienta as a powerful woman who not only protects the baby she is carrying, but battles and overcomes the hardships life continuosly throws at her. This image demonstrates the racial difference that exits among classes because the sirvienta is of a darker complexion which represents the Chicana woman while the baby she is carrying represents the Anglo society. This demonstrates how common it is for Chicana woman to help Anglo families take care and raise their children. In the image the nanny is wearing her sirvienta uniform which represents that she is a domestic worker in the household. However, by running while holding the baby not only gives the qualities of a caretaker and protector, but also gives her a sense of power because she is in action and moving forward even though there is a bomb aiming towards her. This image, among many others, contradict the stereotypical views of domestic workers who are usually presented as submissive since Laura Alvarez depicts the sirvienta as a strong powerful woman.