Sanchez, Rosemary

Hey everyone!

My name is Rosemary Sanchez and I am a third year majoring in Chicana/o studies, minoring in Education, and will hopefully add another minor by the end of this year. I aspire to one day become a high school counselor to help the brown youth navigate systems of oppression and pursue a higher education, as we are often a neglected community within society. However, I have always had a keen interest for the life sciences, so who knows maybe I will be in med school one day. Nonetheless, whichever career I pursue my main goal is to help out the Latino community and educate them about issues that are often overlooked whether it is in an educational institution or medical one.

My ethnic background is somewhat diverse― my father is Salvadoran and Jew and my mother is Mexican and Spanish. Having migrated to the United States and acculturated to the “norms”, both of  my parents have somewhat forgotten the traditions practiced in their homeland. As a result, I know just as much as they know but it has been an ongoing process for me to explore my roots.

I decided to enroll in this course because all of my coursework at UCLA has been concentrated on either political, historical, social, and economic issues but the visual arts and its aesthetics were always absent. Personally, I believe art can be just as informative and important as the themes mentioned above, so I became specifically interested in Chicana art because I think they offer a distinct perspective to issues and I would love to learn more about them.

Because I am a Latina and grew up Catholic, I knew the Virgen de Guadalupe probably before I knew my ABC’s. Both sides of my family describe her as a powerful woman deity and call her “Our Mother.” Our homes have always been filled with images of her, Jesus, and other saints which is custom that we pray to every day and night. In addition, I have many older cousins, so I recall seeing images of her as tattoos, as if she is a part of a lowrider or cholo culture. Regardless, la Virgensita  has and will always be a big part of our family.