One of Garza's works that I really liked was La Feria en Reynosa. I appreciate Garza's artworks because they celebrate our culture and remind me of my own family and experiences. The gouache
painting, La Feria en Reynosa,
depicts Garza’s memory of going to the fair with her friends in the Mexican
border town of Reynosa. The three booths in the painting sell goods brought
from Mexico such as embroidered shirts, hand-made crafts, ceramics and food.
One detail in the painting that stands out to me is the signs that say words
like “Sodas” or “Fresa”. Cortez states that, “such code switching, an index of
the melding and coexistence of two cultures, is frequently visible in the
artist’s work”(3). Using words that are in Spanish, and English relates to
Garza’s identity as a Chicana and the close ties she has to her Mexican
heritage. The painting also includes a barbed-wire fence and mesquite trees in
the background showing that it is taking place on the borderlands. This image
speaks not only to memory, but also to the history of the South Texas community
where she grew up.
Hi Elizabeth, I too decided to write about "LA Feria En Reynoso" and I feel like you touched on some details I didn't get to when analyzing this picture. I was very impressed by how you included the notion of the combining of languages to represent the coming of together of cultures in order to form a new identity to which Garza would adopt. I was also interested in the significance you gave to the to her memory and how you can relate to some of the details in the picture because I can as well. Growing up with two cultures, I can definitely separate the two indentities that are portrayed but I can also grasp the fact that together, they represent an entirely new culture as well. I enjoyed seeing the "papel picado" in the image because we have discussed in various lectures how this was often a form of art and expression in the Hispanic community. Overall, what made me choose this picture above all others was the fact that it exudes a sense of community and family which is a big part of my culture. Seeing this image is familiar and takes me back to certain memories cherish that resemble the one portrayed in this image.
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