Carmen Lomas Garza

In the final chapter titled “Carmen versus the Future”, Cortez mentions that by the year 2000, Garza was already a renounced Chicana artist. Using her popularity, Garza decided that depicting images of cultural practices would help new generations understand different aspects of Latino community such as family. Cortez writes, “…[Garza] conveys to the viewer a message about the past and the present, and the viewer responds by relating that imagery to his or her own experience” (97). This is best represented in the image Quinceañera done with oil and alkyd on wood. This image captures a celebration while also including the religious aspect that comes with a young woman turning fifteen. There is a lot going on in the picture, from kids playing to the quinceañera talking to her father.  As Garza intended, this image got me to remember when I went to such a celebration and got to witness the transformation of a girl becoming a woman. By drawing the church in the background, it reminds Latinos of the strong association that we have towards Catholicism and refers to our past. This image, along with others, is a perfect example of how Garza depicts a strong community union and the role that family plays.