Week 6 Carmen Lomas Garza

Tamalada (1988), an oil on linen mounted on wood (24 x 32 inches) by Carmen Lomas Garza reflects many of the values of the Chicano art and experience.  Carmen, as recognized by others on this blog, tends to depict moments of her life that are relate-able to others. In this painting, illustrates Carmen's childhood memory of making a tamales and the intensive labor process of created them which allowed her whole family to partake in such process. Although this piece was displayed alongside the History of California Water series and analysed by Contance Cortez in part of the "Tejana on the West Coast", I believe that this piece stands closer to other artworks by Carmen such as Barbacoa Para Cumpleaños (1993) and Quinceañera (2001) which are seen in "Carmen versus the Future". Tamalada, like the other works, are rooted in Carmen's childhood memories, but seek to use memory as a source of empowerment for the Mexican-American community. Carmen chose to target her audience by including markers of Mexican identity like that of making and eating tamales which is easily recognizable as part of Mexican cuisine. When she depicts tamales as a cultural marker of Mexican identity, she is remembering more than the object but the whole process that leads to a strong community togetherness. It is this remembrance of the cohesiveness of family and community that she is trying to tap into so that people feel empowered to stand in solidarity and consciously fight to maintain their traditions. Thus, the power of memory serves as a catalyst for remembrance of other traditions that can be prompt viewers to reintroduced cultural practices into their households.