Carmen Lomas Garza

Carmen Lomas Garza is a Chicana artist who draws from her experiences living in Texas and California to create art inspired by the everyday lives of the Chicanx community. Her painting "Tamalada" exemplifies the subject matter she typically chooses and her approach to representing them. The painting depicts a family in a kitchen gathered around a large table, making tamales. The subjects range from young children to an elderly abuelo and abuela, and the religion of the family is revealed through a painting of the Last Supper hung on the wall. The painting shows 14 family members of different generations all working together toward one goal, showing that the family is close-knit and regularly makes food together. The flattened style of the painting conveys a friendly, informal atmosphere in the kitchen.

This painting prompted me to reflect on the cultural differences between my family and this one. My dad's parents were immigrants from Romania, and my mom's parents grew up in New York City and Los Angeles. All of them were white, but my mom's parents lived in Mexico for ten years and she was born there. My grandmother has made tamales for us a few times, but it is never a family affair. In fact, cooking is never done as a family, and the family in my hometown only includes my parents and my mom's parents. My grandmother's best friend, however, is Mexican, and frequently gathers her large family for dinner or to watch the children play. My family only comes together when it is absolutely expected to, usually for holidays. Our culture is simply far less social and communal than Chicanx culture. Garza's painting is very effective in illustrating cultural routines if it prompted me to reflect this thoroughly on my own background.