Xandra Ibarra

 Xandra Ibarra is a chicana artist that has pushed the boundaries of art in all aspects whether it be in performance, sculpture, or video. Her work has been quintessential in understanding and addressing contemporary societal views of latina women especially in regards to queer subject matters and gender.

One of her most notable works, Tapatía, features a rebranded Tapatío bottle of her own design fitted onto a strap-on harness. The bottle features her in place of the original charro and shows her smiling intensely with blue hair falling upon her shoulders. It serves as a move away from traditional views of latina women being viewed and portrayed in the image of La Virgen. The labeling on the bottle reads “Es Una Puta… Bien Jota” essentially cementing her unapologetic queerness in an overwhelmingly patriarchal society that places standards of sexuality upon women. Her Tapatía bottle serves as a response to such ideologies and uses the strap-on harness as a metaphorical approach of “sticking it to the man” by inherently declining such structures and offering this bottle as a rebuttal in her refusal to conform.