Yolanda M Lopez- Walking Guadalupe

Yolanda Lopez’s work is powerful in that she analyzes images and manipulates or exposes them to create discussions about Chicana womanhood. Yolanda Lopez’s views are greatly influenced by her family. Her grandmother and mother were figures that redefined what it meant to be a mother. In her work on La virgin, she examined the image of the holy mother and created works that questioned the expectations and restrictions placed on women.

The mixed-media piece, Walking Guadalupe, was made by Lopez in 1978 and is a perfect example of how Lopez’s family and feminist approach has shaped her work. The piece displays La Virgen de Guadalupe with her dress cut just below the knee and wearing heels. Davalos describes how Lopez’s grandmother shaped her use of wit and satire in her work. Walking Guadalupe, as stated by the author, was intended to create a “wrinkled-mouth chortle” by the viewer and illustrates how Lopez’s grandmother influenced her sense of humor in her art (Davalos 20). This use of satire strengthens her work by adding a comedic relief to the message she is trying to make by freeing La Virgen. Simply placing La virgin in heels does not seem like a big deal but is symbolic and powerful. To me, La Virgen is made free to enjoy herself and no longer obligated to be on the pedestal as the perfect mother and wife; she has her freedom