Carmen Lomas Garza: Curandera

Carmen Lomas Garza is perhaps one of the most successful and well-known Chicana artists. She was born and raised in south Texas to a family that was always very supportive of her artistic abilities and inclinations. Additionally, her family was involved in local activism and these early experiences had a profound impact on Garza. From an early age, she learned the importance of a community working together to take action against social injustice. Her paintings depict the everyday experiences of her family and community and allow the viewer to take in those images and relate them to their own lives and experiences. 

    One such painting that depicts one of her childhood memories is Curandera. This is a goache painting on cotton paper that she completed in 1977. The subject of this painting is her sister, Mary Jane, and a curandera that her mother had called to help cure her sister’s adolescent problems. Garza’s use of a more uniform pigmentation in this piece lets the viewer take in the image as a whole and allows them to notice varying elements around the room, such as the Bible on the table or the portrait of a saint on the wall, which are elements of Catholicism. To some, the presence of a folk healer and Christian symbolism would seem to be at odds with each other, but that is not the case in Garza’s case as she often witnessed these healers calling upon the saints to help them fulfill their cures. Author Constance Cortez writes, “From the scene, viewers understand that cures were approached in a holistic manner, one that relied on the presence of family and familiar settings and on different types of spirituality.” Thus, this work shows that there is a broader cultural context in which the curandera’s rituals are being performed. I loved this piece because of the vibrant colors but also because the subject matter is just so everyday, which is somewhat unusual to see in traditional art. It is as though you as the viewer are a fly on the wall in the Garza home and you are just observing their everyday life. With these paintings and her other works, its almost like my imagination starts to take over and I start imaging the conversations these people are having or what they might go and do after this scene is over.