Martinez, Jessica

Hey, everyone. My name is Jessica Martinez. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
I’m a 4th year, who transferred from Santa Monica College last year. I currently live
in the San Fernando Valley, but I grew up and spent most of my life in Koreatown.
I’m a political science major. I was born in Los Angeles, while my parents are from
Sahagun Hidalgo in Mexico. I’m a photographer for UCLA Radio and the visual
editor of La Gente Newsmagazine. So I spend a lot of time playing around in
photoshop, and attempting to make graphics(I really don’t draw, but I always try my best!).
I love film, portrait, and concert photography. I especially love photographing emerging
musicians within the Chicanx/Latinx scene. I’ve only been into photography for about
2 years, so I’m still figuring out my style, but one thing I always consider is who
I’m photographing. There tends to be a focus on things white bodies within the
photography scene, and I knew early on that I didn’t want to contribute to that.
So a lot of my art is of people of color, as I believe we too are all deserving of
having our bodies displayed as art. I also have a radio show called “Chismeando Con
La Gente” through UCLA Radio, where I, alongside my friends, talk about
Latinx politics, media, nostalgia, and music. 

During the reading by Sybil Venegas, I really felt the point where they talked
about how women of color/chicanas tend to be put to the side despite their
contributions within movements. Women of color do participate within the art scene,
but aren’t given the same recognition as white men. White men also tend to control
and curate what art is deemed as “art” and what is not. This further creates barriers
for latinx women to thrive.