Week 3 Las Santas Locas_Garduno,Samantha

Yolanda M. Lopez, Las Santas Locas, from Life in Mission series, ca.1983. Black-and0white photograph

              Yolanda M. Lopez is a well rounded Chicana artist that their work ranges from oil paints, mixed-media, and photographs. Lopez's work surrounds around the Chicanx community and culture that she was raised in. Her art shows the love of  a marginalized community and Chicanx's double consciousness. Her work expresses her experience living in the United States and being raised in heavy influence Mexican communities. One of her work that I appreciate is the photograph above called Las Santas Locas taking place in the Mission District. Yolanda M. Lopez is from the Bay area, so photographs has become an essential tool to showcase the Latinx culture in California. The Mission District is the epicenter of San Francisco's Latin culture, so it's the perfect place to photograph a Latinx community. The photo, Las Santas Locas, evokes a sense of Chicanx women union, and womanhood. The Chicanas posture are “firme,” showcasing confidence and authority they have in their community. Their serious faces and their decision to  look straight into the camera shows that they have no fear because they have each other. These Chicanas are not following the oppressive eurocentric beauty standards, instead they have claimed their space by having their unique clothes, make-up, and hair style. These stylistic choices and their attitudes highlights the importance of womenhood for Chicanas have living in the United States. These women reminds me of my mother and her photos in the early 90s. My mother's twenties came to Huntington Park, a heavy Latinx community like Mission District. My mom early photos shows the same attitude that these women have. My mom’s big hair, black lip liner and her seriousness shows how strong Latinx women are even in an unknown land and an oppressive country.