Carmen Lomas Garza

Week 5  - Blog Post: 

One of Carmen Lomas Garza’s images that I am interested in is “La Tamalada.” This image displays the culture of many Chicano families, but also other cultures where families come together and work as a team to create something great. In this image, Garza shows a family helping to make tamales. Everyone is helping- from the youngest to the oldest. This reminds me of when my family gets together to make tamales for Christmas. It is like a bonding time. Everyone is sharing their life experiences, kids are playing around the house, and by the end, everyone gets to try the first batch of tamales. We eat and drink something traditional such as champurrado, a warm chocolate drink, or a hot fruity drink, ponche. From talking to my friends from different backgrounds, they also have similar traditions where they get together to make big portions of food. A friend was telling me that in his house, they usually get together to prepare food in large quantities, but instead of tamales, they make dumplings. The image displays specific cultural symbols which can be considered to be part of “domesticana.” The image of “The Last Supper,” a religious painting, a chain of garlic hanging from the wall, and a wedding picture. All these are part of the Mexican culture. They are usually seen in traditional Mexican homes. Garza uses these symbols to bring the viewer to a closer understanding of the culture and make it for others to be able to identify with it.