La Llorona/The Weeping Lady

When I was a kid my mother told me the story of La Llorona. This powerful oral tradition story often began with: "I knew a woman in my pueblo in Mexico who was La Llorona." I have come to find out that there are many variations to the myth, but there seems to be one resonant theme: a woman has lost or killed her children and she is wandering the earth in search of them. My mother's version went this way: An indian woman was married to a cruel and womanizing Spaniard. When a neighbor told her one day of his many affairs, she took her children 4 or 5 to the river and drowned them one by one in a desperate act of revenge. The river washed each away and she never saw them again. One day she died and went to heaven and as she stood in judgement before God, he asked: "Where are your children?" When she could not answer his question, He proclaimed: "I cannot let you into Paradise until you bring me the souls of her children". "But how can I ever find them", she moaned, "the current has taken them away!?" "You find them and bring them to me." The story goes that as night descends, wherever there is water, a river, a marsh or a lake, you can hear the piercing wail of La Llorona: "Aiiieee mis hijos! Aiiieee mis hijos! Aiiiee mis hijos!" At any rate, the story served to bring us all in early at night for fear that La Llorona would devour us! "Did you hear that??!!" Someone would shout, and we would all race home! Will she ever find them? Qien sabe?

"Nopal En La Frente"

"Nopal En La Frente" (Cactus on Your Forehead), is a clay mask about 12" high, which is inspired by an old Mexican phrase mocking those who go around pretending they are not Mexican. It is not uncommon for Mexicans in the U.S. to deny their nationality, avoid speaking Spanish, and even to change their names! Thus, Consuelo becomes "Connie", Jose becomes "Joe" and Pedro becomes "Pete". When a Mexican denies his language and culture, trying to pass himself on as "American" or some other nationality, due to a desire "to get ahead" in Anglo society, people say: "Miralo, se cree muy Americano pero trae un nopal en la frente!" It is a way of saying a Mexican can never fool anybody into thinking he or she is not Mexican or "A Tiger can never change his stripes!" The "cactus" (symbolizing Mexican culture) on his forehead is a firebrand, a permanent mark that cannot be so easily be removed.

"Primavera" (Spring)

"Primavera" (Spring), is a clay mask, about 10" high. She too has been decorated with under glazes, which are painted on after the piece is already fired. The piece then goes into the kiln for a second firing, and the colors brighten. A coat of glossy glaze has been painted over the entire mask. She is delicate, and reminiscent of Precolumbian masks, epecially Maya ones which I have seen. Her head dress is adorned with flowers and insects, symbols of Spring, and she wears gold earrings and a turquoise necklace. The leaves are attached to the face of the mask using wire which is pushed into the clay form while it is soft. The wire survives the hot temperatures of the firing process. This technique is used commonly, especially in the Trees of Life from Mexico, where forms are attached to the main body of the tree with wire stems.

"Chuco: Zoot-Suiter"

"Chuco" is one of my most recent pieces, and I made it just to see if I still had it in me to make a piece similar to those I made some 20 years ago.

I did, but I struggled with it. The piece is about 20" high but unlike my previous work, this one is painted with under glazes and thus is limited to the bright colors and shading hand painting provides. Also the figure has no tatoos.

"Cholo"

"Cholo" is a sample of a successful Cholo & Zoot-Suiter series of works my wife Graciela and I created during the mid-80's.

They were inspired by teaching classes at the California Youth Authority. Some of my students looked like this and of course, from the vatos I grew up with or saw on the "calles" (streets). We had numerous shows throughout central Califas and the Bay Area and overall they were enthusiastically received, but not without criticism "aren't your pieces glorifying a negative lifestyle?" "These are gangsters." "You're making La Raza look bad." Yet, we never ceased to been amazed by the positive reactions to them. We had struck in inner nerve with the gente and they responded.

I would mentally study the vatos in my classes at CYA, and their poses, dress and tatoos. I would also scour Low Rider Magazines for ideas. Like most of my work, they were hand painted with acrylics after firing. Over the years we sold many pieces. Each took hours of work to build and paint, and my wife and I worked together. She is vastly more patient than I am and though she has absolutely no training in art, she became my apprentice and added her womans "touch" to each piece. The greatest compliment for me was to see people pore over each piece, especially audiences like young kids who had probably never been exposed to art, and enjoy them. "Hey, check this one out, this looks like my Tio Chuy!" We have few pieces left now, just a handful, broken (glued together) or rejects. Friends often ask: "When are you going to make more?" Probably never.

It was a good period in our lives and I seem to have lost the patience I once had. But on the other hand, maybe I will make more. Quien sabe? For now, writing is taking its place.

"Rock-N-Rollero" (Rock-N-Roller"

"Rock-N-Rollero" is a basically a clay vessel onto which I placed a "muerte". La Calaca is playing an electric guitar (c.2004) and the piece is about 14" high. Calacas (skeletons)associated with "Dia de Los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) in Mexico are usually facetious characters, after the etchings of Guadalupe Posada, who worked in the late 1800's. His famous calacas mock everything from "Los Ricos" (the rich), the upper classes, politics, religion and the "jodidos" (dispossessed) of the working classes. Nothing is sacred.

Arbol De La Vida/Tree of Life

This piece was commisioned by a close friend of mine about one year ago. He had seen the typical Trees of Life from Mexico, but he wanted something unique, something made especially for him in honor of his deceased mother. It stands about 24" high and features a Virgen de Guadalupe on the base and eventually, a photo of his mom, centered between the two angels. The piece is "bone-dry" at this stage, and then had to be fired. This particular clay turns a beautiful white color when it dries. I held my breath after weeks of working on it, in its transfer to the local college where it was "fired". The piece at this stage is increbibly fragile and can crumble into pieces. The final step was to hand paint it in brilliant colors using acrylic paints. He was absolutely ecstatic with the finished piece, and I was satisfied too, one of my best works.