@alelemus.g • La mar, mixed media •
5 Questions:
My mother and father traveled across the border before I was born, with my sister who was very small at that time, initially in search of better economic living conditions. My sister managed to pass with another family, and my mother’s story, which she remembers very well, is how she had to cross the border on her own. What she remembers most is being in the middle of a raid, and she, along with other women, ran to some public restrooms where the agents chased them. She heard them opening the restroom doors and the desperate screams of the women. To this day, she attributes the miracle of not being found to the Virgin Mary. She says, “I climbed on top of the toilet and entrusted myself to the Virgin, asking her to cover me with her mantle so that they wouldn’t see me.” She says the door hit the toilet, and they simply couldn’t see her and left. After that, she crossed into California where she reunited with my father and sister.
Everything my mother went through to try to give us a better life is something I will always be grateful for. To this day, she has returned to Mexico. But because of her, I know I can be here now, and it’s all thanks to her. I know that people don’t migrate for pleasure; they migrate out of necessity and sacrifice so much, mostly for the well-being and future of their loved ones.
My relationship with my country and the city where I grew up, Morelia, is very close. I recently returned to live in the United States, but I visit Mexico as often as my finances and time allow. I have a great appreciation for my culture, and Morelia always feels my home.
I believe I live in a constant melancholy for the city where I grew up because it comes more from the people I grew up with. But I reconcile by seeking community in Chicago, and at the same time, I always stay in touch with the people back there. Now I know I am an Alejandra between two communities, but at the same time, they are intertwined through the topics of conversation, the art they create, the discovery of how close you can be to various cultures in Chicago, and what this contributes to continuing to learn and open myself to diversity.
Right now, I am focused on finding better job opportunities and trying to carve out a path here immersed in art. I am now seeking to find my voice in this diverse and complex country. My voice in the way it can be heard, seen, or interpreted.
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Bio | Art Statement
I studied for a degree in Arts Education in Morelia, Mexico, where I grew up from the age of four until three years ago when I moved to Chicago, and it has been a kind of new beginning for me in terms of my artistic journey.
Mi madre, Morelia, mixed media
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