By Frank X. Moraga / Amigos805
Frank X. Moraga
For Xavier Montes, the inspiration for this year’s De Colores Art Show hit close to home to the aunt who raised him.
“When I see women working in the fields, I think of Carmen, my mother (aunt), who picked walnuts and cut apricots,” Montes said. “The work that female farmworkers do is extremely difficult and I wanted to acknowledge their work, their lives and their struggle.”
Hence the theme: “De Colores Art Show: Campesinas,” opening with a reception from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Santa Paula Art Museum, 117 N. Tenth St., Santa Paula. The show is curated by Montes.
Artists were invited to consider the many roles of female farmworkers both in the fields and at home. The resulting works are bold and meaningful, and are a stunning homage to the strength of these hardworking women, the museum reported in a media release. The opening reception will feature live, traditional Mexican folk music by Trio Guadalajara.
The De Colores Art Show is an annual group exhibit and celebration of Latino culture, heritage and iconography. Founded in 1992 by Montes, an artist and musician, the show is designed to communicate and celebrate the diversity of the Latino experience through art. It has also long-endeavored to bring awareness to important issues including the farmworker struggle, the museum reported.
A large majority of farmworkers in California are Latino and at least one-third of California farmworkers are women. This year’s De Colores Art Show illustrates the unique experience of campesinas (female farmworkers) in California and Ventura County.
La Preciosa by Sunni Gibbons. Courtesy image.
Looking at the image “La Preciosa” I couldn’t helped but be moved to memories of my own mother, Socorro, a seasonal worker in Oxnard who worked at the J.M. Smuckers packing house on Commercial Avenue during strawberry season, and then at la chileria / the chili factory on Third Street in La Colonia.
We were all in grade school when she started at the packing houses. The work was both tedious and hard, she stood for 12-hours, cutting Ortega chilies or strawberries with her small wooden-handled knife, covered in her hair net and plastic mandil / apron. But like many of her friends and co-workers, she made the sacrifice to work those long hours to provide the extra money our family needed to make our life a little more comfortable.
Thank you, Xavier, for such an appropriate exhibit and thank you to all the artists who are contributing meaningful works of art.
“A Day’s Work” by Beverly Lazor. Courtesy image.
The show, which runs through Feb. 28, 2016, has been made possible through the support of sponsors Calavo, Clinicas del Camino Real, Guerrero Insurance Services and La Cabana. Admission to the reception is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and free for museum members and students.
The museum’s regular hours are Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Regular admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and free for museum members and students. Call 805-525-5554, send an email to info@santapaulaartmuseum.org or visit http://www.santapaulaartmuseum.org/home.html for more information.
— Frank X. Moraga is editor/publisher of Amigos805. He has served as business editor, director of diversity and general manager of a bilingual publication at the Ventura County Star, and as a reporter in the community editions of the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News. Send an email to frank@amigos805.com for more information.