In September 2022, Hispanic Texans were projected to have passed the threshold to be the state’s largest demographic group. The transition not only points to a change in the population but to future shifts in the state’s culture, as the majority of the demographic increase comes from Hispanic children under 18.
Identity, as a construct, is developed, understood, accepted/countered at different paces. Perhaps this is the reason the term Latinx (or anything X related for that matter) is still triggering for many Chicanos and self-ascribed Hispanics. However, that is not necessarily the case for the younger wave of Texans.
It seems fitting that at this key point in the state’s history, there is a re-examination of what the contemporary lives of Texans of Latin American descent look like and encompass. Curator Rigoberto Luna takes on that tremendous task in the exhibition Soy de Tejas: A Statewide Survey of Latinx Art, opening on February 9th at the Centro de Artes in San Antonio.
Soy de Tejas showcases over 100 works of art by forty native Texan and Texas-based contemporary artists. Each reflects “the diverse and beautiful complexity of Latinx identities.” According to Luna, the exhibition explores themes ranging from race, class, and gender to migration, mythmaking, displacement, and indigeneity. “Many works center on celebrating joyful customs, culture, and traditions that unite and sustain our communities in the face of a multitude of challenges.”
Desde la Frontera
A statewide Latinx exhibition would not be complete without representation from the frontera and its unique set of issues. Fourteen of the selected artists come from the US Texas border cities like El Paso, Laredo, McAllen, and Brownsville (Puro 956 Cuh!). The Frontera artists included are Cande Aguilar, Angel Cabrales, Karla Garcia, Ingrid Levya, Alejandro Macias, Juan de Dios Mora, Marianna T. Olague, Joe Peña, Vick Quesada, Josue Ramirez, Natalia Rocafuerte, Gil Rocha, Marco Sanchez, and Jose Villalobos. Let’s learn more about some of these border artists: