Exhibit brings 'El Barrio' to Union
The caption greets visitors with a startling statement: "I am scared to close my eyes and rest, because I don't want to see the image of the woman we left to die in the desert." Above it, visitors arriving at the Stamp Student Union gallery are greeted with a burst of orange coming from behind the portrait of a serene-looking young man raising his eyes heavenward. The portrait, and a series of other art pieces, document the experiences of area immigrants presented in "Visualizing El Barrio," the first Latino exhibit in university history. American studies graduate student Robb Hernandez curated the art from eight local artists, both Latino and non-Latino, who visually interpreted the Latino experience in the metropolitan area. "It's about time that this university begins to recognize its responsibilities to the domestic Latino heritage," Hernandez said, "not just the heritage that is in the West Coast but what's in their own backyard." The communities surrounding the university boast some of the largest foreign-born populations in the metropolitan area. In Langley Park, Riverdale and Hyattsville, the number of Latinos has swelled in the past decade, especially Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants. And they are still growing, according to census estimates. Since the summer of 2006, Hernandez said he has been researching and networking to find the artists. He said a vacancy in the gallery calendar was just what he needed to bring Latino identity to the forefront on the cusp of Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins Sept. 15. For American artist David Amoroso, it was his impromptu conversations with local day laborers that became the subjects of Viajeros, or travelers, a series of acrylic paintings. After working in various community organizations, Amoroso said he was completely absorbed by Latino culture. "I felt an immediate connection with the sense of community," Amoroso said. "It was my life in another language." But it was the story of a Salvadoran immigrant that crossed the border with a large contingent of his town that particularly struck Amoroso. "He told me this horrifying story about having to leave an injured woman behind in the desert to die," Amoroso said. "Somebody has to tell these stories." Women's studies graduate student Ana Perez, who visited the gallery Thursday, said she thought the young Latino depicted was sleeping.
"When you first see it you can envision all these sorts of things that are going through his mind," said Perez, who described herself as U.S.-born Mexican. "But when you read the caption, it's the total opposite when you realize he's thinking about death."
As local Latinos prepare for celebrations around the area, artist Nicholas Shi said he wants to remind people Latino is a multidimensional term. Demographers and social scientists alike are encountering complex nuances when attempting to define Latino.Shi is no easier to define. Born in El Salvador to Chinese parents, he said it has been hard for people to believe he is Latino."If I go to a Salvadoran restaurant, sometimes I start ordering pupusas and things Salvadorans would only know," Shi said with a Spanish accent, referring to the traditional Salvadoran dish. "They ask me if I know what I ordered and I say, 'Yes, I'm El Salvadoran.' They don't believe me."
Representing the multiple identities generated by a mixed community is a challenge artist Jose Piedra, of Peru, said he confronts with his oil paints. He said that people often get lost eating tacos and forget that Latino reflects a myriad of experiences, not just those of one category of people."They put us as only one group to make it easy for them," Piedra said. "We are Latinos but I am not the same as an Argentinean or Puerto Rican."
Perez, who grew up in a Mexican community in Florida, said her identity changes every day within the context of her environment."In my community it was all Mexican immigrants," she said, "but I came here, it was like, 'wow,' there are so many different kinds of Latinos."The particular diversity of D.C.-area Latinos has encouraged Perez to adapt. She said the representation of other groups in the exhibit is emblematic of not only the region but Latinos in general."I think that is why it changes," Perez said about her identity, "because it depends on where you are and where you are coming from."Everything from canvasses with Mayan ruins to photographs of Latina street vendors draped the walls of the Union Gallery in color and commentary.
Piedra said he hopes that through art, Latinos can reconnect to their past and truly have something to celebrate."If we don't have roots, we don't have nothing," Perez said.
