I started drawing because I did not want to deal with my reality. In my family everything was about work. As a child, I traveled across the United States with my family doing migrant farm work. Work was painful, and I hated it. That desire to escape reality evolved into drawing what I saw. Every time we went to a different place I noticed people, children especially, whose lives did not revolve around work. I was curious to see how people did things and how they interacted with each other. I had so many questions. What are they doing behind those fences? Why are they going to school while my siblings and I work the fields? Why do we go to different places but others stay where they are? This growing curiosity developed into a love of history and cultural anthropology.

We traveled with the seasons leaving “The Valley” to work the fields “up north” and then returning to South Texas. I enjoyed traveling because it was a relief from the work and the pain. I got to stretch my creativity because all that my five siblings and I could do was entertain ourselves as we sat still in the back of the truck. The world I saw from the back of the truck fascinated me. I could see it wasn’t fair. Even though I was suffering, I saw so many places of beauty and happiness that I couldn’t access. I started creating work on those things. I wanted answers for the experiences I had and the extreme disparities between my family and others. Because it did bother me. I learned that the Spanish side of my family came to Texas with a Spanish land grant and pushed my Indigenous ancestors off the land. The Spanish enslaved and exploited my African and Indigenous ancestors for cheap labor. Then the Anglo-Americans exploited the Spanish descendants (Tejanos/Mexicans) for cheap labor. With this new understanding of my own family history, I began to empathize with all who have experienced suffering. As I learned more, I wanted to know how to do better. I started painting and exploring different forms of art. I want to be a part of the solution. Traveling gives me a sense of belonging. I’ve done it for so long, but now I have the chance to participate and be a part of a community. Making art gives me the opportunity to connect. So I keep doing it.