My Latina Roots by Samantha Solis

Pic with De Espaldas.jpg

Image of a female college student wearing glasses and a mask taking a selfie in front of Alejandro Lugo's "De Espaldas" that displays a bronze monument and a couple in traditional Hispanic clothing walking toward it.
Samantha Solis taking a selfie in front of Alejandro Lugo's photograph, "Mexican American Gothic: Twenty-first Century Pioneers" from the series "Seen from the Back/De Espaldas".

Sammy's parents.jpg

Image of a man and a woman in a living room wearing a poncho and traditional Mexican clothing standing side-by-side.
Jesus Solis and Damaris Solis are wearing traditional Mexican clothing for Dia de la Virgen. Jesus is wearing a poncho with the Aztecan calendar displayed on it.
Student Engagement

Alejandro Lugo's photographs remind me of my Latina roots. 

Looking at Mexican American Gothic: Twenty-first Century Pioneers from the series Seen from the Back/De Espaldas, I think about my parents when they were younger than I am now. In the couple, I can see them ecstatic that they were safely in Arizona. They were a happy, young couple stopping at nothing to bring their culture and start a new life. 

Alejandro Lugo’s photo takes place in Chandler, Arizona. It pictures a Mexican couple dressed in a serape and a pueblo dress dancing in front of a bronze monument that commemorates the city’s U.S. settlers. 

When my parents immigrated to the United States at the age of seventeen, they stayed a while in Arizona, where the photograph takes place. There, they had their first meal in days, better yet their first meal in the United States: an In and Out Burger with a side of fries and a large iced Coca Cola. 

Dressed in the traditional clothing that they wear, the couple in Alejandro’s photograph represents the preservation of their culture, even in a different country. Of which my parents make sure to never lose sight of by dressing my sister and me in traditional Mexican clothing since childhood. 

Dancing shows how happy they are to have reached their goal and further develops how they created a home there.  

Though my parents did not end up settling in Arizona, they did settle in the U.S. soil of Illinois.  

Now, I continue to embrace the culture they brought from Mexico on campus by studying our Native tongue and volunteering as a Spanish translator.  

The bronze monument in this photograph is similar to that of the Statue of Liberty, welcoming newcomers and dancing alongside those that are creating better lives for themselves and their family in the U.S. 

 


Samantha Solis is a sophomore in the Gies College of Business studying Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship with a Spanish minor. Samantha’s parents, Jesus Solis and Damaris Tinoco-Solis can be seen pictured side by side. 

Mexican American Gothic: Twenty-First Century Pioneers

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Mexican American Gothic: Twenty-First Century Pioneers

from Seen from the Back/De Espaldas

2016; printed 2018

aqueous inkjet on porous-coated resin-coated paper

sheet & image: 30 x 20 in. (76.2 x 50.8 cm)

Alejandro Lugo

(Mexico, active United States, 1962 - )

CULTURE OR GROUP:

American

OBJECT NAME:

inkjet prints

MARKS:

signed by artist on verso

CREDIT LINE:

Gift of Alejandro Lugo in honor of the cultural contributions of Latinx immigrants to U.S. society

OBJECT NUMBER:

2019-9-1

IMAGE USE:

Protected Content (restricted)

Read our Image Use and Open Access Policy here.

LOCATION:

Gelvin Noel Gallery

While gallery locations are updated regularly, there is no guarantee any object will be on display the day of your visit. This is an abbreviated record which may not reflect our complete or current knowledge of the object. If you have questions, suggestions, or corrections regarding the collection, please email kam-collections@illinois.edu.

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SELECTED EXHIBITION HISTORY

DIMENSIONS

  • sheet & image, sheet & image: 30 x 20 in. (76.2 x 50.8 cm)