¡Firme!

Cuento de my mom, and her experiences as a Latina artist in San Antonio during the early fifties. A short story with more to come as she finds support because she made ice cream floats.

To the people that feel they have to “challenge” the community of color to prove why it’s important to express... Don’t, just don’t. You’re it helping the community of color in any way. You see a challenge to be more, and we see continued oppression. After fighting for hundreds of years, to be challenged is not something that will help us develop. No, it only creates more of a division, and puts u...

A little cuento on why I named my podcast ¡Firme! and what that word means to me. Pictured: Tío Rudy, Tia Florence (RIP) Dad, y Tia Josie. Andalé tío... be firme!

I see a trend in the divided community of Spokane, and it’s not just about art.

We’re making efforts to have the community we want. When you destroy our cultural expression, you are dismantling all we have built through the challenges we’ve faced. Respect our history. You don’t have to agree, you could just respect and let us be.

The Traveling Comadres are two Latinas with a passion to document the untold stories of our gente for generations to come. Through the journey of life, their paths have crossed in Nashville, TN. These two Latinas are breaking barriers of language, dance, music, cultura y mas among a growing community! Follow them on Instagram @the_traveling_comadres and reach out to them at thetravelingcomadres@gm...

The independence of my Gente hasn’t come yet. What we experience East just in the past, but happens today. Mexican Americans have forefathers on both sides do history and we still honor our ancestors. This is an other confusion of being bicultural in the U.S. among single lens of history.

If given the chance, would you go back and change your art career? The shows, networking, collaborations, all the personal experiences that define you as an artist today? This was a question posed to me by the voice message on Anchor.

As a bigger community we’re divided by the labels that are imposed upon us. Along with these labels, we’re also further divided by our cultural pride. Among the Spanish speaking population outside of Spain, if we united as “gente” we’d have a collective voice. A stronger, louder, empowered voice. We’d still be able to show our micro and macro cultural pride. Nothing is erasing that because we have...

The tools of the trade is new conversation on ¡Firme! Talking about the methods of how we make what we make, and what changes when we change our tools.

The term starving artist needs to go away. The art industry is a much a challenge as retail, food, and professional services. The two types of artists and how they are perceived in the world differ. Artists are professional creatives like any other profession. Many educated, uniquely skilled, and provide services others cannot.

A story about growing up thinking photography was difficult for dark skinned people. It was, foo! Until I spent more time with photographers of color, and learned about the inequities of a creative medium.

Colorism in film photography is a topic I remember discussing since forever ago. There are certain issues with photographing different film types and light and dark skinned people. The “Shirley card” was and in many ways still the industry standard for color correction. Was this intentional? Is this just the physics of light?

To me cameras are more than tools to take photos. Each image taken is a chance to improve the ability to make a better negative. This results in having the foundation for a beautiful photograph. Like the steps it takes for equity among a community, we have to start at the the shared vision of what we want to achieve. Then take care of each step to reach that goal.

Being the diverse community we are from México, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, y más.... we put our individual cultural pride as a wall between ourselves. Then the smaller communi like Chicano, Bórica, y más continue to further break us apart. If we could unite under one identifier to the white community, I feel we would have a stronger voice. Gente... the people... no gender, no geography, no color, all...

Culture is interpreted differently according the region your in. Wash community has a slightly different lens. This is good for learning about where people come from and how they navigate their space, and also bad for thinking others are the same as you. Social norms stand out as much as skin color.

That moment when you can connect on a cultural and social level on a sensitive issue.

Online spaces are not bound by borders, or limited by availability, and have direct traffic. Your doors are always open to people anywhere, and on their time. You can still have engagement. How? Listen for more information.

Isolation for many is difficult, or can be refreshing for others. As an artist of color I’m isolated from my culture just by living in Spokane, WA. Being separated from my gente, and having to navigate through a white dominated arts community is my everyday. Much like many artists of color across the country.

Statements of solidarity are great, but what happens after the words are posted on social media? When and how do these words become real changes in our BIPOC communities?

Statements of solidarity across the many arts organizations show support of the inequities among the BIPOC community. Support is good, but actions make change. Lets move past awareness, and into making the needed changes.

There is a strong divide in Spokane among cultures, and what is considered American. This can be changed through our actions and engagement. If we want change, we have to be that change.

How the name Firme came to be, and a talk on identifiers for our gente. Our self identity’s evolution as other cultures tell us what we’re called. Why can’t we choose our own identity? What would we call ourselves, and be inclusive?

What is art? What is culture, how does it influence and inspire what we make? Who says what art is? Who says what an artist is? As a Chicano artist geographically separated from his roots, there is always a way to create from memories, blended with the culture I’m currently immersed in. We all have the ability to self identify and create art from the heart. I’m sharing the link to the book by Davi...

I chose my camera for the story behind the brand. There’s more to a camera than a name, or a price tag. When you have something in your hand that inspires, and challenges you... it’s reflected in your art. What inspires you in your art?