The inspiration of this picture was a culmination of a few different ideas and pieces of literature: Sandra Cisneros’ “Guadalupe Sex Goddess,” Andrea Smith’s “Better Dead Than Pregnant” and the ideas of “Territorio-Cuerpo-Tierra” or Body-Land-Territory, the Cosmic Race and Mestizaje. Cisneros’ piece speaks of Latinx experiences with their sexuality, its taboo at home and ultimately the sexual liberation she found in Pre-Colombian histories of Aztec Goddesses and becoming a woman who is comfortable in her own skin and beautiful like a flower. Mestisaje and the idea of Cosmic Race are a celebration of the mixing of the races within Latino America and as such, I tried to portray a person of mixed race. Smith’s piece is not as uplifting, and it’s rather angering to read what happened to our beautiful native peoples; forced sterilization, coercion, war on their bodies and overall genocide. This is where the idea of Body-Land-Territory comes into focus, which is a fight for freedom from the patriarchal and capitalist oppressions women face. It is an emphasized connection between gender-based violence and the taking of territory.
