Maiz Y Chile

In the winter of 2020, I did a plant medicine journey with psilocybin and received a vision that urged me to care for my garden’s soil and to connect with my ancestral foods. After doing some research, I secured some seeds from the Zapatistas and began to care for corn for the first time in my life. It was significant for me because I’m an descendant of the maiz people and maiz has a very deep cultural significance in my lineage. I also did some work on decolonizing my diet, which means returning to eating foods that are native to our homelands. The book “Decolonial Diet”was written by a Xicana, Queer author named Luz Calvo.

I delved into doing research about the maiz and chile, and I wanted to create work celebrating these ancestral foods. For me, gardening is building a connection to the land by healing the soil. When I heal the soil, I heal myself, because I am part of the cycle of life.

These two works represent the evolution of my concept. I began with the Study for Maiz y Chile and that led me to the final piece, Maiz y Chile. The corn pattern and the chile elements were created with linoleum block, and I used my small shapes to adorn the background. In this series I’m also combining many different printmaking processes, including monotyping, lino and pattern making.