“Asi es la vida, mija”

Clarissa Holguin

Mixed media, 2023 NFS

Mi nombre es Clarissa, son de Barrio Viejo, yo soy Xicanx, Todavía estoy aquí, resisting and practicing taking up space while being brown. Creating and expression has always been a part of my life. Expression isn’t always about filling a room with your voice. Expression can mean a lot of things, even silence. 

We can unify universally through creation. With our palabras, movement, corazon, hands. Throughout anything in this life, you will always carry your voice. I am led by my intuition, my ancestors’ gift and believe we can learn more by listening and existing with nature. I’ve been creating since I was a kid but with more focus in the last year. I plan to continue to take up space in the community with BIPOC representation and telling a story through my expression.

This piece is dedicated to my grandparents, Sylvia and Benjamin Encinas. When you don’t have the people you love physically on this earth anymore, you begin to find them in pieces. Slowly over time forming memories, sentiments and love. You honor them in things they use to eat, do, songs they would sing, scents and lastly their name. This piece is an expression of my dedication to continue to honor then but more than that, it’s a dedication to my cultura, a moment in time of where I’m at in my life, a promise to continue to decolonize, continue to feel like I’m enough, continue to resist barriers and be proud of where I come from and my roots.