Gente de Maiz
Current Location:
Cabinet 3 (FF3) -> Drawer D (FF3)
Location Notes:
IDC: Flat Files; Cabinet 3; Drawer 3D

Gente de Maiz

Artwork
Identifier:
2024.20.4
Artist:
Jesus Barraza
Credit:
GVSU Collection
Medium:
Screenprint
Date:
2022
Dimensions:
Artworks - Height: 18" Width: 12"
Description:
A screen print of a person with red hair and pink highlights. they are wearing a green sleeveless button up shirt and a gray bolo tie. Below them it says "Gente de Maiz" in dark burgundy on a blue background. The border of the print is a dark red orange color.
Historical Context:
"As Xicanx people we learn about the genocide that our people experienced at the hands of Spanish Conquistadors and the intergenerational trauma it’s left us with. Recently I learned that during the invasion of Tenochitlan the people buried sacred bundles, with the hopes that the Spanish would leave, and they would be able to dig them out and go back to their ancestral ways. It’s taken hundreds of years for us to dig out those ancestral bundles and begin to relearn those ways and pray again to Tlaloc, Coyolxauhqui, and Tonantzin. In this process of reconnecting, we’ve learned about the Maiz Narratives, as Dr. Cintli writes about them, the stories that tell of our history on this continent. These stories connect us to one of the things that has been with us throughout the centuries, the sacred maiz, it connects us to our ancestors, it is who we are. Just as our ancestors domesticated the maiz and thrived with it, today it reconnects us to who we are, la Gente de Maiz. We’re thriving now, realizing we are indigenous to these lands and it is our responsibility to take care of the land that nurtures us. This piece features @lapistolera an amazing organizer from Phoenix, Arizona. She has been part of the movement to defend migrants who have been under attack by the US Government." - Jesus Bararaza

Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus Terms:
feminism
gender issues
social issues