This piece placed third (tie) for Art submissions in the 2024 Ánimo Voices WRITING, ART, & SPOKEN WORD COMPETITION 2024, which invited students to respond to an open prompt. The competition is an opportunity to motivate, recognize, and celebrate our strong student voices through writing, spoken word, and art.

Shattered Heritage

Eileen Garcia Villaseñor: Artist Statement

My name is Eileen Garcia Villaseñor, a senior at Ánimo South Los Angeles Charter High
School. Born in Mexico but raised in Los Angeles, I am a Chicana who is proud and
appreciative of all aspects of my roots and culture. As a self-taught artist, I discovered my
passion for art when I began drawing in 5th grade. I was inspired by the book series Warriors
by Erin Hunter and wanted to draw out my interpretation of the characters. Since then, I’ve
explored different mediums and different art styles until I found styles that I most enjoyed,
such as the style of this project. I titled this project “Shattered Heritage.” The conflicting
identities that come with being Chicana clash together in fragments making up the whole of
a person. They are all incredibly different but share the same origin – my birthplace. Almost
in a timeline fashion, there are many different states of being Mexican. The Chicanos of
California today, the religious and pious motivations of many women in the 1950s, even
further than that the origins of the music that many people cherish and love, then at the end
there’s the indigenous ties that bind all of them together. A shattered heritage with all the
different pieces forming a single figure – a skeleton.

 

 

Eileen Garcia

12th Grade, Ánimo South Los Angeles

Guiding Teacher: Hoa Phan