Art: “We Walked So She Can Rise” by Gabriela Hernandez Mozo
GABRIELA HERNANDEZ MOZO
Artist Statement
What does it mean to rise when the world feels against you and the future looks uncertain? Rising begins not with success but with a decision—the decision to move forward despite fear, sacrifice, and doubt. It is the strength and courage to step into the unknown.
My artwork represents the burden of a father who carries the weight of hardships so his daughter doesn’t have to. I wanted to express rising up through the expressions of a father and daughter’s faces. You can learn a lot from the look of someone’s face. You can see the exhaustion in their eyes. You see fear, hardships, and love all at once. However, you can also see rays of hope in the same pair of eyes—the kind of hope that refuses to leave when life feels heavy.
The father’s face carries the weight of sacrifice and endurance. His eyes reflect the weight of hardships, the kind that comes from leaving behind everything to protect and provide for his child. The daughter’s expression is different. She represents hope and opportunity. She may not fully understand the hardships her father carries, but she’s a reflection of what he is fighting for: a safer and better future.
These two people represent my dad and me when we were younger. When I was little enough to sit on his shoulders, I believed he could carry anything. In this drawing, I placed myself above him, almost rising from him, because everything I am is built on everything he carried.
The butterflies surrounding the pair symbolize migration. Like many immigrant families, they cross borders in search of safety and opportunity—for the dream of something greater. Legal pathways can take years, even decades, and not everyone qualifies. Yet the need to survive, protect, and hope for a better future for themselves and their families drives them forward.
To rise up is to walk into the unknown despite fear, to endure hardships for the sake of those we love. The butterflies also reflect both of their journeys. Like monarch butterflies that migrate thousands of miles to survive and find better conditions, the family must leave what is familiar and face fear and uncertainty to reach safety and a better life.
The father carries the responsibility of protecting and guiding his child. She carries hope for the future, but she also faces these challenges alongside him. The butterflies’ movement represents their struggles and determination. Each butterfly represents the courage and transformation needed to rise. I also wanted each butterfly to represent individuals and families making choices that lead to similar journeys for a better life.
Too often, people use degrading and dehumanizing words to describe immigrant families. They are spoken about in ways that strip away their humanity—words that compare people to animals and threats. These individuals support our economy. They are the people who work, create, care, and strengthen our communities.
Rising up is about recognizing their courage, honoring their sacrifices, and standing with them. They are not aliens. They are not animals. They are human beings, just like you.
