About Omequiztli

I believe art can send a powerful message with a touch of ink. Behind every piece of my artwork is a personal, cultural and sometimes historical narrative.

Growing up in my community, I did not learn about my own sources of cultural capital. It intrigued me to explore my own cultural background and identity. I was privileged enough to learn more about my cultural history from educators in my community, high school, and college. All the knowledge that I learned from academic scholars, authors, musicians, and artists have inspired most of my work.

I like to look back at artists who have inspired me to be the artist that I am today. My inspiration has come from many Black artists and artists of color such as Elizabeth Catlett, José Guadalupe Posada and Artemio Rodriguez. Most of my work has also been influenced by storytelling, activism and music. Every time I create a new print, I always think back to what Nina Simone once said, “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times…I choose to reflect the times and situations in which I find myself.” I believe it is my duty to not only visually reflect my stories but to also examine and reflect the current situations that affect predominantly Blacks, Indigenous and people of color.

As a MeXicana artist, I like to critically think about the content and mediums that I use in my artwork. As I became knowledgeable about printmaking, I learned of the importance of this medium during Posada’s time among other Black and Brown printmakers. I believe printmaking is revolutionary and an act of resistance because a print not only becomes accessible to the people, but it also demonstrates the human labor.