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This man grew up in a lower class family, he had to drop out of school in order to help support his family from a very young age. Throughout his life, he’s worked a variety of different jobs ranging from security guard, to driver, to nightclub bouncer. He told me about his experiences on the job, and just how hard it is to really get out ahead in life when you’re earning minimum wage ($11.54 dollars per day). On top of that, he talked about how little support individuals in his position receive from the government. In fact he believes the government hinders him more than helps him, through a series of systems meant to keep people in his position down. Here he is shown as a Mexican warrior, with a newspaper clipping that translates to “The change in Mexico doesn’t seem to have a path”. This clipping represents his disappointment with the situation in his country. In this painting he is shown as a Mexican revolutionary, fighting every day to try to get himself and his family ahead in life, holding on to some hope that things may one day change.

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Behind this picture is a three-year-old boy. The painting shows a young boy selling flowers, and the newspaper clippings translate to “Mexico is searching for eleven thousand missing kids”. The flower vendor represents the hundreds of thousands of kids forced to start working from a very young age due to family financial complications and lack of education. The newspaper touches on the fact that on average, 14 kids disappear daily in Mexico. Kids that disappear are usually subject to work or are sexually exploited. Violence against minors is a serious issue in Mexico, one that we hope to leave in the past.

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Behind this picture is a young woman in her early twenties. From a young age she realized violence against women was unfortunately a common issue for her and many of the people around her. Mexico is known for this, with last year having over one thousand femicides, second only to Brazil in Latin America. On average, ten women are killed every day nationwide. Here she is shown a strong representation of Frida Kahlo in mourning, as this woman mourns the victims of femicides, many of which she knew personally. The newspaper clipping translates to “Women demand peace and justice”, a statement that shouldn’t be needed, but is sadly all too common within our society.

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Behind this painting lies a woman who feels frustrated with her current situation in life. She feels like she never had the option to live her life in a way she wanted to, being forced to leave her school to work from a young age, and having to live paycheck to paycheck for almost her entire life. “I feel stuck, hopeless, I don’t feel like anything I do has the power to change my situation, it feels like I will be cleaning houses until the day that I die” she confessed to me. “But money doesn’t grow on trees, and with my level of education, I don’t have any other options”. She hopes to someday find a new path that she can enjoy, but doesn’t believe it will ever happen. Here she is shown with a red ribbon somewhat strangling her, representing that feeling of suffocation in her life. The newspaper clipping translates to “Hope”, as a reminder to hold on to hope, no matter the situation.