Cucarachalandia

In the exhibit Cucarachalandia, visual artist Maria Cristina "Tina" Tavera collaborates with musician Erick Biard, musician/poet Anaïs Deal-Márquez & poet Gabriela Spears-Rico to create visual, musical and literary art to explore how “La Cucaracha” is reclaimed by Chicano/Mexican artists as a symbol of resilience, resistance and perseverance. Each artist distinctly expresses their reflections on La Cucaracha motif focusing on the working class+migrant culture spanning from revolutionary corridos to contemporary interpretations.

About the Artists:

Maria Cristina “Tina” Tavera is a multidisciplinary artist whose work examines signifiers determined by our society on how people define themselves and their cultures in everyday life. The work focuses on Latinidad within the U.S. via numerous mediums including printing, sculpture, installation and public art. Website: https://www.mariacristinatavera.com/

Erick Biard is a guitar player from Mexico, his musical influences range from Mexican folk music, Huapango, bolero and ranchera to rock and jazz. The songs included in the performance represent the resilience and strength of the Latino immigrant experience in their journey to this country. FB: ErickBiard

Anaïs Deal-Márquez is a Mexican American writer and artist raised between the mountains of Veracruz, Mexico and the Midwest. Her writing explores home, belonging, migration, and memory. She has performed her poetry at the Loft Literary Center, Pangea World Theater, and the Dakota Jazz Club. IG: anais_delmar

Gabriela Spears-Rico is the daughter of migrant farmworkers, a Mexican Indigenous and Chicana anthropologist and poet. She serves as an Assistant Professor of Chicano Latino Studies at the University of Minnesota. Her poetry is in numerous publications, and she has won many awards including being one of ten Indigenous artists in North America to receive the Radical Imagination Grant from the NDN Collective in 2022. IG: erandi_es.tu.diosa; FB: Gabby Erandi Spears; Website: https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/spearsrg

Regular Gallery Hours: 

Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays 12-5pm

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.