The Virgin of Guadalupe is a cultural icon with deep roots in Mexican and Chicano communities across the United States and Mexico, among other places. Artists in New Mexico often reference Guadalupe in their work—including Chicana artist Delilah Montoya.

A mixed-media piece, “La Guadalupana,” by Montoya features a large photograph of the Virgin of Guadalupe as tattooed on the back of an incarcerated man. It is one of the many works of art on display at New Mexico Museum of Art’s Vladem Contemporary as a part of their “identity” theme in Off-Center.

Katie Doyle, assistant curator at the New Mexico Museum of Art, says Montoya’s work fits in with Vladem’s exhibition because it tells one of many essential stories about the cultural and historical issues that have continued to affect people in New Mexico.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Gloria Anzaldúa on la Virgen de Guadalupe

Off-Center: New Mexico Art, 1970-2000 at New Mexico Museum of Art’s Vladem Contemporary

La Guadalupana by Delilah Montoya

Chicano Awareness Center in Omaha, Nebraska

Civil Rights Movement in Omaha, Nebraska

National Geographic article about DNA and human ancestry

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Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine
Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann
Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz
Recording Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe
Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler
Associate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota)
Theme Music: D’Santi Nava
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