Hello. My name is PA. For my class called Rhetoric we learned a lot. In this class we learned a lot about American history and how America was founded. We also went on many Feild Experiences, but one that stood with me was someone that ran for mayor coming in and talking to us. I found his story very interesting and took a lot away from it. He talked a lot about many different issues in todays world. For our Action Project we had to create an art peice that is about a issue thats happening today. I created a pinata house to represent Mexicans that come to Chicago illegallly but are salf untill ice comes.
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| Casa De Papel, PA , 2019 |
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| Casa De Papel, PA , 2019 |
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| Casa De Papel, PA , 2019 |
My name is Paolo Aguilar and I am of Mexican descent. I currently live in Chicago, IL. My artwork addresses immagration and the deportation of Mexicans that have immigrated to the United States. Immigration in Chicago has become an important issue due to the hostility of our current political administration. With President Trump’s insistence on demonizing Mexican immigrants, building a wall, banning non-citizens through ICE raids and caging up immigrant children many families are affected across the United States. Around 50% of all immigrants that come to Chicago are from Mexico. Chicago has one of the largest Mexican-American populations in the United States so naturally a lot of people feel its effect here. Being of Mexican descent this issue hits close to home for me. My grandfather came here from Mexico as an immigrant more than 60 years ago. He traveled here as a teenager walking through the desert with nothing. If it were not for him I would not have the privilege of being here as an American or an artist.
My art piece is a home in the form of a pinata. Using traditional methods of pinata construction I made a home that resembles my own. On the front of the home are three flags hung on a single pole. The flags consist of an American flag, a Mexican flag and a Chicago flag. It represents to struggle of Mexican immigrants trying to unite these 3 places where they must form a new identity. The house is placed on a large piece of green paper that represents green grass which refers to the saying “the grass is always greener on the other side”. The rich color also represents health, life and happiness. The house represents family and strength that is built through community. The fact that the home is in the form of a pinata adds a sense of endangerment. In traditional Mexican birthday parties the pinata is filled with candy, hung on a tree and hit with a stick by children taking turns.
I envision hundreds of these pinatas would be produced and hung on light posts, telephone poles and street signs throughout the city without permission, one night. People will come upon them the next day and will be forced to interpret their own meaning to them. A colorful stick will be placed on the side of the hung pinatas and people will decide whether or not to strike the home. Each pinata will be filled with spicy tamarind candy which is common in Mexico. If the pinatas are broken pieces of the home and scattered candy will fill the streets. The candy is bittersweet and not something that everyone will like but they must either eat it, leave or discard it. This will be the final metaphor for varied ways in which people treat Mexican immigrants and how they address this inevitable issue.
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