Hispanic Heritage Month is a month-long celebration of Hispanic and Latino history and culture. While we celebrate Hispanic and Latino communites beyond this month, from September 15 to October 15 we give extra recognition to the many contributions made to the history and culture of the United States, including important advocacy work, vibrant art, popular and traditional foods, and much more. Here are two North Carolina artists that are making an impact on our community. Both have exhibited work at the Cameron Art Museum.
ROSALIA TORRES-WEINER
Rosalia Torres-Weiner is an artist, activist and community leader in Charlotte, NC. Her art captures the themes, colors and rich symbolism of her native home of Mexico. In 2010, Rosalia shifted the focus of her work from commercial art to art activism, after witnessing the repeated injustices and dysfunction of our immigration system. Her work is featured in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum, has been exhibited in venues including the Mint Museum, the Cameron Museum, the McColl Center for Arts and Innovation, Levine Museum of the New South, Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art, the Leyland Gallery at Georgia College, UNCC’s Projective Eye Gallery, the City of Raleigh Museum, the Latin American Center for Arts Gallery, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and the Mexican Cultural Institute at the Mexican Embassy in Washington D.C.
Her public murals celebrate the rich history as well as the changing demographics of the South. She also uses her art to document social conditions and to raise awareness about issues that are affecting immigrant communities such as family separation, access to public education, racism and moving beyond common stereotypes. Her story “The Magic Kite” was adapted by The Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, and is also performed as part of her “Suitcase Stories” one-woman show, which was featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. She has been a featured speaker for the North Carolina ASC, Johnson & Wales University, George Washington University, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, and the Southern Foodways Alliance. Through her Red Calaca Mobile Art Studio, a 24-foot “Art Truck” she takes the arts directly to people in undeserved areas in Charlotte.
Her public murals celebrate the rich history as well as the changing demographics of the South. She also uses her art to document social conditions and to raise awareness about issues that are affecting immigrant communities such as family separation, access to public education, racism and moving beyond common stereotypes.
Her story “The Magic Kite” was adapted by The Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, and is also performed as part of her “Suitcase Stories” one-woman show, which was featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. She has been a featured speaker for the North Carolina ASC, Johnson & Wales University, George Washington University, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, and the Southern Foodways Alliance. Through her Red Calaca Mobile Art Studio, a 24-foot “Art Truck” she takes the arts directly to people in undeserved areas in Charlotte.
For more information, visit https://redcalacastudio.com/about/.
CORNELIO CAMPOS VINCENTE
Cornelio Campos Vincente, born in 1971 (age 53–54), is a Mexican American muralist who lives in Durham, North Carolina. Campos is self-taught. Mr. Campos immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico as a teenager; a journey and process that now influence many of his paintings, vibrant colors, 1 conic American Symbols, and intricate geometric patterns define Mr. Campos works through his painting, he illustrates some of the harsh realities of immigrating to America that immigrants often overlook. Moreover, he highlights deep seated political issues that contribute to Mexican immigration, including the implementation of North American free trade Agreement.
Modern yet traditional, and deeply personal, the paintings of Cornelio Campos illustrate complex realities of migrant life that are often concealed. A Mexican born Artist now residing in the U.S., Campos shares emotions and explores contemporary political issues, such as immigrations, the U.S.- Mexico border and cultural identity. Other works highlight a folkloric art style.
Campos works has been exhibited at the Anacostia Community Museum-Stmithsonian Institute, Washington, DC; Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, Winston-Salem, NC; Fredric Jameson Gallery, Duke University, Durham NC; and the Cameron Art Museum; to name a few.
“I am trying to use my paintings as tools for education and ways to start conversation. I have the opportunity to start a conversation that will let others think and then do their own investigating.” — Cornelio Campos
Mr. Campos description of this painting: “This painting conveys a different aspect of the migration experience, focusing on the realities of adapting and growing in the U.S. for those coming from Mexico. The central theme is the merging of two potent symbols of each country, the Statue of Liberty and the Virgen of Guadalupe. This painting represents histories of intimacy that cross the Geopolitical border, on the Mexican side the landscape is brown and arid and devoid of life. The U.S. side is styled with bright green tobacco fields. I also have the monarch butterfly that migrates from Michoacan representing no borders. The bird of paradise and dogwood represent the new generation are about people united.”
Mr. Campos description of this painting: “This painting conveys a different aspect of the migration experience, focusing on the realities of adapting and growing in the U.S. for those coming from Mexico. The central theme is the merging of two potent symbols of each country, the Statue of Liberty and the Virgen of Guadalupe. This painting represents histories of intimacy that cross the Geopolitical border, on the Mexican side the landscape is brown and arid and devoid of life. The U.S. side is styled with bright green tobacco fields. I also have the monarch butterfly that migrates from Michoacan representing no borders. The bird of paradise and dogwood represent the new generation are about people united.”