How would you describe yourself as an artist? And what inspires you?
I would describe myself as unapologetically me. As a creator I rarely find other artists in my pocket or favoring a similar style. This is something I believe allows me to connect with others in different realms of creativity. Our differences are just tools we use to navigate to our similarities. On a creative, moral, and spiritual level, I believe my biggest inspiration is my community. My drive stems from the idea that together we have all the keys necessary to create a more unified and colorful future. Those who I’m surrounded by continue to inspire me on a daily level.

Tell us about your heritage.
I’ve always had a natural tendency to cling to communities of color throughout my academic years. Like many second and third generation families of the diaspora, my immediate family was disconnected from their Latino roots. For me, it has been and continues to be a journey of discovery. Every experience or lesson about the history of my Puerto Rican and Dominican heritage has empowered me. To know and understand the history of my people, the tireless struggles for self determination and liberation, and the beautiful culture that dates back to indigenous times has only further solidified my identity as an Afro Latino living in the US.

How do your art and heritage intersect?
I truly believe I was always connected to art, and music always had a grasp on my soul—just the sound of it. When my body really learned how to physically interpret the music that was playing, not only did it connect me to music more but it helped me explore how all of creation intersect. How video, music, paint, dance, and photo all connect. Most importantly how people connect. As I continue to dive into the history of my Latino heritage—the conditions of my people here in the US and the many liberation movements throughout Latin America—there’s not one aspect of my life where it doesn’t impact my purpose. From the way I analyze things to the direction I wish to take with my career, my art has always been a reflection of where I am in life, and lately it’s all about my identity not just as an Afro Latino but my responsibility to contribute to solutions to the challenges my people face.

What project are you proudest of?
On August 20th I was a part of a team of organizers for an event called the Black and Brown Unity Event Concert and Expo. This powerful, cross-generation, unifying event brought people and creatives together to showcase their art in the form of a united cry for equality and self determination. To see so many artists pour their hearts out on stage for the purpose of empowering our communities was a moment I will never forget. It was a true honor to share that stage with so many incredible people.

What advice would you have for aspiring Latin artists?
I would say continue to dig into your history! So many lessons, so much connection, so much power in knowing about our culture and what we hold. I truly believe it helps us navigate as creators. We no longer have the feeling of walking alone because we are surrounded by the knowledge of our ancestors.

Tell us about your art and what inspires you.
I’ve been working as a full time artist for the past five years or so but I think I’m still discovering new parts of my practice and am excited to keep exploring new mediums. Female portraiture is the basis of my work and it’s inspired by a lot of the women that I’m closest to or women that I look up to. I’ve been privileged enough to have so many incredible women in my life and I love being able to make pieces where they can see themselves in bold and beautiful pieces of art.

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month. Why is it important that heritage is celebrated year-round, not just during one month?
Everyone should be able to celebrate themselves year-round. The Hispanic community is integral to the daily culture of America and should be praised for all contributions from art to music to food to activism. While I am of mixed races, my father's side of my family is from the island of Puerto Rico. Growing up away from this side of my family has made my relationship with my heritage complicated in the past, but now I’m truly at a place where I can feel confident exploring and redefining what it means to be Puerto Rican-American.

How do your roots influence you as an artist?
Being a woman of mixed races, it’s not uncommon for me to be misidentified based on my appearance. I’ve learned to embrace ambiguity in my work and highlight the spectrum of traits that can be found within each race/ethnicity. There’s no blueprint for what a Puerto Rican woman, or any woman of any race, has to look like. We come in all shapes and sizes, we have all types of hair colors and textures. No matter the physical traits, I want all women to feel seen and be able to identify as art.

What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on a mural in Evanston, and I’m hoping to do one more large mural in Pilsen soon, but this fall I’m looking forward to creating a collection of hand painted leather bags and jackets. As of now my biggest goal is to travel outside of the Midwest and create more murals. Puerto Rico is definitely high on my list of places to make work but in general I’d love an opportunity to create something internationally.

What advice would you have for aspiring Latin artists?
The biggest piece of advice I can give to young artists is try it all. Whatever piques your interest, try it. You might fail but you also might succeed—and if you stay true to yourself, you’ll open up doors you didn’t even know existed.

Tell us about your art and what inspires you.
My artwork takes the traditional artform of calligraphy and blends it with the energy of modern day graffiti. But what really inspires me and takes the work to the next level is my Mexican culture. I am a first generation Mexican American here in Chicago. I am very proud of the sacrifices that my family has given so I can be in the position that I am today.

How do your art and heritage intersect?
Growing up I have always been surrounded by art. My father is a very talented artist as well, and my mother was the first to show me the basics of calligraphy and script. But also at a very young age I was impacted by the murals in Pilsen, the gang culture and graffiti artwork that I was surrounded by. I feel like it always comes back to my familia, I believe that artwork and the impulse and need to create is in my blood. And if we want to take it even further back you can look at our Aztec and Mayan roots. These ancient cultures were full of art that was based in religion and their everyday practices. That creativity that was in our ancestors is still in us today.

What piece or project are you most proud of?
I have many projects that I am proud of, I can name off a few in no particular order. I am super grateful to have been able to create pieces for Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony and DJ Khaled, but also work on the set of the new Candy Man movie. Or starting up TubszStudios with my business partners, where we are making clothing and homegoods all inspired by the artwork.

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month. Why is it important that heritage is celebrated year-round, not just during one month?
I think year round we should always be proud of the huge strides Latinos have taken. All the sacrifices and struggles to get us to this point should not be forgotten or taken for granted. But ultimately it is our responsibility to be an inspiration for the next generation. I'm hoping that my story and my work can be an inspiration to Latinos everywhere. Especially to the kids in the hood that feel that they can't take their talent that they have been gifted with and change the world.

What’s next for you?
I would love to showcase my work digitally and interactively—where the audience would be immersed in my work but also have the ability to interact with it whether it be through touch, sound or sight.

Tanya Lozano
Co-Founder, CEO of Healthy Hood Chicago

Tanya Lozano is a community architect, dancer, and activist. When we spoke to her last, she was working on releasing a docu-short following her project MARIPOSAS: an art in resistance. She tells us this last year has been one of the most monumental of her life. “A lot of the seeds that we’ve sown last year I have been able to see an incredible harvest from this year. Seeds of culture, seeds of creation and seeds of resistance have all grown into mighty communities.” She spent the year traveling and working with organizations across the United States, plus visited Cuba with a delegation of seven Chicago organizers. Lozano is also currently running to be on the 10th district commission for the new ECPS ordinance in Chicago, which seeks to empower communities for public safety.

Follow her work at healthyhoodchi.com, and on IG at @_tanyalozano.

Delilah Martinez
Founder, CEO of the Mural Movement
Owner, Vault Gallier & VIP Paints

When we last talked to Martinez, she was hard at work growing her business and planning to take The Mural Movement global. She’s made large strides toward her goals, telling us, “I’ve grown a lot myself and as an organization, and have been able to add to my list of resources I can provide to underserved communities in need.” Her work in the community has continued to flourish, from Community Days to turkey and toy drives to bike giveaways and more murals throughout Chicago. She was also recently featured as a Culture Creator by the Chicago Bulls, and is working on fundraising for asylum seekers who have just arrived in Chicago from South America.

Keep up with her at @Delilah1st on Instagram, or on her organization page @themuralmovement.