Weekly

Homeland


My Digital Selfie is Titled ”homeland” Because my selfie is about my own identity and culture. Puerto Rico Contributes to a large portion of my culture and identity. In my household growing up with my Great grandmother, who was catholic, first language was Spanish,and resided in Puerto Rico for most of her life she bestowed the tradition,beliefs, and heritage she learned as a child, all that came from the rich island. Frida Khalid often references her Mexican culture, her paintings often depict things like Frida holding a small Mexican flag or her wearing a traditional dress.

In my digital portrait the background depicts the Coquí frog and the flag of Puerto Rico. The Coquí frog is the national symbol of Puerto Rico “Coquís are native to El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in the United States National Forest Service. Recently discovered to be the oldest frog in the Caribbean, these little guys have been around for 29 million years (Besanya Santiago).” The Coquí is also said to carry many of the similar traits as the islanders with their loud distinct voices. Natives found the noises the frog made as music. The symbol is also celebrated in song, poems, folklore, and sayings that my grandmother use to say to me like “Sana, sana, colita de rana. Si no sanas hoy, sanarás mañana” which is often to comfort a child or loved one when they are in pain. The saying translates to music Heal, heal, little tail of the frog. If you don't heal today, you'll heal tomorrow. Often as a kid my great grandmother would say this to comfort me as a child. There many things that contribute to our identity like our origin stories, simple traditions, and heritage that is passed down it is important to embrace them and learn where they stem from.

Amy Sherald-

“I mean, of course I made it for Vanity Fair, but the whole time I was thinking about her family.”

“painting someone posthumously, I wanted it to feel ethereal but grounded at the same time,”

Black masculinity:

“a type of self-portraiture. It’s about looking at people who happen to look like me.”

“Barack Obama is incredibly sensitive to representation, and to art history. And so he wanted to make sure that this image communicated who he is in the world