EAGLE PASS – The border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, has made headlines due to the ongoing dispute between state and federal authorities over immigration enforcement.
Since last summer, a series of floating red buoys Barbed wire-lined sections of the Rio Grande separating Eagle Pass from Piedras Negras, Mexico.
The city was the epicenter of Governor Greg Abbott’s multi-billion dollar border patrol operation, “Operation Lone Star.” popular local park What was once a place for families and celebrations is now filled with barbed wire and Texas National Guard soldiers in Humvees.
But many of Eagle Pass’s 28,000 residents said immigration is part of the city’s history and identity.
A new art exhibition aims to reframe the city’s image beyond barbed wire and court cases, and instead shed light on the diverse perspectives of the people who call the border home.
The border is beautiful The art exhibition opened earlier this month at the Eagle Pass Art & Culture Center in the heart of downtown.
Yocelyn Riojas, Deputy Director of the Eagle Pass Digital Arts Societyhelped coordinate the exhibition in collaboration with the Eagle Pass Border Coalition and the City of Eagle Pass Arts and Cultural Center.
“I would describe it as our own form of protest,” she said. “We are discovering the beauty of our homeland and not what the media is just saying. I would say no one is really asking the locals what is happening.”
She said Eagle Pass continues to have a strong culture despite tensions surrounding immigration laws. “We are so much more than that, and I think this art exhibit reflects that,” she added. “It shows our individual experiences and our stories and the beauty of this community.”
Local artist Santos Polendo is represented in the exhibition. He is a member of the Traditional Kickapoo Tribe of Texas based in Eagle Pass.
His painting entitled Shelbypays homage to the indigenous roots of Shelby Park, which came into the spotlight after the state took control of it.
The artwork shows a tribe member wearing traditional headgear. He takes a photo of defeated Confederate Colonel Joseph Shelby and sank the Confederate flag in the middle of the Rio Grande.
Polendo said the painting puts an ironic twist on an overlooked part of the city’s history. “We celebrate the Confederate or American part, but we neglect the Indigenous part, the Native Americans who lived in this area,” he said. “That’s what the piece was about. It was about sparking that discussion.”
The exhibition features the artwork of nearly 50 artists from the Texas border region, each honoring their own interpretation of what it means to be rooted in bilingual, binational and bicultural communities.
In one of his paintings, artist Abel Ortiz describes his experiences as a first-grader immigrating from Mexico to the Texas border town of Del Rio.
His painting entitled assimilation — shows a picture of him as a child. A boy wearing glasses has a serious expression on his face. The line of the US-Mexico border is painted red on his face. On the left is the smiling logo of the Mexican snack company Sabritas, which is owned by Pepsi.
“You can see that even logos and iconography can immigrate from a country, just like people do, and they assimilate into the culture they happen to exist in,” he said. “So this painting is sort of based on my own personal experience of assimilation.”
Ortiz’s other two works of art also touch on the topic of immigration.
Walking through the exhibition, a bright pastel painting entitled The Hard Hand depicts the chaos of workers on a construction site. Another black and white sketch is a monument to Sarita’s Tortilla Factory – a famous tortilleria in Eagle Pass.
Ortiz said the exhibition offers artists the opportunity to tell their own stories. “The border really requires expression beyond words, and that’s where art can provide that, he explained. “Images are powerful, and images give you experiences you won’t forget.”
The nonprofit Eagle Pass Border Coalition fought against Abbott’s focus on border security.
Jesse Fuentes of Eagle Pass is a board member of the coalition. He said the exhibit drew record participation.
“We want to be seen as a positive place,” he said. “We want to be respected for our talent and our skills, for our culture and our special history on the border, just like any other border community. If you know anyone who is from the border, you know we are good people.”
The organizers want to maintain the momentum and The border is beautiful into a traveling exhibition that can be shown in communities throughout Texas.
“This is like a healing solution,” Fuentes said. “Come by, reminisce. Remember what was and what can be, and ask yourself what kind of future we want.”
The exhibition runs until September 30th.
Scan the QR code below to view the artist catalogue.
