{"id":245259,"date":"2026-04-11T16:44:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T16:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/245259\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T16:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T16:44:14","slug":"hot-cheetos-and-a-sad-devil-new-centro-de-artes-exhibition-explores-latino-identity-through-humor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/245259\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot Cheetos and a sad devil: New Centro de Artes exhibition explores Latino identity through humor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for\u00a0TPR Today<\/a>, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.<\/p>\n

A new exhibition at the Centro de Artes Gallery, titled “A Postmodernist Says \u00bfQu\u00e9?”, brings together Latino artists exploring identity through humor across a range of mediums, including collages, sculptures, ceramics, and installations. Curator Vikky Jones said the show uses humor to open conversations and offer new perspectives on issues that aren\u2019t always easy to discuss.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumor is a way for people to connect in a different way about issues that maybe we don’t talk about all the time. So I thought it might be a nice avenue to open up conversations and perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones proposed the exhibition and then reached out to local artists to take part. As she reviewed the work, she said themes began to emerge, from political commentary to nostalgic references to family.<\/p>\n

Artist Angeles Salinas said he began developing ideas after Jones introduced the show\u2019s focus on humor. He said brainstorming is part of his creative process, but it wasn\u2019t until recently that he landed on a concrete idea.<\/p>\n

\"Angeles<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

TPR<\/p>\n

Angeles Salinas next to his art piece “Un Pobre Diablo 1.”<\/p>\n

His pieces are titled \u201cUn Pobre Diablo,\u201d or \u201ca poor devil.\u201d The devil can be seen wearing traditional Mexican masks used in a dance called Los Viejitos de la Danza, or \u201cthe old people of dance.\u201d Salinas said that his series depict the devil as a balance, as the force that encourages people to behave.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we all think about him (the devil) as a bad guy,\u201d Salinas said. \u201cSo in these paintings, he’s crying because he\u2019s like, \u2018all the people think I am the bad guy, but I’m the balance.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ursula<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

TPR<\/p>\n

Ursula Zavala next to her installation at the Centro de Artes Gallery.<\/p>\n

Ursula Zavala said she was interested in being a part of this exhibition because her art typically revolves around humor. Zavala has an installation at the gallery titled \u201cCrunchy.\u201d She said that although it looks like a fun Fourth of July front lawn, the idea came from her thinking about putting American memorabilia on her house to avoid being targeted by ICE agents. She used the word \u201ccrunchy\u201d instead of \u201ccountry\u201d to comment on the low literacy rates in the United States, where 54% of adults have literacy below a sixth-grade level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to take uncomfortable topics and then kind of put them through the ringer and make them more palatable for people,\u201d Zavala said.<\/p>\n

Another installation commenting on current events is a puppet theater collaboration between Mauro de la Tierra and Valley Ortiz. Ortiz said the puppets, created with paper-m\u00e2ch\u00e9, represent characters from San Antonio. One character is described by Ortiz as a \u201cKaren culture vulture,\u201d along with a \u201ctacuache,\u201d which represents the younger generation of Mexican Americans who are often called \u201cEdgars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mauro<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

TPR <\/p>\n

Mauro de la Tierra next to the installation he collaborated with Valley Ortiz.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a lot of dread and sort of agony that our communities are being ostracized right now. So we wanted to do something lighthearted and playful, but also still address very important social issues,\u201d de la Tierra said. \u201cSo there are references to cultural appropriation and the double standards in how people view immigration.\u201d<\/p>\n

On May 7 from 6\u20138 p.m., there will be a variety of performances, including an activation of the puppet theater. De la Tierra said the puppets will sing a song, and there will be a surprise at the end of the performance.<\/p>\n

\"Nain<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

TPR<\/p>\n

Nain Leon next to one of his Whataburger photographs. <\/p>\n

Not all of the pieces featured in the exhibition were necessarily connected to Latino humor. Nain Leon displayed a series of photographs that depict Whataburger fries and condiments as larger-than-life on top of Monahans Sandhills State Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I always had this idea when I was very young of eating huge fries. I love fries,\u201d Leon said. \u201cNow that I’m an artist, I can make anything that I want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hector Garza took this exhibition as an opportunity to express his queerness in his piece titled \u201cCuando supiste que eras jochis?\u201d or \u201cWhen did you know you were gay?\u201d Garza explained his take on postmodern art.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, to be postmodern, for me, is exploring stories that don’t necessarily fit the traditional canon of Western art, and it kind of uses humor and different images to invite the viewer into that conversation,\u201d Garza said.<\/p>\n

\"Hector<\/p>\n

Ivanna Bass Caldera<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

TPR<\/p>\n

Hector Garza next to his artwork titled \u201cCuando supiste que eras jochis?”<\/p>\n

Garza\u2019s friend, who is also an artist, Alejandra \u2018Mera Mera\u2019 Sanchez Alan\u00eds, went to the opening reception on April 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of these artists are my friends, and so it’s very personal to see my friends’ artistic intellect and interpretation on the wall,\u201d Sanchez Alan\u00eds said. \u201cAnd it’s an honor to see and to witness, because I know the body, mental, and spiritual work that goes into creating a work of art.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Centro de Artes Gallery is hosting an artist talk for this exhibition on August 6 from 6 to 8 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for\u00a0TPR Today, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-245259","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-san-antonio","9":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","10":"tag-san-antonio-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}