Through creative work, I have learned to embrace the lessons life has given me thus far. Love, grief, rage, and happiness—I internalize them all. Surprisingly, it all comes out well. Life struggles and triumphs, and my Chapina roots have definitely shaped my art. As I mature, my photography and writing more clearly focus on the human condition. To document the lives of others, I love to travel everywhere, but above all, I enjoy visiting America Latina. I take photographs of every thing and every one, but no matter who or what I capture with my lens, whether it is a picture of a landscape or a flower or even a male, my female gaze is always there, like a duende. Many have said my art is rooted in female empowerment themes. I don’t do it deliberately. Some have asked if I consider myself a feminist artist. The response is always the same: I let my art speak for itself. My creative spirit does not intend to categorize my expressions in any way. I am who I am, and I simply think and act like a human being with her own legacy and history to honor—Chapina/Latina is what I have become and embrace.
Excerpt from Hernández, Claudia. 2013. “A Latina/Chapina Artist Speaks Through Poetry and Photography.”
Journal of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social 13(1): 12-23.
