Richland College professor provokes with art project

by Marisa Treviño of Latina Lista

December may be the month for Christmas but for many North Texas Latinos of Mexican descent there exists an equally celebrated day, the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12.

There’s no argument that the Virgin of Guadalupe is the most instantly recognizable figure from south of the border. She rivals Frida Kahlo as a Mexican icon. She has infiltrated American pop culture, as well as, serving as the dominant religious figure for most U.S. Latinos of Mexican descent.

So it stands to reason that not everyone sees the Virgin the same way — and that’s exactly what Richland Community College Adjunct Professor Carlos Rovelo was striving for in a unique class assignment for his students.

Rovelo, a native of El Salvador who is in his second semester of teaching Mexican-American/Latino studies, organized the recent student art installation “100 Faces of the Virgin of Guadalupe.”

The installation was only for one day at the community college but because of all the buzz it generated Rovelo plans to post the entire exhibit online in the near future.

Reflecting on the 100 different presentations of the Virgin created by his students, Rovelo took pride that they were able to grasp the objective of the project which was not to see the Virgin as a religious entity but as a cultural and feminine symbol and how her image has been acculturated in today’s society on this side of the border.

It was no small feat conveying that to his students who were of different religious persuasions from Evangelicals and Muslims to Roman Catholics.

Rovelo explained that the overall goal of the project was a way to introduce the students to critical thinking. What he didn’t count on was the criticism he received from some of his colleagues.

Opting to post the exhibit in the middle of the campus where foot traffic was heaviest instead of in a safe space like the school’s art gallery, Rovelo admits to wanting to shock students as a way to stimulate their intellectual growth.

Images of the Virgin in a mini skirt, holding a Green Card, and crossing the border are just a few of the examples that startled people who are more accustomed to seeing the Virgin in a more revered state.

“Art is supposed to provoke,” Rovelo said. “If it doesn’t, then it’s just decoration.”