Third Madison Latino culture conference fosters connection

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In a room full of fellow artists and culture lovers, visual artist Seso Marentes recounted a story about a school he visited in 2021. As the Chicano artist introduced himself to the students, he asked if they knew about his studio space, Mainframe. 

Mainframe is the largest nonprofit building for creative artists in the nation, located in Des Moines, Iowa. Nobody raised their hands, Marentes said.

“A lot of those middle school and high schoolers said, ‘Wait, he's Latino, and he's making art? We can do that?' That blew my mind,†he said. The experience stuck with Marentes. “Latinos don't even believe we can even make art in 2021. That hurt.â€

Marentes shared this story with attendees at the Wisconsin Conference on Latino Arts and Culture. The event, now in its third year, was hosted at Centro by Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development (LOUD), a nonprofit organization that supports Latino arts and culture in Wisconsin.

The conference brought together artists from across the Midwest in a variety of media. Poets, printmakers and photographers (including Cap Times contributor Patricio Crooker) gave presentations and talks across two days reflecting on their creative work.

The conference included a keynote speech from Dinorah Marquez, the director of the Latino Arts Strings Program and Mariachi Juvenil, a welcome from Ambassador Claudia Franco Hijuelos of the Mexico Consulate of Milwaukee and a brief visit from Gov. Tony Evers.

Evers stated it was a privilege to be among people “who craft and create art that … represents a culture that is central to who we are as a state.â€

Presenters touched on themes that propel their work and the motivations that drive them within their communities. To cap the event, the Omega School hosted the Latino Art Fair, which the conference took over from the Latino Chamber of Commerce.

Many artists left the conference with plans to collaborate on new projects. For organizer Oscar Mireles, founder of LOUD and former head of the Omega School until his retirement in 2024, that's the goal.

“It's the interaction, both in the workshop and after the workshop, that's the power,†Mireles said. “There are going to be more connections that weren't there three months ago, and they're all going to be organic.â€

Arts can ‘change this world'

Mireles noted that Latino communities, particularly in Wisconsin, are highly visible and invisible at the same time. Stories of immigration crackdowns and ICE raids dominate the news, but everyday stories of a community that makes up 25% of the Madison school district go untold, he noted.

“We were in a time of crisis, we're in a time of change, but I believe that it is the arts that's really going to change this world, and it's the artist and the creative types that are going to lead to change,†Mireles said.

Karen Menéndez Coller, executive director of Centro, affirmed the need for celebration in her opening remarks on Thursday. 

“We need to have art parties,†Coller said. “Yes, we need to have summits. Yes, we need to support the artists that are coming to Wisconsin to explore and ideate with those that are local, (and) we need to grow our own.â€

Many of the artists were local. Crooker showed breathtaking photos and videos of Jesuit missions in Bolivia. Dana Maya, a Madison-based poet and essayist, gave a presentation on writing odes as an expression of joy. Artists Jessica Gutierrez and Issis Macias discussed their process for curating a Latina-focused art show (a project Mireles approached them about).

That show, “Las Curanderas: From Ashes, We Rise,†will highlight the work of Latina artists across Wisconsin. The exhibition will be on display Sept. 15-Oct. 15 at Madison College's Gallery at Truax.

“Since the beginning … I had artist talks in Spanish and in English. My promotional materials were in Spanish and in English,†said Macias. “I feel with this exhibition, it's planted a seed in me — how can I use my studio practice, my role as an artist, to collaborate further with other Latina artists? How can we continue to uplift each other?â€

Some, like former Wausau poet laureate Tiffany Rodriguez-Lee, had participants create their own poems as she discussed how poetry helped her reclaim her Latinx identity.

Rodriguez-Lee talked about the early days of her MFA program and writing about diaspora when the “floodgates opened.â€

“All of a sudden, I'm on the phone weekly with my abuela, who still lives in Bayamón (Puerto Rico),†she said. “I'm talking to my dad, I'm reaching out to relatives. I'm learning so much that I already knew, but I didn't let myself say, ‘Yeah, that's mine.'â€

Many of the speakers are artists whom Mireles, himself a writer and a poet (he was the first Latino Poet Laureate for the City of Madison), met through travel or connections.

René Arceo is a Chicago-based printmaker who compiles portfolios of work by other printmakers, usually centered on a theme. One centered on José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican artist who popularized skull iconography.

Arceo was drawn to printmaking because it makes art accessible. “I want to be able to … make multiples so that I can reach more people instead of a single piece,†he said.

Arceo felt inspired by the intergenerational connections being made at the conference. He used to work in the Chicago Public Schools and noted that “a lot of the materials that I had to use for teaching didn't have anything that reflected the students.â€

He hopes more young people can look up to people like him and see that pursuing the creative arts is possible for them. For people like Marentes, the Iowa-based visual artist, that's about working with students on art projects and starting events like Bienvenido Des Moines, a celebration of Latino art that has expanded to include the entire state (Bienvenidos A Iowa).

“I've been in this field for about 40 years,†Arceo said, “and I'm always interested in going to different community centers, galleries, to be able to share what I know, what I do, and then hopefully impact in a positive way some of the younger generations.â€Â