De Aquí y de Allá by Hector Garza

Hector Garza is an artist and art educator in San Antonio. His work draws inspiration from Japanese manga blended with Mexican imagery, allowing him to reimagine the intersection of Mexican traditions and contemporary American pop culture.

Hector Garza (b. 1981) came to the United States from Mexico when he was 3 years old. This piece expresses how he has navigated living in the “between space” of being both from Mexico and an American citizen. His work turns around the traditional saying, “No Soy De Aquí, Ni Soy De Allá” (I'm not from here or from there) to say “De Aquí y De Allá” (I am from here and from there).

This work was originally shown as part of an exhibition at the Centro Cultural Aztlan gallery in San Antonio as part of their 2023 Segundo de Febrero exhibit commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2nd. For the annual exhibit, Mexican American artists in San Antonio create artworks that express what the Treaty means to them. The exhibit is devoted to exploring the impact of the Treaty, new borders, and their effects on Latino, Chicano, and Indigenous history and culture.