Maite Nazario’s art is a cry that comes from the same heart as that of immigrants, from the least heard, from the ignored and neglected. It is a sentiment that she expresses in each of her pieces. One of them, ‘Double Identidad,’ was even a finalist in a recent contest sponsored by the Latin American Association, titled ‘Portraying the Undocumented Experience.’
At first glance, it might not be obvious that Nazario, just 16 years old, carries a battle inside of her. But she does fight – and she fights hard – through her canvas, paint brush and the trenches of her own ideas.
Nazario’s prize-winning artwork is evidence of her passion. “It took me a week to paint it. I actually made it in 2015, but my professor, Mrs. Sammatoro, and I thought that we could show it,” said Nazario, a student at Chattahoochee High School, in reference to her creative process.
Charcoal, acrylic paint, adhesive tape, markers and even fire, used to burn the painting’s edges, were the different elements Nazario utilized to create her artwork.
For the young student, however, the significance of the piece is its most important quality. “I evaluated my map of ideas, and I got to thinking about the spiritual aspect. In how society looks at you when you’re an immigrant, and how you look at yourself. In how Latino society also has its standards, in addition to the standards that are here. I thought about the difference between the two and how we must adapt without losing our identity,” explained Nazario, who will graduate high school later this year.
Without a doubt, art has served as a refuge for Nazario, whose mother is Guatemalan and father is Puerto Rican. The young artist, who hopes to be an activist and muralist in the near future, explained how art has been a place where she can find herself, despite the changes and moving experiences she has lived with her family, and how painting offers her the opportunity to express passion, indignation and many other sentiments that surface when Nazario grabs a paint brush or pencil.
“Art helps me find who I am. Because I came to understand that I have to find myself, regardless of my cultures,” said Nazario, who aspires to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
This is one of her goals, but Nazario continues to forge her future, brush-stroke by brush-stroke and line by line. She spends more than 42 hours a week creating art in her workshop.
In the next five years, Nazario sees herself continuing to create artwork through which she can express her ideas and her roots.
“Of course I have experienced discrimination and unnecessary comments, but being Latino and an immigrant gives you a unique perspective in life that not everybody has.”
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