Mission Statement
“The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.”- Mikhail Bakunin
Okay, so when I was 13 or 14, I went through a period wherein I decided I was an anarchist. Mortifying as it is to admit that in public…it still beats listening to One Direction, or being a Belieber. At least I always read good books.
I was thinking of that quote because last night I attended an opening at El Museo del Barrio (see the photo below), and the whole evening was very emotional and profound for me, as a Latina, and an entrepreneur. To walk the halls of a museum created in 1973 by a Latino who, not finding what he needed in the world as it was at the time, decided to create a museum, celebrating Latino art…that still boggles my mind. This is 1973 we’re talking about: the dark ages. I’m sure the idea of a museum devoted to Latino art (seemingly, to many, a contradiction in terms) was revolutionary. And yet, artist and educator Raphael Montañez Ortiz, that Latino artists and culture needed and deserved a museum (www.elmuseo.org.).
I can barely even explain how moving it was to walk the halls of this museum, to see it crowded with people enjoying the party, the art, and yes the open bar. It was a rainy, disgusting night and yet the museum was filled. Sure, probably a lot of that had to do with the fact that it’s been a hard winter and people need emotional contact. But people also need art. Art is a talisman we use to ward off the constant battle of the crap that mainstream society shoves down our throats.
Society seemingly constantly tells us that our dreams are stupid, that our values are wrong, that we’re wrong and yet last night was proof (again) that commitment to your dreams is truly the only option. Because then your dreams become your reality. I was very proud, last night, to be a Latina, an entrepreneur and a human. I hope you all build your own museums.
