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Xochitl Nevel Guerrero

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Xochitl Nevel Guerrero (born 1954) is a Chicana visual and public artist. She is known for her murals, masks and tile art.[1]

Biography

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Nevel Guerrero was born in 1954 in Berkeley, California, but was raised in Oakland.[2] She was the youngest child in her family of six children.[2] Her father, Raymundo “Zala” Nevel, came to the United States from Mexico City as part of the Bracero Program and settled in West Oakland, where he met Nevel Guerrero’s mother.[2][3] He was also a muralist, and it is because of him that Nevel Guerrero became fascinated by art.[2]

Nevel-Guerrero joined baile folklórico and learned to play the flute because of her parents' love for music and dancing.[2] Since her father was active in the social movements of the time, she became involved as well.[2] She joined a theater group called El Teatro Triste, where she performed skits that had political or social critiques.[2]

At Laney College, she joined a theater group called El Teatro Calcetin, where she continued to represent and be involved in the community while making statements about current events.[2][4] Nevel Guerrero became part of the Mujeres Muralistas where she connected culture, environment, and gender into her art.[2]

After Laney College, she transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, dropping out after a year.[4] She took a gap year and enrolled at Cal State East Bay (formerly known as CSU Hayward), where she earned a bachelor's degree.[2][4]

Works

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Latino America

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Latino America was a mural project coordinated by the Mujeres Muralistas in 1974.[2] Together with artists Ester Hernández and others, Nevel Guerrero completed this mural on the Mission Model Cities building in San Francisco, California.[2] She painted much of the maize. Her dreams of a corn goddess inspire her to include corn in many of her works.[2]

La Clínica de la Raza Mural

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In 1977, Nevel Guerrero and her father painted this mural at the Clínica de la Raza in East Oakland, California.[3][5] It depicts indigenous peoples and symbols as well as Mexican cultural elements, such as the Virgin of Guadalupe and a curandera healing a man laying face down.[5]

Youth of the World, Let's Create a Better World

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This mural was painted by Xochitl Nevel Guerrero and Crystal Nevel, along with the PLACA group, in 1984.[2] A young man is holding the world in his arms with others around him.[2] Those surrounding him are expressing themselves creatively through painting, breakdancing, and more.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Pickman, Heidi (2015-03-26). "Xochitl Guerrero, Taller Xochicura". CAMEO. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Xochitl Nevel-Guerrero Oral History". SFMOMA. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  3. ^ a b Payton, Brenda (2009-10-04). "Murals: A colorful journey through Oakland". SFGATE. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  4. ^ a b c OPL, Friends of the (2023-05-22). "Interview with Xochitl Guerrero". Friends of the OPL. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  5. ^ a b greenkozi (2020-02-14). "La Clinica de la Raza - Oakland Murals". Retrieved 2023-11-26.

Further reading

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  • HOMBRES Y MUJERES MURALISTAS ON A MISSION: PAINTING LATINO IDENTITIES IN 1970S SAN FRANCISCO by Cary Cordova