I’ve always thought of cemeteries as quiet, grey, and sad… clearly I’ve been looking at them in completely the wrong light! This is the vibrant work of Mexican born, Texas raised artist Beatriz Guzman Velasquez. So colorful, so beautiful… truly a celebration of life! Now, I thought that’s what this work was about, but after reading her statement I’ve realized that they are actually a commentary on, as she calls it, her “border culture”:

“The cemeteries I have decided to focus on, from 2009 to the present day, have been identified as “Mexican” by the people of the Rio Grande Valley.  Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, Anahuac, Havana and La Puerta cemeteries have in common structures and color schemes.   Space plays a great role in this identification since they do not follow the minimalistic and monochromatic structures of American cemeteries.  I have omitted to portray the tombs that glorify the honorable and rich.  My paintings are about my people, the poor and alienated, who break constrictions at the time of building their last testament in life, their tombs.   Here, I portray my identity, shaped by transculturation, still present even in death and not contained by borders.”