Published: March 11, 2022 By

Andrea Fautheree M谩rquez (Art,IntlAf鈥16; MATLAS鈥21) grew up in Pagosa Springs hearing stories about the racism her family faced in Colorado and her mother and grandmother's roles as activists in the Chicano Movement. But it wasn't until grad school that she was motivated to explore the intricacies of her Chicana identity.聽

Andrea Fautheree M谩rquezM谩rquez鈥檚 interest in raising awareness about the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s culminated in the completion of her master's thesis project, 鈥淐hicana Light.鈥 The multimedia display is a deeply personal yet historically rich narrative of the Chicano experience through the lens of a biracial Chicana.聽

鈥淢y family, especially my mother, was deeply involved in the Chicano movement. So this whole project started out as a love letter to them,鈥 said M谩rquez. The 28-year-old earned her master鈥檚 degree in creative technologies and design from CU鈥檚 ATLAS Institute in December.

At least nine generations of M谩rquez鈥檚 family have roots in southern Colorado鈥檚 San Luis Valley, including her maternal grandparents. Participants in the Chicano Movement 鈥 many of whom self-identified as Chicano or Chicana, a person who embodies elements of Indigenous, ethnic and cultural hybridity鈥 advocated for social and politicalempowerment after enduring decadesof racism and discrimination in the American Southwest.

鈥淸My family] has Spanish conquistador blood and Native American blood,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he Spanish came and conquered the Natives and some of my ancestors were Native. And then, of course, there was a second round of colonization, when white settlers moved in and took this land with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 鈥攚hich signaled the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848. So, as Chicanos, we've been both the conqueror and the conquered.鈥澛

Andrea Fautheree M谩rquezM谩rquez was inspired to explore these complexities after a year of living in Spain 鈥 where she had the eye-opening experience of connecting to her Spanish roots even though she isn't 鈥渇ully Spanish鈥 鈥 and watching Symbols of Resistance. The 2016 documentary focuses on events of the Chicano Movement that took place in Colorado, including the 1974 killing of Los Seis de Boulder鈥 six Chicano student activists 鈥 and the boycott of Adolph Coors Company to protest the beermaker鈥檚 treatment of Mexican American workers. The film pushed her to spotlight Colorado鈥檚 Chicano Movement activists in her thesis project 鈥 activists who are lesser known than El Movimento icons in California and New Mexico like Cesar Chavezand Reises Tijerina, respectively, but equally impactful.

In 鈥淐hicana Light,鈥 M谩rquez uses projection mapping to display three different videos 鈥 framed by nearly 150 Coors cans 鈥 featuring generational footage of her family dating from the 1900s to modern day. The footage includes images of M谩rquez鈥檚 grandparents in the San Luis Valley, her mother as a student activist at Adams State University in Alamosa and her as a child.聽

When her project was selected to be displayed in the 鈥淰oces Vivas鈥 exhibit at the Museum of Boulder, its focus evolved from raising awareness about the existence of Chicanos and Chicanas in Colorado to a more meaningful, multilayered message tying together her personal narrative and broader political themes. In the year-long exhibit highlighting Latino community stories from the past and present, M谩rquezhopes 鈥淐hicana Light鈥 educates viewers about the history and culture of her people 鈥 and pushes them to better understand and explore their own complicated and intersectional identities.

鈥淚 think that people should not be frightened by that,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t's always worth knowing where you came from.鈥

will be on display at the Museum of Boulder until February 2023.聽

multimedia display from master's thesis "Chicana Light"
multimedia display from master's thesis "Chicana Light"
Andrea Fautheree M谩rquez
multimedia display from master's thesis "Chicana Light"

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Photos courtesy Andrea Fautheree M谩rquez