I am a first-generation Mexican-American college-going artist. I live on a farm and have always been around large machinery. It influences my art and my life. I am also influenced by the urban mechanical landscape of Juárez, where I spent all my time outside of school as a kid. The first thing I ever did when I had a pencil and paper was draw a pterodactyl. I’ve been hooked since. I create intricate linoleum prints, a skill I picked up during a printmaking class at EPCC.
Fiction by Brontë Procell
People love a good rags-to-riches story. What they fail to realize is what goes up must come down. So, it stands to reason that if you never rise, you never fall. Lázaro, heavily weathered and sun damaged, was entirely aware and accepting that there were no riches in his story.
He carried what little he had on his shoulders, his family, his work. It was all that mattered to him. He worked hard in the fields for little money, tending to his sheep, and harvesting corn to sell at the local market and sunflowers to produce oil and seeds. That is not to say he would not welcome some riches, because it would always be nice to buy new tires for his tractor or afford a nice pair of boots. It had been years since he had bought a saddle for his horse, who, in many ways, was his best friend. But as always, as long as his crops brought in enough to put more than maíz on the table, everyone was happy.
Lázaro, a widower several years now, lived with his sickly mother, Doña Esperanza, whom he kept covered in a shroud ready for her burial. Doña Esperanza, gaunt and frail, very close to death, prayed to el Sagrado Corazón every night for her son, for, like any other man, Lázaro had his demons. He carried his mighty pistola for protection, he said, but he lived in a community of peace and kindness.
Of course, there is more to happiness than good food, something Lázaro discovered early in life. With very little money to go around for frivolities and entertainment, Lázaro found he could spark enough enjoyment through his humble relationship with music. Lázaro’s grandfather gifted him a tiny guitar early on when Lázaro began to feel down on his lifestyle and social position. But as he learned to pick his way through troubles, Lázaro realized he was no less than anybody else. Not only did he find joy and validation through his carefree strumming, but he incited joy in others. And with joy, he could even be superior to the rich who will inevitably fall.
Surrounded by happiness, Lázaro sat down to his corn tortillas and smiled as the strings of his guitar resonated with his voice.
Brontë Procell is an artist born and raised in the desert Southwest who, through photography, explores themes that are personal to her. She is currently working towards her BFA in Studio Art at New Mexico State University with a focus in photography. While she devotes much of her time to photography, she enjoys exploring other mediums and crafts, such as metals, sewing and drawing. Writing has always been an important part of her life, having been published for the first time at the age of four. She finds writing to be an outlet for life and creativity.
