SAN ANTONIO — The month-long celebration of Hispanic heritage begins Friday, but the University of Texas - San Antonio started its celebration early with an artistic way to commemorate the many colors and canvases of the culture.
The free painting event organized by Roadrunner Productions may have offered the same paint brushes to all students, but each person created unique pieces of art.
“When she was picking her colors, they were very like browns and greens and yellows. When I was picking mine, they were pinks, reds. Everyone has their own taste," said Chloe Delarosa, a student at UTSA.
The event only had one stipulation to participate: paint your culture.
“I’m sort of making it up as I go, but I’m also trying to do colors that I’ve seen a lot in Mexico. When I go visit, there are beautiful buildings and sunsets. Mexico is full of color," Anna Ramirez said.
These Picassos in the making will have their work displayed around campus, but the purpose of the group paint means much more than bragging rights.
"I would paint people dancing. My mom was a folklore dancer. She taught me everything she knew," Kaitlyn Torres said.
UTSA's monthlong celebration of Hispanic heritage will offer workshops, lectures and activities that showcase the contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities. Today's event was like a warmup for those creative juices.
"I am Latina. I come from Hispanic culture and pride myself in that, and to have an event that showcases their art and where they came from is very important to highlight students from different ethnics backgrounds," Torres said.
One thing to remember is that art is in the eye of the beholder.
"Not everyone is going to see the mountains of Mexico when I paint this, but I know I will. Some people may see sunsets or just a bunch of colorful mountains, but it’s really nice that people will be able to see this and have their own stance," Ramirez said.
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