Volando
Como Cuauhtémoc
Queria volar
como Cuauhtémoc
y ver la
tierra
con ojos
estranjeros.
Queria sentirme
como el viento
y tocar
el corazon del cielo
con brazos
estrechos.
Y aunque
el peso
the la verda
detenga
mis alas,
Sigo resignado
en El Norte
pa'lante
-Luis
Valderas 05.05.06
Limited
edition Steamrolled woodcut
***********now
available for purchase*******************
"Volando Como Cuauhtémoc" is a limited edition 8’ x 4’ woodcut
printed at the First Annual Steamroller Printing Event held by Stone Metal
Press in San Antonio, Tejas on Saturday May 6th, 2006. Given the time frame
and subject matter, I decided to record a journal-like entry of the process
documenting the event and in addition, including my personal commentary
of insights and observations during the making of the print.
I first found
out about the steamroller print when I ran into Jim Kane with Stone Metal
Press. They are currently renting gallery and work space from Joe Lopez
at Gallista Arts Complex. I think the story is that they are waiting for
their spot (now occupied by Say Sí of San Antonio) at the
Blue Star Arts Complex to open so that they can move in. So, it has been
rather interesting having them around Gallista. Jim Kane, their artistic
director, also rents a studio space from Joe and is my neighbor at Gallista.
When Jim asked me to participate, there were about 12 days till printing.
There was also a matter of sponsorship to be taken care of. This matter
got resolved a week later and I was ready to begin the layout and cutting
of the image.
One of the most pressing matters in current events is immigration and more
specifically HR4437. I feel that the American media has marginalized the
issue, not so much in coverage but more so in what they relate. The widespread
protests and marches have been reduced to pictures of the masses of Hispanics
and immigrants marching and the May 1st Boycott and multitudes of people
shouting and holding up signs out in our nation's streets, with little
or no attention given to the activists presenting their view. Instead,
we see the bias of corporate-sponsored talking heads on the news channels.
I was surfing through the tube the other day and landed on a CNN report
with some racist bigot talking trash about the protest marches all over
the country. This is some of what is being said: "Once again, the streets
of our country were taken over today by people who don't belong here."
… "America's cities once again were clogged with protesters…mobs of illegal
aliens." Nothing is implied; instead the racist xenophobia is ALL stated
very clearly with the talking head finally asking, "Where’s the immigration
service? Why don't they pull the buses up and start asking these people
to show their green cards? And the ones that don't have them, put them
on the buses and send them home."
All this coverage
amounts to manipulated sound bytes showing one polarized view of the issue,
with not enough attention paid to the truth. What is happening with immigration
in this country right now is nothing new. This xenophobia has reared its
ugly head before, resulting in the repatriation of more than a quarter
of a million Mexicans and Mexican Americans to Mexico during the 30's.
My mother’s family was affected by this mass deportation when they moved
from Chicago to Guanajuato in the early 30’s. I always thought of the move
she spoke of as rather extreme. She never said why this happened, just
that all of her older siblings were born in Chicago and she and her younger
ones were born in Mexico. Although never mentioned, a forced departure
can be assumed, since she does say that my welito was doing well,
working for a well known crane company in Chicago and my welita was working
at the Florsheim Shoe Factory. My welita would say that she was
told she worked well with her hands. She also attended classes and learned
to speak and write English.
The desperation
grew to a point where Mexicanos were blamed for the lack of jobs during
the Great Depression. Truth is, they were just scapegoated by the xenophobe
majority who believed in Manifest Destiny. It's a good thing that La
Raza never gives up. The abuses Mexican-Americans have endured for
dreams of a better future are well documented but quietly ignored by mainstream
America. From the building of the American railroad system in the early
1800's to the modern day construction site of the mass-produced American
Dream Home, the Mexican-American has labored and helped build the foundation
and infrastructure of El Norte. Author Juan Santos states the possible
results of HR4437 when he says, "Under such "compromises" millions of migrants
will be deported, their families split apart and uprooted. The "compromise"
approach endangers not only migrants, but all Brown people. It will open
the door to a new ethnic cleansing, one surpassing the ethnic cleansings
of Mexicans the US government carried out during the Great Depression when
350,000 Mexicans and Chicanos were deported, and during Operation Wetback,
when 1,300,000 of us were deported in the mid-1950s."-The
Hidden Terror of HR4437: No Compromise in the Movement for Migrants Rights,
2006
Clearly, the
immigration problem is a complicated one that will require a multifaceted
approach focusing on long term results. Steps taken towards the solution
will have to consider a global perspective of not only social factors,
but also economic factors that contribute to the dilemma. The preserving
of dignity of every human on this planet should be paramount when considering
the results of any possible solution. Instead, government and media propaganda
has manipulated the issues with the vilification and connection of La
Raza to post 9-11 border security fears. This only
leads to oversimplification of the problem. As is, the current solutions
do not make for favorable outcomes. This bombardment of government-controlled
media only serves as a divisive tool that allows for the dilemma to continue.
In addition one need only consider the one-sidedness of the border issue
with the recent announcement of the deployment of 6,000 National Guardsmen
to the southern border in the 30-minute Presidential commercial, aimed
at settling the fears of his right-wing manifest destiny conservative base.
If it’s a matter of national security, then why isn’t there equal deployment
of the National Guard on the northern border or in our nation’s ports where
there are all sorts of unknowns arriving on a daily basis? Why can’t anyone
say that the emperor is naked?
I thought
that a fitting piece during this time would be something to do with Cuauhtémoc,
the last of the Aztec Emperors. "who led the Aztec forces from A.D. 1520
to 1525 in a rebellion against the Spanish occupation of the city of Tenochtitlan.
A prince of the royal line, Cuauhtémoc confronted the Europeans
and their Mesoamerican allies, and was eventually isolated with his warriors
in the northern section of the city of Tlatelolco, then part of Tenochtitlan.
There they withstood a siege of 93 days before he and his family were taken
prisoner. Cortez is reported to have received him graciously because of
his brave stand, but eventually he was hanged by the Spaniards."-Encyclopedia
of Ancient Mesoamerica, pg.67. This siege is
the infamous last stand of the Aztecs where the majority of them died from
contracting Chicken Pox from the Spaniards. It is said that the Spaniards
sent blankets that had been used by their sick Meso American allies. How
is that for biological warfare used for extermination of a people? When
Cuauhtémoc was captured he was, "brought before the Captain, who
wished to make them talk (to find the Aztec gold). This is when Cuauhtémoc’s
feet were burned. They brought him in at day brake and tied him to a stake."
-The
Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, pg. 142.
This story is an example of both the tenacity and vulnerability of all
Meso American people that I wanted to relate in my print. One need only
examine the history of this area to understand that, then and now, the
ability to adapt to new systems is paramount to survival.
So, I began to
work on a sketch alluding to the famous Eagle Knight and bringing into
perspective a modern twist to Cuauhtémoc’s fight. This included
imagery of El Norte. The frontera wall in the current spotlight
is a coincidental parallelism that I wanted to explore. The wall is at
the center of the conflict in both stories in El Norte, so I included
a hint of the United States of La Muerte flag. Is the wall made
to keep in or out or both? There is also a cosmic duality occurring with
the eagle and the calavera in the print, a connection that reflects
other ancient Meso-America beliefs. Once I figured out my composition,
I translated it and transferred it onto a sheet of 3/4-inch premium grade
plywood. After the image was clear and all my adjustments were made, I
began to cut the plate.
When I work on a print, I consider the proportion of the image to my cutting
tools. I feel that woodcuts should have the distinct feel of the cutting
tool. My prints have always had the character of their printing method.
Thinking this way about my prints allows me to immerse myself into the
material. The finished woodcut has a bass relief sculptural feel, with
none of the cuts deeper than a quarter of an inch. Since there would be
a steamroller driving over the plate, the last thing I wanted to happen
was to see the plywood sheet flaking apart from the weight. As I cut the
plate, I used a leaf blower to remove the sawdust. Safety glasses are a
must, and I recommend using an industrial fan and pointing it directly
at the plate surface from behind. This prevents the nasty sawdust from
flying into your face. The last step in the cutting process is to carefully
sand down the burrs and any fuzzies that might dull the image. I had to
do this very carefully so that I wouldn't pick up a wood splinter. I finished
the carving and preparation by Thursday evening before the event and took
the plate to Gallista for the proofing on the next morning.
Friday was Cinco
de Mayo,(the celebration of a victory for the people of Mexico. The
Mexican Army "lead by Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin, a small,
poorly armed militia estimated at 4,500 men were able to stop and defeat
a well-outfitted French army of 6,500 soldiers, which stopped the invasion
of the country. The victory was a glorious moment for Mexican patriots,
which at the time helped to develop a needed sense of national unity, and
is the cause for the historical date's celebration."-MexicoOnline.com
) and Jim had arranged for a live feed with the local NBC affiliate, Channel
4-WOAI. The crew would be at the Blue Star Arts Complex parking lot at
10 am to air a live printing of a proof for the morning show "San
Antonio Living". Maclovio Perez, the weatherman, was the interviewer. The
weather had been bad for a few days before the event, as golf-ball sized
hail had fallen on the northwest side of town and flash flooding had wrecked
havoc on the rest of San Antonio. Since I had been cutting the plate outside,
this had been a problem. The morning of Cinco de Mayo was cool and
wet, as there was also a good chance of rain. It had rained the night before,
and we had to find a flat dry spot on the Blue Star parking lot and get
it ready for the proof before the TV crew showed up.
We continued
to make preparations and while the TV crew set up for the live shot we
spoke with Maclovio and told him what we were about to do with the woodcut
and the steamroller. As it turns out, Maclovio Perez is originally from
McAllen. So, he and I talked about the valley and discovered that he is
married to the sister of one of my neighbors in La Paloma (the neighborhood
in which I grew up). My father knew all of Maclovio’s familia. They owned
La Tiendita Perez on 16th Street and Ithaca. When I was a kid, we
used to stop there on the way home from school and play Pac-Man. My mother
also sent us to buy wevos or tortillas "aca Perez".
Maclovio’s father, Maco Perez, was one of my father’s good friends. Sounds
funny but every time I run into someone from McAllen, I know his or her
familia or we end up knowing someone in common. Running into raza
from El Valle is gratifying. They are always working on something.
Maclovio has been gone longer than I have; he left the Valley in ’76; I’ve
only been here since ’99. Still, there is always a brand of camaraderie
and nostalgia that occurs with gente from El Valle. Los
del Valle that left for El Norte have done so in search of higher
education, better pay, or career advancements. It seems we end up carrying
the myth of la frontera wherever we go. The search for a better
way is prevalent. It inspired me to write the poem that accompanies this
print. But no matter how many times I go back to visit, it’s never
the same. "Thomas Wolf was right, you can never go home." -Classic
Peanuts, C. Schultz 1/7/01 . That doesn’t stop me
from carrying El Valle with me.
The proof,
on fire resistant fabric, was almost not going to happen live, because
there was a technical difficulty with the steamroller key. It broke in
the keyhole and we had no other way of turning on the darn thing. Luckily,
the construction equipment rental company sent a technician to fix our
problem with but a few minutes to spare. While the key problem was being
taken care of, we grabbed a pair of unsuspecting tourists from Georgia
and did a conga-like dance over the plate in lieu of the steamroller. This
was the strangest thing since it was the first time these tourists had
ever been to San Antonio. I can only imagine the stories they will tell
in Georgia. If you hear about that one, you know where it happened. Before
rolling over the plate with the steamroller, I hand-burnished the proof.
Once fixed, the steamroller made for a more even proof when we pulled it
live. I was happy with the resulting proof and looked forward to the next
day of printing.
The morning
of May 6th was stormy. Already there had been hail in Boerne and bad weather
was on its way by printing time. Still not to be deterred, we continued
to prepare. I went over to Gallista to pick up the woodcut. Dwane Johnson
was cutting paper for the prints. He had come from Austin and was going
to help Stone Metal Press. There were four other artists that were going
to print and each one was going to make five prints and a proof that day.
By 10 a.m. there were a number of volunteers working on preparations for
printing. The duties were assigned and they quickly worked on sweeping
the printing area, laying down the thick plastic for registration of the
piece and aligning the steamroller on the printing area. Also, since it
had rained the night before, there was mud outside of the pavement that
we had to avoid during alignment and printing, so the process was slow.
I was supposed to meet Paul Karam who had been working on his woodcut at
his place. Paul and I have worked together on other projects before, so
we agreed to work together on printing our pieces. Although the morning
was cool and wet, we were concerned about the heat, especially as the day
progressed. It could make the ink dry up too fast on the plate and not
transfer properly. So, we prepared the oil-based ink with burnt plate oil
added to prevent it from drying too fast. Still, the plates had to be inked
quickly and then moved into place in order to be printed. There was a team
that kept their hands clean of ink to handle the paper and a team that
took care of placing the print in the drying room provided by the Blue
Star Brewery. Once Paul and I inked and placed the first plate, we worked
on the next plate. This method allowed for quick inking and reviewing of
the plate for printing. We continued this way until we printed our entire
edition.
While we set
Paul’s plate down in place to be printed, the steamroller key broke again!
We had already started inking my plate and we needed to keep the rhythm
and pace going. With no time to waste, we resorted to doing another "people
print." We gathered all the volunteers possible and once did a conga
dance on the plate. The conga line snaked around on the plate for a good
five minutes. This was the first print pulled from Paul’s plate and a photo
of the print being pulled made it onto an article about the event on the
Sunday San Antonio Express-News. Meanwhile, there was someone started the
steamroller and we kept it going while the rental company technician showed
up again to fix our problem. By this time the event had attracted a fair
amount of spectators and media.
All in all, it
was a very interactive event. Onlookers were able to walk around the action,
talk to the artists and ask questions, and even get involved in the production
of some amazing art. Printing in this large scale is an undertaking that
requires several teams of people and a large area for prepping, printing
and storing. It is the first time that a Steamroller Printing Event has
been held in San Antonio. The public will have to wait until April 2007
Printmaking Month for the chance to witness and even participate in one,
but an event like this one is definitely worth the wait.
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