NEWS
RELEASE
Kid Grows Up to Tell Stories of His Childhood Heroes, Becomes Top Chicano Artist
Date of Release: March 15, 2006
(Tucson, AZ) Arizona State Museum is continuing the celebration of its newest exhibition Masks of Mexico: Santos, Diablos y Más, with three programs highlighting Lucha Libre’s (masked Mexican wrestling) role in Mexican history and popular culture.
THREE programs featuring Texas-based artist and author Xavier Garza are scheduled for April 7 and 8:
MASKED MARVELS - LAS SUPER LUCHAS, FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 7 P.M.
an illustrated lecture by Xavier Garza, artist and author, from San Antonio, Texas
From the moment that a young man first donned a black hood and called himself the Masked Marvel people have been drawn to the allure of Lucha Libre, Mexico’s masked wrestling. Learn of its humble beginnings and why it has come to be regarded as "poor man’s theater" - an art form that embodies contemporary social, cultural and political issues. Garza will read from his book Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask. Join us for a post-lecture booksigning and a viewing of Garza’s own paintings of luchadores (wrestlers).
The lecture is free and takes place at the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL) auditorium, just one building east of Arizona State Museum north, at 7 p.m. Enjoy a reception following the lecture at ASM and a special viewing of…
MASKED MARVELS - LAS SUPER LUCHAS
an exhibit by Xavier Garza at Arizona State Museum, April 7 - August 20, 2006
Born and raised in Rio Grande Valley, Xavier Garza grew up loving the legends of Lucha Libre. He decided to create Las Super Luchas as a means of paying tribute to the heroes of his youth. Masked Marvels - Las Super Luchas honors the masked men and women who, by donning disguises and in essence leading a double life, immortalized the sport of Lucha Libre. Twenty paintings and drawings will be on display commemorating major events in Lucha Libre history. The works also pay tribute to the various wrestling maneuvers and specialty matches whose name have been immortalized because of their deadliness (and silliness): La de a Caballo (The Rocking Horse), the Gory Special and El Tope Atomico (Atomic Headbutt), hair vs. hair matches, and the deadliest match of all for a masked luchador - a mask vs. mask match.
Plus, Garza will be on hand Saturday, April 8 for a family-oriented public program…
CULTURE CRAFT SATURDAY: LUCHADORES LIVE!, SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 1-4 P.M.
Get ringside seats to cheer on luchadores direct from Nogales, Mexico. Join Xavier Garza for a lively reading of his book about Lucha Libre and make your own luchador cartoon and mask. See films of Lucha Libre. Plus, shop for deeply discounted books at our Very Nearly Annual Benefit Booksale.
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Xavier Garza's art - whether painting, illustration, or writing - is deeply rooted in his upbringing.
"From the flour tortillas filled with rice and beans that I ate as a boy to the songs by Pedro Infante that my grandmother sang to me as she rocked me to sleep, I paint what I know and have experienced in my life. Going to Mexican wrestling in Reynosa and having a firm belief in God while enduring the tedious rituals of being a Roman Catholic, by birth if not practice, are all elements that make up the images and inspirations for all of my work as an artist."
Garza has exhibited his work in various venues throughout Texas. He also works with many Texas-based art organizations such as Talento Bilingüe de Houston, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Nuestra Palabra de Houston, Mexican consulate offices, Gallista Gallery, and The Ice House in Dallas, to name just a few.
Garza and his Masked Marvels collection were featured in the book Contemporary Chicana/Chicano Art: Works, Culture and Education produced by the University of Arizona. The book chronicled 200 of the top, as well as up-and-coming, Chicano artists in the country.
Garza's stories (as well as his illustrations) have been featured in such magazines and newspapers as El Mañana, The Monitor, TABE, The Mesquite Review, The Corpus Christi Caller Times, and The Milwaukee Spanish Journal. He has been included in the anthologies Aztlanahuac Project: Cantos al Sexto Sol (Wings Press, 2002), Penn English: Chicano Writings (Penn State, 2001) and is scheduled for inclusion in the forthcoming anthology Once Upon a Cuento being published by Curbstone Press. Garza is author of three books, Jesus Wore a Zoot Suit: The Divine Barrio Apparition, Creepy Creatures and Other Cucuys, and Mexican Wrestling.
Contact Xavier Garza
