A new exhibit at Market Square's Centro de Artes Gallery is a fusion between south Texas culture and Mexican culture. There are different exhibits on two distinct floors of the gallery.
The first floor is devoted to an update to the Mexican board game Lotería—with a twist — by Mike Alfaro & Gerardo Guillén.
Krystal Jones is with the Department of Arts and Culture.
“It really looks like a Latinx experience through a parody of the tradition of Lotería," said Jones. "You have cards like El Sol, which becomes El Global Warming and Millennial Lotería,” she continued. “You also have El Brunch, and El Student Loan Debt, just things that really blend pop culture and things that people are dealing with all around our country, into a fun way to take a traditional Loteria, a game, and make it into those discussions about what we're dealing with today. “
The exhibit features about 270 different tongue-in-cheek Lotería representations. The second-floor exhibit is quite different, and the work of artist Efedefroy.
“And this is his very first exhibit in the United States, and it is called Permanencia Volunteria. It really looks at pop art and blends pop art and Mexican culture with US culture,” she said.
Epic in scale, the pieces meld American pop culture icons into imagery as seen through across-the-border eyes. The combination of Star Wars or Wizard of Oz with Mexican culture makes for an interesting melding of cultures.
“And that's what's been really great about the Centro de Artes Gallery—is to bring those stories to the forefront so that we can learn more about each other and also the world around us,” Jones said.
Both exhibits are up until June 30. You can see them for free Wednesday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and then Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5.
