About John Jairo Valencia
As an artist and cultural worker, I am deeply moved by ancestral memory, the cosmos, and unwinding the colonial mind.
I am a firm believer in "la cultura cura," a term coined by the late Chicano artist José Montoya.
Creative work is essential to creating culture. I believe that through intentionally creating a loving culture, artists have the medicine to empower their communities through creating a symbolic roadmap of teachings that guide us in how to be in good relation with our world.
I was raised as a Xicanx/Colombian on unceded-Tongva-territory (Los Angeles), in both Boyle Heights (Apachiangna) and La Puente (Awingna). My family instilled in me the importance of knowing my history and roots (from the Chihuahuan Desert, Central Mexico, and the Colombian Andes). My politics and creative work are deeply informed by growing up with my family’s stories and the Chicano and Indigenous movements in my community.
My passion is deeply motivated by decolonization and a calling to awaken our collective ancestral-political-spiritual consciousness.
“I will tell you something about stories . . . They aren't just entertainment. Don't be fooled. They are all we have, you see, all we have to fight off illness and death.”
— Leslie Marmon Silko
I have been drawing since I was 2 years old, at least that is what I was told. Illustration is my primary medium, but poetry, dance, performance, and group facilitation are integral parts of my work.
I am an aspiring storyteller; stories weave us into the world of the infinite, our imagination, dreams, and spirit... for me that is where truth and our source of power and freedom lie.
In 2016, I received my BA from UC Berkeley’s college of Ethnic Studies with a focus on Native American Studies, Chicanx Studies, and Art Practice. After several years of community work, I have been inspired to continue graduate studies in Chicanx Studies from UC Santa Barbara to deepen my exploration as an artist-storyteller.
Xochipilli by John Jairo Valencia
At the Guardians of the Waters art exhibit at San Francisco State University, 2019.
“I will tell you how hungry my body is to know something beyond the colony. I am she who puts her face in the dirt, my bare knees slipping beneath me. I lay my belly down on the ground. The hard earth is a pillow for my cheek, but I do not rest. I make rite (right) with dirt and fingernail, stone and fire. I eat dirt like sacrament. I tell you, I am just that hungry for just one whole story that feels true to me.”
— Cherrie Moraga