Painter Julio Valdez on making art for the times we live in in the next episode of “Artistas in the Capital”
By hola | Published
Las Terrenas Abstraction VIII, 2019
Latin American countries have their own cultures – different kinds of music, dances, accents, art and history. However, they share an undeniable historical experience: colonialism. They have suffered from conquest, slavery and imperialism. Throughout the centuries, Latin American people have used art to express what they have been through. They have utilized the beauty and power of artistic expression to explore questions of identity, challenge prevailing narratives and advocate for social change.
“I think that art has to give a testimony of what’s happening at the time the art was made. I always say that art doesn’t happen in a vacuum, you know? It happens in a given time, in a given place, in a given set of circumstances,” says Julio Valdez.
Painter Julio Valdez
(photo by Samuel Morgan Photography)
Originally from the Dominican Republic, Valdez is a painter, printmaker, teacher and mixed installation artist who divides his time between Washington, D.C. and New York City. His award-winning art often – and sometimes stealthily – examines his Caribbean cultural heritage and takes on thorny contemporary questions. The clear blue water that defines all the islands of the Caribbean is a recurring motif. Valdez’s work also focuses on exploring Taíno mythology and the conception of the world they had before the encounter with European culture, such as los mitos de creación (the creation myth).
The fifth episode of “Artistas in the Capital” offers a glimpse into the life of Valdez as an artist, exploring the motivations and influences behind his creative work and a deeper understanding of his creative process. It also talks about how his art evolved during the pandemic leading to his series “I Can’t Breathe.”
Tune in tomorrow to get insight into the mind and heart of this talented artist and what drives his artistic expression.
About “Artistas in the Capital”
“Artistas in the Capital” is a monthly conversation with local artists, authors, dancers, entrepreneurs and researchers, ranging widely from the local community to the universality of art. Each episode sheds light on important topics and provides a platform for lifting up artists, writers and other D.C. Latino creatives.
The interviews were conducted by interns in Hola Cultura’s Storytelling Program for Experiential Learning (SPEL). SPEL is dedicated to bringing together D.C. high school and college interns with fellows and mentors for story lab sessions and workshops that prepare them for their futures through the production of accurate digital media published on the Hola Cultura website.
— Story by María Fernanda Gómez
— Edited by Yaretzi Chavez
Meet our “Artistas
in the Capital”
podcast team…
Laura Diaz
Driven by the desire to support initiatives and movements, and shed light on non-profit organizations through social media, Laura Diaz decided to pursue a path of communications focusing on social media aspects.
“I got really interested in social media and how big it has become in our lives,” says the Mexican American artist and social media specialist based in Orange County, California.
In college, Diaz first chose to study English but changed her major to journalism after taking a mass communication class and meeting a professor who showed a genuine interest in her and her work. He introduced her to “el Don News,” the student newspaper at Santa Ana College, where she got her degree.
At the student newspaper, she was most interested in social media and had the chance to start experimenting with the newspaper’s social media accounts. In 2021, she received an associate degree in journalism and later completed a digital marketing boot camp at the University of California, Irvine.
Shortly after graduating, Diaz started working on a local podcast called “Si Yo Fuera una Canción” (If I Were a Song). After it ended, she hopped on Indeed and started looking for a job that did not involve selling anything or working for a corporation. Diaz was interested in something “arts and humanities based,” similar to her previous position with the podcast. She says she wanted to be “helpful to the Latino community, or just like any community in need.”
In 2022, she encountered Hola Cultura and described finding the job as a “match made in heaven for me.”
Later on, Diaz was promoted to Communications Assistant at Hola Cultura with her main focus on the organization’s presence on social media platforms. She also helped run the weekly meetings of our SPEL program, ensuring the meetings ran smoothly. Diaz has contributed to the planning of speakers and SPEL activities and has also helped out in other areas such as, SPEL recruitment, as well as contributing to the team producing our latest podcast.
On the “Artistas in the Capital” podcast, Diaz has served as the show’s copywriter, and played an instrumental role in the podcast’s social media campaign. Last year, she even worked on the first two podcasts Hola Cultura has ever made – “The Climate Divide” and“Undocu-Life.”
“I just hope that Hola Cultura gets the recognition that it deserves,” she says, “and that future interns are aware and appreciate the opportunities that it gives them to make connections and learn more about journalism, and the professional world in general.”
As a fun fact, Diaz tells us that she is an avid collector of seal plushies and says she probably has more than 20 of them.
