Artist Nao Bustamente's new show at the Vincent Price Art Museum at East L.A. College uses video, archival photos and the first-hand memories of a 127-year-old war veteran to explore the overlooked role of women in the Mexican Revolution.
Bustamente calls it Soldadera, in honor of the Spanish term for a female soldier.
"They were a huge part of this revolution," said Bustamente, during a recent tour of the exhibition. "They did everything that the men did, but they also cared for the men, they took care of their children, they fed them, they cared for the wounded, they buried the dead."
While conducting research, Bustamente noticed that women were often missing from narratives of the war. The show seeks to reimagine those lives, she said, and to draw attention to the multi-faceted roles that they played.
"They were essentially supply lines – and they also fought," she said.
Bustamente will be taking part in several live events as part of the show, including a tour on Friday, May 22 (details below). The show runs through August 1.
WHAT: Walkthrough with Nao Bustamente and curator Jennifer Doyle
WHEN: Friday, May 22, 12 p.m.
WHERE: Vincent Price Art Museum, East L.A. College; 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez
Monterey Park, CA 91754-6099
More info on this and other upcoming events for Soldadera here.
More info about Bustamente's work: http://www.naobustamante.com/