Villalobos has been creating large, colorful murals for almost 15 years, and a lot of her work can be found in Seattle. Villalobos invited The News Tribune to sit in and interview her as she worked on her latest mural at the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 367<\/a> in Tacoma on September 28, 2023..<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a little girl, Villalobos enjoyed drawing, but mostly stuck to drawing unicorns and rainbows, because that\u2019s \u201cwhat girls were supposed to draw,\u201d she said in a recent interview. She discovered comic books soon after and was inspired to draw the superheroes since she was never allowed to role-play as a superhero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I would try to play with everyone and do those role-playing games, I couldn\u2019t be any of the fun people. When we were little playing Ninja Turtles, I couldn\u2019t be a Ninja Turtle and had to be April O\u2019Neil, so I had to draw, and that would be my way of being able to be them. I would just draw them, and as I\u2019m drawing, my head just kind of goes into this fantasy,\u201d Villalobos said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once Villalobos was in middle school, she discovered hip-hop and graffiti, and that discovery led to an epiphany that would widen the scope of her art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She had discovered a space where she felt like she belonged for once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI found other people that were also black sheep in their communities and their backgrounds, and that didn\u2019t subscribe to the stereotypes that they were supposed to be,\u201d Villalobos said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villalobos has struggled with her self-identity for most of her life because of her upbringing. Although her dad was from Mexico and her mom was Mexican-American, Villalobos did not grow up feeling connected to her Mexican heritage because her grandparents forced her and her siblings to assimilate to American culture while under their care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe grew up with this weird generation gap of this family from the Depression era from Texas, and so they were like, \u2018we need to make sure that you guys assimilate into American culture, so since we didn\u2019t teach our kids Spanish, we won\u2019t teach you guys Spanish. We want you guys just to be Americanized\u2019,\u201d Villalobos said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not knowing Spanish and growing up in a predominantly Asian and Pacific Islander neighborhood made it difficult for Villalobos to find a space where she belonged. She says that, as a result, she always felt like the odd person out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villalobos only just recently connected with her Mexican heritage, but in doing so, realized that she had always been creating art that is associated with Mexican-American muralism. Mexican muralism began in the 1920s in Mexico, but the Chicano Mural movement<\/a> began in the 1960s when artists began using the walls of buildings to depict Mexican-American culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villalobos also struggled with self-doubt and low confidence because the graffiti industry is male-dominated and lacks representation of Mexican-American women muralists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor some reason, I didn\u2019t think that I belonged to that world, even though I do,\u201d Villalobos said. \u201cWhat I am doing is community work and community activism and representing things that I feel passionate about, but for some reason my brain was like, oh, that\u2019s over there and I\u2019m over here and these things are two different things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meaningful community impact is always at the forefront of Villalobos\u2019 mind when she creates a mural and when she helps educate artists in her own community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villalobos attributes her success as an artist to the supportive art community that she came from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause I grew up in Seattle, I went through so many organizations that helped me when I was younger, so when I came into my own, I would always go back and reciprocate,\u201d Villalobos said. \u201cSomebody said \u2018when you root yourself in community, the community will have your back\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villalobos has painted private murals for Meta (formerly Facebook) and for Microsoft. Each mural that she has made for private companies has been paired with community murals for the community to enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood art should be accessible to everybody,\u201d Villalobos said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villalobos is currently working on a private mural for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 367<\/a> in Tacoma. She collaborated with the UFCW 367 president, Michael Hines, to create a mural that is a combination of the union\u2019s logo and Villalobos\u2019 colorful style. It will feature portraits of four local union members that work at Macy\u2019s, Safeway and Fred Meyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She told the News Tribune that this mural is important to her because she understands the important role that unions play in workers\u2019 daily lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within her own family, Villalobos recalls her dad working as a field worker in Yakima because that was the only job he could obtain since he was undocumented. Villalobos said that she looks back on the days where she would visit her dad in the fields and thinks about how farm workers are getting paid close to nothing and are forced to live in poor conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you go to the city and you try to live, pay rent, and take care of your family, the only sustainable jobs are those union jobs,\u201d Villalobos said. \u201cMy husband\u2019s a plumber and we worked really hard to get him into the Union and now, thankfully, he\u2019s there. My cousin works for the electricians union, and he was able to buy a house and take care of his mom and I just think to myself, if we didn\u2019t have these things, how would we live? How would we survive? How would our families be safe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villalobos\u2019 mural is located in one of the union\u2019s office spaces that will be used to train members of the union. The mural is still in the process of being completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villalobos spray-painted a mural at Fort Steilacoom Park<\/a> in Lakewood in August. The mural was unveiled on September 10 during Mexam NW Festival\u2019s<\/a> Hispanic Heritage month celebrations at the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The vibrant mural has images of rabbits, deer, flowers and butterflies, and wraps around the entire restroom facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villalobos has painted 25 public murals throughout her career. The map below shows all of the locations to the murals.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA History With Art<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Struggling With Self-Identity<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Creating Art For The People<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Murals In Pierce County<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/image-1024x768.png\")
Tacoma<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Lakewood<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/waln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/03\/image.png\")
Map Of Other Locations<\/h6>\n\n\n\n