I hated visiting my grandma’s house. My cousins and I spent almost every summer visiting our grandma’s house in the ghost town known as Dr. Coss, Nuevo León, Mexico – population of less than 1000 people. I didn’t dislike the town, but I hated having to stay inside all the time. Because the presence of the cartel meant my cousins and I weren’t allowed outside the house without an adult. This, combined with the fact that there was no internet, meant there wasn’t much to entertain ourselves with other than playing Lotería or fidgeting with the TV's antennas in hopes of catching a signal to watch outdated cartoons. Despite Dr. Coss having extremely few people and scarce methods to entertain me and my cousins, I was in love with the town. Its artistic side, at least. Each home was painted with bright colors that were rare to see in the United States; my grandma’s house resembled a tangerine, and the house next to us looked like a lime. The central town’s plaza walls were usually painted with murals in memory of deceased residents or famous artists like Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The visual art of the ghost town raised my spirits and inspired me to indulge in visual art. There weren’t any sketchbooks for sale for me to use in the town, so instead my creativity was confined to notepads my parents used for groceries and taxes. From then on, I complained much less about not being able to go outside, as all the entertainment I needed was right in front of me. With this newfound passion for creating art, I felt much more entertained in my ghost town. I would draw the world around me and forge scenarios that would make the town seem more appealing than it was. I imagined characters that would solve the mystery behind why people in Dr. Coss kept going missing. I would imagine that La Llorona was the true reason behind all the local disappearances. I imagined Dr. Coss, the doctor the town was named after, had buried secret treasure beneath the town’s roads. I envisioned a portal opening according to the Mayan calendar, swallowing people into alternate dimensions. All these scenarios I sketched out with my fictional characters not only offered me a source of entertainment, but they protected me from the terrifying reality behind why the town was so silent. Even after I would come home from my visits to Dr. Coss, my mind was still rampant with plotlines and ideas. My experience in the town sparked my passion for visual storytelling, catalyzing me to continue to create stories even when we stopped visiting due to the increase in the cartel’s control over the town. I want to pursue an education in the digital arts in hopes that one day I will be able to keep the memory of my town alive and offer representation for other Latinos who have been in proximity to the horrors of the cartel. The cartel has taken my town away from me and terrorized my family for generations, forcing them to choose between abandoning their property or living in fear of their children being stolen if they stay. My art form keeps Dr. Coss’s memory alive, even if its memory is a tragedy, and I hope one day to share my stories of it with the world.

Hello, my name is Alessandra Garza, and I am a rising senior at Pearland High School in Pearland, Texas. I have always wanted to be an animator. Growing up, I spent hours drawing my favorite characters and creating stories of my own. As I got older, my love for drawing turned into a passion for storytelling and character design. That is what stood out to me about Phillip’s art gallery; I could see his passion for drawing through bringing his favorite characters to life with his talent for character design. Being Mexican-American, I often incorporate elements of Hispanic culture into my art as I felt there was a lack of authentic representation of Hispanic culture in media. I try to be involved in visual art in my community however I can. I serve as President of the National Art Honor Society at my school and used my passion for drawing to create wearable art I sell online. Outside of visual art I love playing guitar with my band, playing piano, and I’ve been trying to get into skateboarding recently. My future goal is being able to attend college to pursue my dream career in character design and animation. I hope to continue to develop my art skills so that I can create my own stories on a platform that will give diverse audiences representation and connection I lacked growing up. I attached some traditional art pieces I made this last school year from my AP art portfolio incorporating Hispanic culture.