Relationships

ACCESS RELATIONSHIPS

SJSU Fall 2019 ACCESS • Title

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elationship. A noun used to describe the way two or more concepts, objects or people are connected. When I think of the term I think of the people around me and how a single person can change anyone’s life. The term is often paired with the thought of a significant other but to me, it’s my friends and family.

As I come to the end of my undergraduate education, I find myself reflecting on the relationships I’ve made in the past six years and I am beyond thankful for the people who have been supporting me through this journey. Before I end this chapter of my life I want to thank the ACCESS magazine team and our faculty advisor, Scott Fosdick. If it wasn’t for these people, the magazine wouldn’t have made a return this semester and I wouldn’t have had the chance to manage an amazing team. Though ACCESS is not a new project that has been around San Jose State University, the team has built this magazine from scratch and has tried different things.

Our second issue is dedicated to the relationships that one person can hold with their communities, homes, words, religion, passions and people.

Melody Del Rio Editor-in-Chief

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ACCESS ISSUE 2 • RELATIONSHIPS ACCESS Magazine is a digital and print publication made by SJSU students dedicated to students.

It is produced by the School of Journalism and Mass Communications and printed by Casey Printing in King City, CA. Thank you to all those who contributed to making this magazine possible.

ACCESS TEAM Ediotor-in-Chief Melody Del Rio Print Director Jackie Contreras Photo Director Johanna Martin

About the cover:

Executive Producers Vicente Vera, Aimee Gonzalez

The ACCESS magazine team asked some of their friends to be on the cover as a salute to the theme of issue 2, Relationships. Left to right: Kayla Marshall, Paul Malonzo, Alyssa Matthews and Nicole Albilla.

Social Media Director Alyson Chuyang Assistant Editor Jessica Ballardo Art Director Cindy Cuellar Chief Copy Editor Myla La Bine

Photo by Johanna Martin

Writers Ana Acosta, Alexis Navarro,

Photo on the next page is by Melody Del Rio

Kael Benitez-Austria, Nora Ramírez, Paul Hang,

Guadalupe Emigdio, Hoi Shan Cheung, Hugo Vera, Zoe Alvarez

CONTACT US Instagram @ACCESSMagazineSjsu Twitter @ACCESSSjsu Email SJSUACCESSMagazine@gmail.com

Illustration/Design Aimee Gonzalez, Cindy Cuellar, Hoi Shan Cheung, Melody Del Rio, Zoe Alvarez Contributing Photographers Ben Pham, Makai Gacula, Nanzi Muro Contributing Illustrator Paul Malonzo Faculty Advisor Scott Fosdick

ACCESS • Title

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CONTENT

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Q&A $URVIVING $AN JOSE A STEP TOWARD ZERO WASTE POWER GARDENS WORDS BREAK BONES BUILDING BRIDGES WITH SEESAWS RELIGION SHELTERS LGBTQ MEMBERS BEST BUDDIES THE MONSTER UNDER MY BED MY LITTLE BIRD STUDENT STREET STYLE CREATIVES CARVING MY AZTEC CULTURE EASY ON THE EYES POLITICAL MUSICIAN MORE THAN MAINSTREAM A BALANCED LIFE PASSION LENS POW WOW!

Q&A

Relationships

Words by Hugo Vera Art by Melody Del Rio

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elationships are what make us human. Our relationships with significant others, our family, our friends and everyone else we interact with can affect everything from our social lives to our survival. We’re living in a time where technology has made it easier than ever to find somebody to love – or has it? Apps such as Tinder and Bumble have sparked an internet “hook-up” culture, but at what cost? Society’s viewpoints on homosexuality, monogamy and “slut-shaming” are not what they were a mere 20 years ago. We asked SJSU software engineering sophomore Hezekiah Valdez, criminal justice senior Salma Vizcaya and sociology junior Gianna Correa how they’ve come to identify and evolve their relationships throughout the years.

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When you think of “relationship” who is the first person you think of and why?

Hezekiah Valdez (HV): My parents. I try to base what I know about relationships off them.

Salma Vizcaya (SV): I think of my boyfriend because we’ve grown together so much.

Gianna Correa (GC): My family, because I’m always connected to them. Whether they live with me or not, or even if our relationship has been rocky, family really is forever.

How do you think technology has changed the way people interact or date?

HV: Everyone’s online and connected now.

We always know what the other person is doing and now you can meet people online. You can “swipe right” on a potential date, you can DM (direct message) and with receipts you know if someone saw your message/text or not. Technology has changed the way we date and has exposed so many unfaithful people.

SV: Technology has made it easier to meet people but now we don’t have any privacy.

GC: Apps have made it easier to find people and now people can communicate much faster. Like before you might have had to go clubbing or to a party to meet someone. Now you can use an app to find people within your area to go out with in a scary-short amount of time.

Have you ever “slid into the DMs?” Did it work for you?

HV: Not really. I usually just talk to them in person.

SV: Yes. It felt awkward at first but when we talked it felt more comfortable. We began to see each other in real life, so yes, it did work!

GC: No, but I’ve had guys slide into my DMs before. As long as guys don’t outright ask for a hook-up or send me creepy messages, I don’t really mind if they try sliding into my DMs.

Do you think there are social pressures of being in a relationship or not being in a relationship?

HV: People call you a “third wheel” if you’re the only one without a girlfriend/ boyfriend during a night out with friends who are already in a relationship. But my family prefers me to wait for the right person, so I’m not in a rush to meet someone.

SV: People think you have to be dating by a certain age but everyone’s different. Plenty of people are “late bloomers” so it’s not far to say that just because one person began dating a certain age that someone else should do the same.

GC: People feel the pressure to be in relationships even if sometimes they just need space. I know some people feel they need to start dating again within a certain amount of time after a break-up but then that’s just rushing it.

When you’re going through a rough patch in your relationship, whether it is your significant other, your friend or a co-worker, what do you do?

HV: I talk to them, tell them what’s wrong, and see if we can fix it.

SV: I approach them and we talk about our insecurities.

GC: When I’m going through a rough patch I like to explain the situation and make amends. I’m not wasting time holding a grudge.

What’s the strongest relationship advice you would give to your younger self?

HV: Go in with ZERO expectations. You will make friends, lose friends and get rejected/insulted a lot. Keep your head high and keep going. You are worth it!

When is the first time you experienced heartbreak and how did you cope?

HV: I asked explicitly and got told I wasn’t what they were looking for. But it was OK because we stayed friends. I coped by doing the things I enjoy, such as traveling and playing video games.

SV: Definitely my first breakup but the experience made me stronger. I started to dress and act in ways that were genuinely of my own choosing so I would say self-love is the key.

GC: My parents breaking up really hurt but I had my sister to help me get through it.

How important is physical intimacy in a relationship? How well do you communicate to your partner on what you do or do not like?

HV: It’s not that important. I’m hoping to save myself until marriage. When going on dates, my partner and I both know how religious I am, so sex has always been out of the question.

SV: VERY. Physical contact is something very powerful and beautiful for a lot of people. You want your first time to be with someone special and you want every experience to be special. I do [communicate my sexual needs] because it’s very important. Without getting into too much detail, it’s important to establish the use of protection and what positions you’re comfortable with.

GC: It depends on the person but some people only want to get physical instead of dating. I lay down some ground rules and I stop if they don’t respond. If I say I don’t want to be touched a certain way, they need to respect that. So far the guys I’ve been with always have but if they didn’t I would end things with them.

SV: Don’t feel like you have to stay in order to please the other person.

GC: Know that you’re worth being loved and respected and never take abuse from anyone.

ACCESS • Q & A

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$urviving $an Jose Words and Art by Cindy Cuellar Top photo: an abandond matress located on S. 4th and E. San Salvador St. Bottom photo: A homeless individual sleeps behind the Colonnade Apartments.

2019 Homeless Census News Release

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omelessness is a part of the San Jose community whether one chooses to accept it or not.

Some may try their best to keep homeless people asking for help out of their line of sight as if they are another mural on the wall. Some may avoid interactions because they feel bad knowing they cannot do anything about it, while others just see it as an inconvenience. They require attention yet they go unnoticed.

Class status is a toxic cycle that convinces one to want to keep working for a higher status in order to live more comfortably to reach economic stability. There is an awareness of the struggles the lower class faces, but those are then neglected once one claws their way to a higher status.

The Student Homeless Alliance is a student-based organization that works to fight for students with housing insecurities who need more resources. They have been fighting for more safe parking in the Seventh Street parking garage, a minimum of 12 beds in the dorms for homeless students and a $2,500 emergency grant for students to remain in housing if they cannot afford rent.

According to the 2018 California State University Chancellor’s Study of the Basic Needs Initiative, 13.2% of San Jose State University students have experienced homelessness in the past year. These statistics encourage the Student Homeless Alliance to continue to fight for its demands each and every day. The Student Homeless Alliance’s most recent protest on Oct. 2 was a “demand for more transparency, communication and resources” from SJSU Cares, as reported by the Spartan Daily.

The Student Homeless Alliance continues to work hard for its demands and Elsa Salgado, the current president of the organization, said, “My focus in SHA also includes us working with the community, creating a safe and open space for students to get involved, and to bring more efficient resources in order to make the programs on campus successful.”

SJSU Cares helps connect students to resources for those who have recently experienced a crisis that has left them in a position of food and housing insecurities. It is a connection to more on-campus resources for students in need but Salgado, a sociology senior, said there are students who are seeking help and being denied.

Salgado said there were exchanged emails between a student and SJSU Cares who was ignored after asking for on-campus housing assistance and was only told they did not have any space.

Stepping off campus, there are several people displaced from their homes alongside the streets for both students and residents of San Jose. According to the 2019 Homeless Census News Release, there are 1,579 people who are considered chronically homeless in San Jose. What most people fail to remember is that a lack of support or resources plays a huge role in people with mental illnesses who end up being forced to live on the streets. The high cost and shortage of housing in San Jose add to the homeless issue. Joe Simitian, President of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors said, “Combining our efforts to prevent homelessness and create supportive housing with 2016 Measure A – Affordable Housing Bond – funds will continue to be an essential strategy in addressing homelessness.”

It’s vital for organizations and institutions to fight for and create more resources for people who are living without homes.

A Step Toward Zero Waste Words and Photos by Ana Acosta

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lastic. It plagues our world these days, contaminating our oceans, streets, rivers and landfills. We all know it’s not good for the planet, yet it seems inescapable because almost everything is made of plastic now.

The founder of the soap refill store The Source Zero in San Pedro Square Market, Ashley Merz, is looking to change that with her local small business.

“I saw San Jose didn’t have anything like this,” Merz said. “I was going back to Santa Cruz to refill my soap and I knew we needed this here because people want it.”

Customers can bring in any clean container to the store and fill it with soap, detergent or body and hair care products, which is sold by weight using a system called Filljoy, which is a technology company meant to help retailers sell their products without single-use plastic.

The store also sells reusable straws and cutlery, food storage supplies, bamboo toothbrushes and sustainable candles.

Although Merz encourages her customers to bring their own plastic containers and reuse them as much as possible, The Source Zero also sells glass containers for those who prefer them.

Merz gets her products from companies like Griffin Remedy, Aromaland and Ecos, which are all businesses that use natural ingredients and sustainable practices.

While sustainable businesses are gaining popularity, Merz said it can still be difficult to be a responsible business while competing with larger corporations.

“Some people say Amazon has the same thing for cheaper,” Merz said.

According to the news website Vox, despite Amazon’s claims to make strides toward sustainability, its promise to deliver cheap items in as quickly as one day inevitably leads to an increased carbon footprint left by delivery vehicles.

While most people send their plastic and paper waste to a standard recycling center, the types of plastic that are recycled at those places are limited, so it’s never guaranteed that everything will be reclaimed.

Merz said she tries her best to be environmentally-friendly by sourcing from organic companies and sending plastic to TerraCycle, a recycling business for hard-to-recycle products. Unfortunately, this can get expensive, with TerraCycle boxes costing between $70-$250 depending on the size.

Luckily, San Jose has proven to be a good spot for The Source Zero to thrive.

“There’s a lot of community support in San Jose, people have each other’s backs,” Merz said. “It’s more diverse and inclusive here which is what you need for a small business.”

Now, thanks to The Source Zero’s proximity to San Jose State University, students can easily do their part in reducing their plastic usage.

“It’s super easy to refill once you get in the habit,” Merz said. “Find sources where you can be as eco-friendly as possible, but don’t punish yourself for not being perfect.”

She encourages people to save their plastic bread and tortilla bags and to say no to plastic cutlery when ordering takeout food.

Students can find The Source Zero on 60 N. San Pedro St., Suite 30, on the first floor of the San Pedro Market Square parking structure.

Top photo: Shampoo and Conditioner bottles are placed on shelves for costumers to refill their bathroom contrainers. Bottom photo: Eco-friendly toothbrushes, water bottles, straws and eating utensils.

ACCESS • Source Zero

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Power Gardens Mending the Relationship Between Food and Community Words by Ana Acosta Photos by Acosta and Nanzi Muro

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n the face of a rapidly-evolving tech hub such as Silicon Valley, is San Jose abandoning its agricultural roots?

Farmers, volunteers and community members are coming together in an effort to increase the city’s urban agriculture to make sure we’ll never even have to ask that question.

Whether it’s passing down family recipes, helping community members make income from their own backyards or teaching students how to grow their own food.

These community gardens aren’t just about the vegetables being grown, it’s about the people they’re empowering, the communities they’re helping become more resilient and the natural environments they’re preserving.

Here are three gardens that are looking to reconnect people with their food.

Left: Pomegranates are harvested from SJSU Community garden.

Photo by Nanzi Muro 10 • Fall 2019

SJSU Community Garden 372 E. San Salvador St. San Jose State University has its own community garden and it’s a hidden gem not many students notice. Sana Wazit, the SJSU Campus Community Garden program assistant, said this year they’ll be buying seedlings from Valley Verde, another local community garden.

“Us farmers, our community is really small so we like to pass on our knowledge to each other,” said Liana Hua, a former employee at the SJSU Campus Community Garden, Valley Verde and east side San Jose’s community farm Veggielution.

In the back of the garden, there’s a colorful mural of Dolores Huerta painted in bright blues and yellow, and in graffiti font it reads “Adelante,” meaning moving forward in Spanish.

“The garden has really opened my eyes to how much food you can actually grow in a small area,” said Wazit. “It’s a quarter of an acre of land and we produce so much food.”

Trees that grew sweet white nectarines and juicy plums over the summer are on the right side, along with the compost system.

Toward the middle of the garden there’s solar panels and on the left are some cut-out plastic gallon bottles where small plants grow.

“Big agriculture contributes to a slew of issues such as water and air pollution, soil degradation, waste, and ultimately, climate change,” Wazit said. “Growing your own food directly combats those issues.”

Hua said that having a garden has allowed her to be more in tune with environmental changes, such as an increase in pests because of climate change.

“People who don’t believe climate change is real aren’t out there seeing how it affects them,” Hua said. “Some people live behind a computer and are not doing laborious work, like fishermen or farmers.”

Students don’t need prior experience to volunteer. They just need to sign up on the garden’s website. Volunteers often get to take home free food as well.

As garden assistant, Wazit said her goal is to show people that gardening is not as intimidating as it may seem.

“A lot of volunteers have told me that they can barely keep houseplants alive and they’re nervous they’re doing something wrong in the garden. By showing all the stages of gardening, from seedling to transplanting to watering to harvesting to composting, I hope students can gain some confidence in their ability to be able to grow their own food,” she said.

Top: Citrus fruits, like the tangerine, grow on the vine in the campus garden.

Middle: The Dolores Huerta mural faces the garden beds.

Bottom: The campus garden provides a place for students to relax.

Photos by Nanzi Muro

ACCESS • Power Gardens

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Valley Verde 321 Gifford Ave. It may look like a regular car lot, but this urban garden on the outskirts of downtown San Jose is actually brimming with opportunity.

The garden of Valley Verde has a program called Super Jardineros, meaning Super Gardeners, where the staff trains people to grow seedlings, which are young plants sprouted from seeds instead of cuttings, at their homes. Valley Verde then buys the seedlings from them, in one case helping a participant make up to 13% of her yearly income.

Inside the greenhouse, the environment is warm and a lot of little baby sprouts are lined up neatly in rows, waiting for their new homes. These seedlings will later be used in Valley Verde’s Home Gardening Program, which teaches low-income communities how to grow their own food.

This past spring, Valley Verde hosted a Spring Seedling Market.

The seedlings being sold reflected San Jose residents’ diverse ethnic backgrounds, such as Mexican epazote, Japanese cucumber and Thai chilies.

“It’s a big portion of our community that is being underserved,” said Claudia Damiani, Greenhouse and Super Jardineros program manager. “So our slogan is diverse seedlings for diverse communities.”

Valley Verde volunteer and retired San Jose State University Chicano studies professor Macario Ortiz reminisces of a greener San Jose, where food insecurity wasn’t as big an issue as it is now.

“When I came to San Jose State in ’68, right across the street from San Jose State on Fourth Street I was amazed at all the walnut trees on the streets,” Ortiz said. “I would walk across the street to Fourth where Starbucks is and all that was open field.

I would go there and I would take fruits, food. I would walk to Cesar Chavez Plaza because there was another orchard there.”

Ortiz said he hopes other parts of San Jose can see what Valley Verde has to offer and use that to feed more people in need.

“Instead of going to the area where people are forgetting how it was back then and their roots, I think it’s important to keep bringing it up, keep showing them living the fast lane is not the only way,” said Rita Espinoza, Valley Verde’s Home Garden program coordinator. “Slow it down a bit, grow something, come here and garden. It’s healthy and you benefit from it,” she said.

Top: Broccoli seedlings wait for their new homes inside Valley Verde’s greenhouse named “La Finca”.

Middle: Luffas, a fruit that can be eaten or used as shower sponges, hang from a trellis.

Bottom: Red swiss chard grows in an outside garden bed at Valley Verde.

Photos by Ana Acosta

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Veggielution 647 S. King Rd. Once you make it into the Veggielution parking lot, the bustle and noise coming from King Road goes quiet. Chickens hop around the pavement in front of the garden, seemingly undisturbed by cars carefully maneuvering around them.

Overlooking the highway overpass, you might also run into a couple of colorful peacocks casually strolling around gardeners.

Children, college students and adults gather around the kitchen for the Cocina, meaning kitchen in Spanish, cooking class. While some classes are taught in English, many are taught

by Spanish speaking community members, with English translations provided.

This class is taught every first Saturday of the month at Veggielution, a community farm founded by two San Jose State alumni in East San Jose. Here, freshly-picked green onions and carrots wait on the counter for someone to create a delicious meal out of them.

“I love forming a part of the community, it’s something I want to pass on to my children,” said Veggielution newcomer Pati Medina. “Instead of being at home watching TV, I’d rather be here learning something new, like making dumplings. Those types of experiences are more valuable.”

Ines Perez, another volunteer who taught a Cocina cooking class on how to make squash blossom quesadillas, said the classes help her feel more connected with the community.

“We teach what we know and we learn from everyone else,” Perez said. “I then tell other people I know about the class and we all start connecting like a little chain.”

The Cocina instructors explain their recipe and instructions while everyone gets chopping, using mismatched knives and cutting boards before the mixture is cooked in a giant wok.

Once the dumplings are wrapped and steamed, the class watches as one of the instructors makes a chili dipping sauce made with chili oil, black vinegar and garlic. The rich aroma wafts from the pot as the garlic sizzles and the sauce bubbles.

“You learn things that you didn’t know how to do before, like cauliflower ceviche or using chia seeds instead of egg,” said Ernestina Martinez, who has helped teach Cocina classes.

By sharing recipes from members of the local community, Veggielution’s Cocina cooking classes aim to celebrate the diversity of East San Jose and bring people together in the kitchen.

Top: A basket of vegatables picked from the Veggielution garden.

Middle: Freshly picked red potatoes are washed before using them for potato taquitos at Veggielution’s Cocina cooking class.

Bottom: Children partipate in the organization’s cooking class.

Photos by Nanzi Muro

ACCESS • Power Gardens

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WORDS Break bones

Words and Photo by Hugo Vera

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rowing up in the sleepy, liberal-leaning city of Fremont, I never felt ashamed or self-conscious about my Mexican heritage.

That was until a boy had called me a “beaner” in elementary school. At first, I just laughed it off because I had no concept of what the word meant. I told my parents about the incident thinking they would be amused as well.

They weren’t.

They demanded the boy’s full name, contacted the principal and the boy was given several consecutive detentions. It wasn’t until my parents, my father, in particular, spoke on their history with facing bigotry that I began to realize the damaging effects of racial slurs.

“When I was a boy someone called me a ‘wetback.’ At first I thought he actually meant my back was wet from sweat or something,” my father said. “I looked behind and felt my back and that just made the guy laugh even harder.”

Hearing that saddened and angered me. However, hearing my dad’s story also enlightened me to the fact that such derogatory words have no place in today’s society.

The next time I was called a racial slur, which is when I was a high school freshman, I had no tolerance for it.

Looking back I realize I could have gone about it much more calmly, but I threw a microwaveable hamburger at a classmate after he called me a “border hopper.”

Despite the progress society has made in condemning the use of racial slurs, these words still find themselves coming out of even the most unlikely mouths.

In October, Latina actress Gina Rodriguez made waves across social media when she streamed a recording of herself singing along to a song by the R&B group Fugees.

During the sing-along, Rodriguez said the “N” word and thus reignited the now decades-old debate on whether or not the word should be used by non-black people.

“Black people in this country long ago slipped the yoke and changed the joke of the most pejorative of all racial-slurs, re-coding a word that was meant to render us subhuman to signify everything from solidarity, to friendly endearment, to cosmic irony to intra-racial reproach,” said African American literature professor Keenan Norris.

In addition to teaching several classes at SJSU, Norris is also an award-winning novelist. His first novel, “Brother and the Dancer” revolves around two star-crossed African American teens in rural southern California who question their own “blackness.”

“As a novelist, I want to write work that does more than to depict black people as victims. Being black can be terrifying and fascinating, and the language of African-America, particularly the life of the so-called ‘N-word’ speaks to that complex condition,” said Norris.

So what is the solution to this recurring issue of people of color using words that were designed to attack other people of color?

Following the Gina Rodriguez incident, television personality Trevor Noah, who is of mixed South African and Swiss ancestry, presented the idea that even black musical artists themselves should stop using the N-word in their own music as a means of further discouraging its use.

Will there ever come a time in which all people, including black people, completely abandon use of the N-word because of the word’s divisive power? Norris doesn’t think so.

“I am offended by the way non-black kids are flinging around ‘n*gga,’ the assumptions of ownership that underlie it, and the one-note deadness with which they use the word,” said Norris.

“But I also don’t see why hip-hop artists, the vast majority of whom are black, should remove from their lexicon what is probably the most complicated code just because of what other people do.”

Both my father and Norris have a point.

It’s up to the individual to decide which words they are offended by, and in which context. This debate will be had many times again and it’s just as the usage of derogatory words will persist.

We cannot control when, how or why people will call each other racial slurs such as the “N” word, “spic” and “wetback” as well as other non-racial derogatory terms.

What we can decide is how we respond to these words.

I personally choose not to use such terms against other human beings. There’s other ways to get your point across, even to a foe, in ways that don’t make you stoop down to the level of the bigot hurling the insults.

My father once told me something in Spanish which goes, “No importa cuando se tarde a llegar, solo importa que se llega,” which translates to “It doesn’t matter how long it takes to get there, it just matters that you get there.”

To me, that best translates to words left behind by the late rapper Nipsey Hussle that serve as my daily mantra: The marathon continues.

We cannot control when, how or why people will call each other racial slurs terms...

What we can decide is how we respond to these words.

ACCESS • Words Break Bones

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Building Bridges With Seesaws Words and Art by Jackie Contreras

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tretched across the plains and hills of one landscape lies fencing that divides cultures, families and essentially two worlds so different from one another.

Against the rusty-colored border fence and the brown dirt atop which it sits, bright pink seesaws temporarily bridged Sunland Park, New Mexico and Juarez, Chihuahua at the United States-Mexico border.

The “Teeter-Totter Wall” was briefly installed in July and was created by University of California, Berkeley architecture professor Ronald Rael and San Jose State University interior design associate professor Virginia San Fratello.

“The Teeter-Totter was one of these ideas about how people could come together to this place and play together and be together,” San Fratello said. “It would be a device that brought people together instead of separating people and kept them apart.”

Children and women bounced up and down the pink seesaws laughing and playing in a scene that stood in sharp contrast to what is normally seen at the border, deep disconnection.

Connecting people who are usually divided, physically and politically, was the goal Rael and San Fratello hoped to accomplish through the Teeter-Totter Wall.

“Just seeing them and their huge smiles and seeing them laugh of course was infectious,” San Fratello said.

The pink color for the seesaws was chosen as a way to make the project vibrant, but San Fratello came to realize the deeper connection Juarez has to the color, one that relates to the issues that plague the border town.

The violence that surrounds Juarez often results in the disappearances and murder of women.

Where dead bodies were found now stand pink crosses to commemorate the lives of the women in Juarez who have suffered because of the violence brought on by drug cartels, gang violence and misogyny.

“We decided it was important to use that color as a way of commemorating and remembering them,” San Fratello said.

Concepts and planning for the Teeter-Totter Wall began developing a decade ago in 2009, San Fratello said.

The symbolic playground came to the minds of Rael and San Fratello in response to the Secure Fence Act of 2006, an act that authorized and partially funded the construction of 700 miles of fencing along the southern border.

“We started developing proposals to the border that would act as commentary, a kind of critique of what was happening,” San Fratello said. “We’re going to spend millions and billions of dollars on this wall, how could it be better?”

16 • Fall 2019

“The Teeter-Totter was one of these ideas about how people could come together to this place and play together and be together,” San Fratello said. “It would be a device that brought people together instead of separating people and kept them apart.”

San Fratello, Rael and other contributors requested permission to install the seesaws from different city municipalities located on the U.S.-Mexico border but were never granted permission.

The team took matters into their own hands and decided to install the Teeter-Totter Wall.

Though installing the seesaws was not illegal because the installation was temporary and placed only through the U.S. side of the border, San Fratello said she was prepared to face any repercussions and consequences from border patrol.

Instead of facing the repercussions she feared, border patrol agents in the U.S. and soldiers in Mexico kept their distance, took photos, smiled and said what they were doing was fine.

“I thought it was pretty amazing that we were willing to take that risk, we were the people who broke that barrier, we made it through the impotent and useless,” San Fratello said. “We were able to come together in that way and play, just like we would in a park in the United States.”

Tensions run high between the U.S. and Mexico concerning construction of the border, namely who will cover the costs as well as the political sentiments behind the wall itself.

Just one day before the seesaws were installed, President Donald Trump redirected $3.7 billion toward the construction of the border.

As of now, the southern border runs 1,933 miles across California to parts of Texas, according to CNN. Only about 700 miles have actual fencing.

Like a seesaw, the U.S.-Mexico border is an unbalanced force.

Some people celebrate the progress made in constructing the wall while some protest it.

“This topic has become so contentious and it’s so negative, it paints people in such a negative light,” San Fratello said. “For us, it was an opportunity to be very positive and to show the faces of the people who live there at the border every day.”

Despite the disconnection and violence typically portrayed at the U.S.-Mexico border, San Fratello said that the moment spent with people usually separated by the border was exhilarating and exciting.

As women and children bounced up and down on the seesaws, San Fratello found herself immersed in the laughter and playing of families who are typically separated.

The scene illustrated and reinforced San Fratello’s belief that the people of Juarez are made up of loving and caring mothers and children, and that no physical barrier could make that any different from what is seen in the U.S.

ACCESS • Building Bridges With Seesaws

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Religion Shelters LGBTQ Members Words by Nora Ramírez Art By Hoi Shan Cheung

18 • Fall 2019

F

inding a balance between identity and religion is an endless clash for many people of the LGBTQ community.

Like the relationship between family, religion is the space for a family or a congregation to come together to worship their beliefs or ideas.

However, a relationship with religion can foster conservative beliefs that could end relationships with family.

Grace Baptist Church in downtown San Jose is more than just a place to worship God, it is also a space that teaches solidarity and love for others.

Hanging to the right of the main entrance and in the sight of everyone who drives or walks outside 10th St., is an inclusivity flag.

John Rodgers, 55, is a gay ordained minister and member of Grace Baptist Church. He made this institution his home after visiting five different churches in search of belonging.

“I just kind of made this church my home church because it’s inclusive,” he said. “This church does a lot of stuff in the community, not just with the LGBTQ community, but with the homeless, with the elders, the [Narcotics Anonymous] groups, the [Alcoholics Anonymous] groups.”

Rodgers got involved with the church because of its community service.

At the time he joined, there was an LGBTQ Bible study group. He has since become a church consultant, a coach to pastors and is now dealing with event budgets and community outreach.

“I’ve gotten really good with working with the homeless,” he said. “I like working with those that are considered outcasts by the people.”

Grace Baptist Church’s mission to “make disciples and to equip them for service” has not only touched Rodgers, but it has also touched a San Jose State University student.

Jay Son-Bell, a biomedical engineering senior, now identifies as a Christian Northern Baptist and is devoted to their church, however, life wasn’t always this way.

Since they were very young, Son-Bell’s family was very religious, but eventually turned away from church. As a result, Son-Bell grew up in a very anti-religious environment.

It wasn’t until college that Son-Bell came across Grace Baptist Church, where they found the help they needed as they were going through a very difficult time.

“They never forced me to become Christian or anything, they were just helping me off the kindness of their hearts,” Son-Bell said. “I was very impressed by it because they spent a lot of their energy helping the homeless and the mentally disabled.”

Soon after, Son-Bell started going to Sunday school to learn more about the religion and discovered they shared the same beliefs. Son-Bell felt that they had a unique relationship finding religion as many people they knew didn’t have an easy way because of conservative views.

“It’s very unfortunate that instead of being in the community that you loved and that you had faith for becomes this environment where you are ashamed and you’re hated,” Son-Bell said. “You’re thrown out of churches.

It’s so sad, church shouldn’t be that way.”

While some churches may close their doors to some of its members, these incidents occur at home as well.

Jade Pacalso, a radio television film junior, grew up in a Filipino Catholic household. This created conflicting moments in their life as they grew up and struggled with finding a sense of cultural and personal identity.

Pacalso’s grandparents are devout Catholics and were always adamant about raising their children Catholic. This idealism became conflicting when Pacalso’s uncle came out to them as gay.

Their grandparents believed their son had decided to live his life beyond the boundaries of their religion and immediately broke their relationship with him. To their luck, Pacalso’s mother distanced herself and her children from religion.

“My grandparents did not accept that at all and my mom who very much loved her siblings [used that] as a calling into question what that [religion] meant for our family,” Pacalso said. “She kind of turned her eyes away from God a couple of years afterward when her sister died of lupus.”

These differences led Pacalso’s mother to change her faith and decide to raise Pacalso and their siblings atheist.

“She was very honest about why she doesn’t believe in God and why she wanted us to choose for ourselves,” Pacalso said.

Although Pacalso and their siblings were not imposed with any religion by their parents, they were still exposed to Catholicism through their grandparents who would often take them to church. This led Pacalso to have an uneasy relationship with religion and their own identity as Filipino and a queer person.

Rodgers explained that Grace Baptist Church aims to read Bible chapters thoroughly in order to understand and apply the lessons to their lives.

“Other churches like to cherry-pick scriptures and then use them like cloves to hit people over the head,” he said. “I think [churches] need to read the whole chapter to understand what it’s about, you know, God is all about love, not about punishing people or excluding people.”

Most of the LGBTQ members of Grace Baptist Church are adults.

Rodgers explained that as a church consultant and community outreach coordinator, it is really difficult to have adults go to church because they’ve usually been hurt by religious institutions.

“They are very reluctant to step inside of church and even talk to somebody about it,” he said. “They run away.”

Son-Bell, on the other hand, was never thrown out of church and was instead curious to learn about it. Grace Baptist Church was that place. Its effort, determination and work to create an environment that is welcoming to people whether they are LGBTQ, mentally disabled or poor is fostering relationships with individuals and God. “The congregation of the church is very special,” Son-Bell said. “If you’re just different in any way they don’t judge for that.”

Son-Bell has been able to build a strong religious bond with their God. With a very endearing and deep look, they recalled the moment when they first read the Bible and instantly knew there was a connection.

“Jesus was somebody who was hated, scorned and treated terribly by other people and suffered and understands the suffering of human beings,” Son-Bell said. “LGBTQ are often people who know what’s like to be hated by other people and to be scorned.”

Son-Bell believes that being LGBTQ is definitely compatible with Christianity. Pacalso, on the other hand, believes that being Catholic never allowed them to ever achieve a strong spiritual connection.

When Pacalso turned 13 years old, they learned more about the conquistadors converting Filipinos to Catholicism. This led them to believe that they needed to find a sense of belonging within their own culture before Catholicism.

“I have been fine being Catholic, but what if there’s something else for me that my people could have given me instead?” Pacalso asked. “So I did a lot of research and I learned about the Visayan faith.”

Amazed by their findings, Pacalso asked their great-grandmother about the Visayan faith and everything fell into place.

“I clicked a lot with a lot of gods and goddesses in that faith because a lot of them were non-binary, queer or divorcees,” Pacalso said. “It was a lot of stuff I never got in Catholicism.”

Visayan deities are very similar to the Greek deities which are very human-like, flawed and, therefore, relatable. Some are gay and others are gender neutral.

“Learning about them as a pre-teen made me feel more normal. Like, wow, this is part of my history, I am part of my history,” Pacalso said. “In this religion, in this faith, I’m something that is allowed to exist.”

Pacalso started practicing the Visayan faith as a way to attribute their ancestors for not knowing their beliefs, but they were able to find a stronger connection than just cultural identity, they found themselves and a place where they can belong.

“It’s very unfortunate that instead of being in the community that you loved and that you had faith for becomes this enviroment where you are ashamed and you’re hated.”

ACCESS • Religion Shelters LGBTQ Members

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Left: Alex Simone Right: Daniela Sanchez

Best Buddies Words by Vicente Vera

Photos by Johanna Martin 20 • Fall 2019

D

aniela Sanchez and her friends combined a few tiny round tables and moved around a few chairs as they set up shop at Yogurtland on Sept. 25 for one of the first Best Buddy club meetings of the semester.

She worried that rush-hour traffic might keep some people from being able to make it, but nonetheless, presiding over the Best Buddies chapter at San Jose State University was more than Sanchez could have imagined for herself a year ago.

Best Buddies is a social club where students who join have the chance to be paired with a buddy in the mental and physical disability community.

Sanchez had stacked folded notes on one of the round tables when the last buddy sat down with a mountain of strawberry frozen yogurt and toppings in their hand.

The first ice breaker came inside the folded notes, a random assortment of silly questions. One of the buddies bowed his head to read the question when his turn came to fumble through the shreds of paper.

“Who’s your favorite singer?” he asked, puckering his lips.

“Ariana Grande.”

He broke into a chuckle and everyone around the island of tables joined in.

“Who’s your celebrity crush?” he read when he picked up another piece of paper on his next turn.

Someone asked, “Is it Ariana Grande?”

His laugh got a little louder and more relaxed this time around. Best Buddies is all about giving people a space to be comfortable sharing their lives and hobbies with friends and peers, Sanchez said.

“Just being there for someone and giving someone a friend when they wouldn’t necessarily have that type of experience just makes me really happy,” she said.

Sanchez found a lot of time on her hands coming out of high school in Southern California. But even as she expressed her gratitude toward the programs that gifted her time with the disability community, Sanchez set her ambitions on a wider-reaching role.

“Even my first year . . . I wanted to be involved in something where I’d be making a difference,” Sanchez said.

She came to SJSU in fall 2018 as a behavioral science major, but switched to communicative disorders and sciences because of a staunch drive to help people with speech impediments, or a disability.

The drive has always been there, Sanchez said, but her studies were not necessarily the only things she saw out her windshield.

“Honestly, I’m not going to lie, I came to San Jose to like, find myself,” Sanchez said. “I don’t think I’m still searching for myself but I definitely think my first year taught me a lot, it kind of taught me a lot in terms of independence.”

Growing up with two parents who have mental disabilities, Sanchez said she learned about independence early in her life.

“I grew up kind of being raised by both my parents and my grandparents just because it is a different situation. But all the love was just there,” she said.

In high school Sanchez’s favorite subject was community service, she was even a member of the Best Buddies club there. That is

why she decided to look into the Best Buddies club at SJSU, which turned out to be almost non-existent, she said.

“The only information I got was like, ‘We’re starting back up, who wants to help run it?’ and I was like, ‘Oh, I mean, I would,’ ” she said.

Daniela was handed the keys to the club almost instantly. She became president of Best Buddies in San Jose, but now she had to figure out where she was going to take it.

Recruitment was tough, she said, because not everyone who signed up had the time to invest in striking a friendship with a buddy.

Weeks of putting Best Buddies out in the open with tables on Seventh Street Plaza, word-of-mouth and sharing information with her co-workers allowed the club to grow to 26 active members.

“It makes me really happy because it’s not too big of a number to the point where I feel like I can’t meet everybody,” Sanchez said.

“But it’s just a big enough number where I feel like we could all do big fun activities.”

After the Yogurtland meet-and-greet, Sanchez began planning for the club’s most important meeting thus far, the buddy-pairing and matching party.

“Our theme is socks and gold, I don’t know if that makes any sense but everyone’s wearing matching socks,” Sanchez said.

Oct. 16 came and at the residence of a hosting parent’s house, the buddies and peer buddies walked through a gold foil-covered door carrying the sign, “Best Day Ever” with Christmas lights along the stairs.

Almost every active member of Best Buddies came down and bit into the purple frosting topped on dozens of chocolate cupcakes made especially for the occasion.

But Sanchez wanted to get everyone to start socializing, so she brought back the ice breakers that made the first meeting so successful and added some new games.

“I was nervous in the days leading up to the matching party because there was a lot of planning and I just wanted things to run smoothly,” she said. “We ended up lasting the whole three hours we had scheduled.”

Sanchez started walking around the house handing out bags of socks to all the buddies. These were the socks they would use to find their new peer buddies.

Armed with a rainbow assortment of socks, the buddies headed outside to find their matches. The peer buddies were shielded by posters that covered their bodies, right down to their ankles, only revealing their colorful socks.

One buddy was so excited by her match that she ran outside and wrapped her arms around her new peer buddy, Sanchez said.

“The matching buddy was definitely a success,” she said.

Though Sanchez’s matching buddy was unable to come out that night, everyone spent the rest of the night dancing and playing games with their buddy, just a preview of what the future has in store for Best Buddies in San Jose.

“This was the first real event where everyone showed up and I’m so thankful for the parents that stepped up and hosted this match party,” Sanchez said. “I’m excited for what’s next.”

“Just being there for someone and giving someone a friend when they wouldn’t necessarily have that type of experience just makes me really happy.”

ACCESS • Best Buddies

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The Monster Under My Bed Words and Art by Melody Del Rio 22 • Fall 2019

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y mom would tuck me in when I was a child, looking under my bed for lurking monsters hidden in the dark.

She never expected her demons to reach out and consume her, nor did she think she’d have to save me from herself.

As a 16-year-old living in a small town, it was easy to find distractions that kept me out of the house. I was constantly preoccupying myself with school, softball and partying.

Everything was fine until it wasn’t.

I could sense something was wrong by the way my mom’s eyes began to look hollow.

It seemed like a lost ghost looking for its home, taking the place of my mother.

There was a slender man with devilish, icy blue eyes she kept close. I didn’t know much about him except that my mother adored his company.

His presence would send a chill down my spine, constantly putting me on edge. Though he never harmed me, I slept with my 32-ounce softball bat beside my bed.

While at my high school’s football game I got a call from my friend saying, “Melody, all of your stuff is in front of your house and police are there.”

I remember a feeling of panic, not knowing what to do and scared of what people in my small town would say.

I called my mom to ask her what happened and all she said was that it would be OK, but the statement was far from the truth.

The following days would be spent sleeping in cars or sleeping over at my friend’s place.

The easiest and most obvious thing to do at the time was to call my dad and tell him what happened. That choice wasn’t easy for a 16-year-old.

I was scared because telling my dad would mean I would have to give up the only place I had ever known.

My dad found out from a family friend that my mom had lost the house and we were homeless.

Angry and concerned, my dad took my little sister, who was 9 years old at the time, the same day he was made aware of the situation. I was lucky enough to have my aunt let me live with her in Los Banos to finish the semester.

Feeling betrayed and upset that my mother thought a man and his drugs were more important than me, I decided to create a distance between the two of us.

Before I left, my mother told me she was pregnant with the devilish man’s child.

The way she raised me versus the type of person she was came off as conflicting.

She had raised me to be an independent individual. She taught me that drugs were bad, people you love shouldn’t hurt you and you should stand your ground.

I kept asking myself, how could someone choose a substance over a person? What made it OK to bring a human being into this world when you couldn’t manage to help the kids you have now?

All these questions led me to resent her, but the feeling was mutual.

She blamed her divorce on me, along with my dad finding out we lost the house and were homeless. She had this hateful demeanor toward me.

I remember the time I walked into her room to question her about the strange man. When I didn’t falter after she told me to drop the subject, she reached for a wooden board and hit me.

I no longer felt this was the same woman who would look under my bed to make sure there were no monsters. I felt as if there was a facade of pretend love to cover the hate she had toward me.

While keeping my distance from my mother and trying to cope and process what was happening in my life, my mom’s side of the family didn’t make it easy.

I remember them telling me “Remember, she’s your mom,” as if that was enough to excuse her behavior.

She was toxic and despite being my mother, my well-being was more important than caring for a relationship with someone who didn’t care for me.

Society teaches us at a young age that no matter the trauma or harm that your family, especially your parents, put you through you are obligated to have a relationship with them.

Being selfish when it comes to your health is more important than a title bonded by blood.

Though I knew in my heart there was nothing wrong with distancing myself from this individual in my life who caused me so much pain, my family made me feel bad.

They would also tell me, “You’re young, you think you know everything.”

Dismissing my feelings and the reality of what was happening made me even more confused.

For the longest time, I felt resentment toward my mom, always feeling angry at her.

I was tired of feeling this way. Once I found it in myself to find peace, I then had a heart-to-heart with her.

We were driving south of Highway 99, visiting my older sister at Fresno State. I was a month shy of 18 years old, my little sister was 11 at this time and she was asleep in the backseat.

Between the music and headlights passing by as we drove in the night, I found the courage to tell my mother that I missed the person she was before her demons had consumed her. I told her that her sleeping child in the backseat was a sad, lost soul looking for both her parents but unable to find them because of their selfish need to fulfill their childish dreams. I also mentioned the pain I felt and how angry I was at her.

We both sat crying in the car but when she said the words “I was making sure no one would hurt you, but I ended up hurting you the most,” I felt the pain of my past disappear.

I’ve learned that as an adult, I have to be the one to check under my bed for monsters. Though some monsters resemble the people closest to me, I know I have to put myself first and fight them off.

I have to be the one to check under my bed for monsters.

Though some monsters resemble the people closest to me, I know I have to put myself first and fight them off.

ACCESS • The Monster Under My Bed

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My Little Bird Words by Myla La Bine Photo courtesy by Myla La Bine

24 • Fall 2019

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wo-thousand and fifteen was probably the best year of my life. I graduated high school, spent a week in Disneyland during the summer and started college.

I felt great about where I was in life and looked forward to the future in front of me.

What I didn’t know at the time was that the following year would be the longest and most difficult of my life.

My mother was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer a few months after I turned 10. About half of my childhood consisted of worrying about her CT scan results, surgeries, oncologist appointments and attending hours-long chemotherapy treatments.

Looking back, I don’t know how I coped with all of that stress and anxiety. However, none of it could’ve prepared me for the news my family received in early 2016.

Despite trying every single type of chemotherapy treatment and radiation over the years, my mom was told that she was terminally ill by her oncologist.

She fought back and forth for a little more than 8 1/2 years before succumbing to the disease on June 18, 2016.

The first funeral I attended was my mother’s.

Before my mom passed away, I had never lost anyone close to me. I had no experience with grief or death.

Losing her was the single worst thing to ever happen to me.

I felt lost, but I kept a brave face on for my father and sister’s sake. Though I’m my parents’ youngest child, I didn’t want people to worry about me.

The best way to describe the closeness of my relationship with my mom would be the mother-daughter duo of Lorelai and Rory from the show “Gilmore Girls.”

We went everywhere together. Most teenage girls prefer to go shopping or attend concerts with friends, but I would go with my mom because she was that cool.

While I was able to remain calm during the first few weeks afterward, the next six months were tough.

At first, I tried to push the sad thoughts out of my head and focus on school.

That only lasted a brief time before I began to have an increase in anxiety. I would get so nervous to go to school that I’d get sick every morning.

My heart would begin racing, I’d feel dizzy and become nauseous. I tried to distract myself with music or YouTube videos, but most of the time it didn’t work.

I felt helpless because I couldn’t control my mind and body. I would force myself to eat something small for breakfast, despite feeling like I was going to vomit.

I was angry and upset at myself because I didn’t understand why I took a few steps backward in regards to dealing with my mom’s death.

It took a breakdown at school one day for me to see that pushing those feelings away wasn’t working.

I was supposed to do an in-class debate for a general education course, but I felt so mentally exhausted because of the constant anxiety. I had a friend explain my situation to my instructor and my instructor told me to go home for a mental health day.

I felt ashamed that this predicament kept me from doing my school work.

At that point, I knew I needed to let myself deal with grief head-on instead of trying to dismiss it.

I started seeing a counselor on campus during the spring 2017 semester who ultimately helped me allow myself to be sad and grieve for my mother.

What I learned over time through counseling is that grief has no timeline and everyone’s experience is different.

Grief is always going to be there, despite how much you try to forget about it.

Certain days are easier than others. Holidays, the anniversary of your loved one’s death and their birthday are extremely hard.

The three-year anniversary of my mom’s death was a lot more painful than the first and second.

My grandmother passed away a few weeks before, and her funeral was exactly one week after the anniversary.

However, I dealt with those feelings this time around and allowed myself to be sad.

I still have moments of sadness and I think I will for the rest of my life.

Sometimes I see mothers and daughters together in public and I go home to cry because I will never get to have that experience again.

Most of the time though, I think about all the good memories I have and how funny she was.

My religion has comforted me in the fact that I know my mom is in heaven. I also see signs that she is still close by, watching over me every day.

A memory that I will remember about my mom is after undergoing chemotherapy, her hair grew back curly.

She used to say that her hair looked like a bird’s or baby chick’s head.

My family never forgot those words.

Since she passed away we have constantly seen birds everywhere we go.

Every time I see one, I think of her.

Before my mom got sick, she used to sit in our dining room and eat breakfast while looking out the window.

Two birds would be sitting on top of a neighbor’s tree, staring at our window.

“Myla, see those birds? I think they’re my parents watching over me,” she told me one day.

I never got to meet my maternal grandparents, but I think she was right.

I cannot count how many times I’ve seen three birds on my porch or outside my front yard.

While this may seem like a coincidence to some, I know it’s my mom and her parents watching over me.

I recognize every day of my life that my mom is no longer here physically, but grief has helped me to see that not everything about life has to be scary.

There are as many beautiful parts of grief as there are ugly.

I will admit that the toll grief takes on you mentally isn’t pretty, but someone once told me that you can also achieve your own happiness through the experience.

Instead of dwelling on the negative, I think about all the great times I had with my mom and how lucky I am to be her daughter.

Although no one wants to go through what I went through, my relationship with grief has made me stronger and more appreciative of life.

Most teenage girls prefer to go shopping or attend concerts with friends, but I would go with my mom because she was that cool.

ACCESS • My Little Bird

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Student Street Style

Photos by Hoi Shan Cheung

26 • Fall 2019

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efore you tuck that turtleneck sweater into your light-colored, high-waisted jeans and finish the look with timeless brown boots, take a look at some stylish outfits that students at San Jose State University are wearing. These low-cost fashion items will let you catch up with the fall 2019 nostalgia trend in no time.

Usra Ali Public Relations Freshman Top:N/A Bottom:N/A Shoes:N/A Jewelry: N/A

Angelina Ngmyan Animation/illustration Junior Top: Forever 21 Bottom: American Eagle Shoes: Adidas

Niclotte La Marr Linguistics Freshman Top:N/A Bottom:N/A Shoes:N/A Jewelry: N/A

Cierra Lorenzo Psychology Junior Vest: Savers Top: A&F Bottom: Forever 21 Shoes: Crossroads

Bella Tantuico Freshman Undecleared Top: American Eagle Botton:Levi’s Shoes: Birkenstock’s

Alexander Jordan Rodriguez Music Education Underneath Shirt: H&M Top: Zara Bottom: Levi’s Shoes: Hugo Boss Socks:Uniqlo

Tiana Tameta-Arenas Kinesiology Junior Top: Garage Bottom: Fashion Nova Shoes: Doc Martens Jewelry: Forver 21

ACCESS • Student Street Style

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Alice Shrimpton Geography and History Junior Top: NA Skirt: NA Boots: Oakland Purse: From her grandmother

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ACCESS • Title ACCESS • Student Street Style

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Amari Johnson Advertising Freshman Top: H&M Bottom: Levi’s Shoes: Converse

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ACCESS • Title ACCESS • Student Street Style

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32 • Fall 2019

Words by Ana Acosta Art by Paul Malonzo

CREATIVES A special section highlighting our relationship with art and artists Creativity is the portal between the stressful realities in our lives and the fantasies we wish to inhabit.

Creativity can take the form of painting, jewelry making and even makeup. It’s important to maintain our relationship with our creative side. Creativity allows us to express ourselves, relieve stress and bond with others with similar interests. Here are some students and alumni who are taking their artistic passions to the next level.

ACCESS • Creatives

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34 • Fall 2019

Carving Out A Career With My Aztec Culture Words and Photos by Guadalupe Emigdio

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truck by a beam of light reflecting off a pair of handmade earrings, a would-be customer stepped closer into the culture that blessed San Jose-based artist Julisa Garcia with the ability to craft Aztec-influenced jewelry.

Through her independent artistry business, Soldadera, Garcia deals in jewelry and accessories tailored toward “freedom fighters, lovers and creators,” said Garcia.

She explained that her ancestors at one point grew corn, but they also wove baskets and were known for creating a market to sell their goods.

“I am doing what my ancestors did, creating a market,” Garcia said.

As much as she loves the process of carving her culture into physical accessories, sharing the stories of her ancestors and her own struggles sparked unexpected connections with people coming into her vendor space.

“I have met beautiful folks that come to my space,” Garcia said.

The story of the goddess of the moon is one that Garcia loves to share with her community of supporters and artists. The Aztec tale was a portal into allowing herself to connect the past with the present.

“I am a believer that this path was made for me from my ancestors,” she said.

To the Aztecs, Coyolxauhqui was known as the goddess of the moon.

As the tale goes, Garcia said, Coyolxauhqui came into existence when her decapitated head was thrown into the night sky after falling victim to the god of war.

The intersection of past and present began for Garcia five years ago when she lost her job. She said that it was not so much the job itself she disliked, but the treatment she received, feeling constantly undermined for being Chicana.

Already having the skills to make jewelry, a friend pushed Garcia to start making her presence known at art events, local fairs and markets as a vendor.

Just like Coyolxauhqui, Garcia finally came into existence. The only difference was, it was her friend that threw her into the night sky after leaving behind her old job.

“I was nervous because I was exposing myself and my work to criticism,” Garcia said.

She had always been a creative individual, in fact, Garcia was already creating physical representations of her culture as gifts for friends. When she realized she could earn some income out of her craft, jewelry making became a lucrative side gig while she stuck to school as the main focus.

Garcia pursued a degree in ethnic studies at San Francisco State University, learning more in-depth history lessons of her ancestors.

The stories sparked an abundance of energy into Garcia that she channeled into her jewelry. She began cultivating her purpose.

The selection of colors pull strangers passing through Garcia’s vendor space. The colors red, silver, yellow and blue hang from crates attached to a paper with the word Soldadera. The shapes of circles, semi-triangles and triangles combined together create Garcia’s signature earrings.

“The things I created intertwined with my school. The curriculum, readings and conversations all influenced the jewelry I created,” Garcia said.

Garcia’s destiny was becoming unavoidable.

She could no longer steer away from the path her ancestors crafted for her as an entrepreneur.

It was during a Viva Frida event when a would-be customer came up to her and asked about the handmade earrings that caught her attention. Once she shared the story behind the earrings with this woman, there was an immediate bond between the two of them as Chicanas.

This is how the goddess of the moon story lives each day in today’s world, Garcia said.

“I find myself in my own process of remembering and gathering the pieces. In order to achieve a spiritual level, it happens through dissecting one’s self until that process has gone through.”

Today, Garcia attends events all over the Bay Area, honoring her ancestors by highlighting her roots.

She pays homage to those who paved the way for her by opening her space so people can explore her jewelry, which is a representation of her culture.

“I feel the need to highlight what is Mexican culture,” Garcia said.

“I am a believer that this path was made for me from my ancestors”

ACCESS • Creatives

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36 • Fall 2019

EASY ON THE EYES Words by Alyson Chuyang Photos by Makai Gacula

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fter gliding neon liner across her eyelids, she dips her brush into the bright purple glitter powder. A small pat below the eyes gives her an extra shimmer. She smiles at her masterpiece in the mirror and heads out the door.

Undeclared junior Alyssa Matthews makes her eyelids her canvas every morning. The vibrant colors match her colorful personality on the outside, but reflect who she is in the inside.

At a young age, she would place herself in front of her mother’s vanity and play around with all of her cosmetics. While her mother did not use half of the colors that Matthews uses now, Alyssa found herself learning the basics of makeup by following along with her mother by the mirror.

Her makeup fascination grew. She looked to YouTube to follow artists who expand on the definition of what makeup means to them.

YouTube makeup artists allowed her creativity to blossom and she closely followed popular influencers like Jeffree Star, Manny MUA and Laura Lee. “I watch them religiously, and Manny MUA is definitely at the top of my list,” Matthews said.

Through a close friend who is also Manny’s cousin, she was able to FaceTime one of her ultimate makeup icons.

“Getting the chance to FaceTime Manny MUA was one of the most exciting experiences I’ve ever had,” Matthews said, “I watch his YouTube videos almost everyday so it was an absolute honor to be able to talk to him for a little bit, and have him say he really liked my makeup.”

Manny MUA is a professional makeup artist and beauty vlogger who also became the first male makeup artist to be a brand ambassador for Maybelline.

Not only has he been a huge factor in Matthews exploring outrageous looks because of his drag queen makeup, but his confidence has radiated on her as well.

She held a job at Kentucky Fried Chicken during high school and decided to spice up her plain uniform with a new eyeshadow look every day.

Makeup became Matthews’ way of expressing herself, and she started trying more and more unique looks by adding liner or funky colors, and each were more daring than the last.

“I was always pretty comfortable wearing different colors because I got a good reaction from it and it made me feel good,” Matthews said.

Movies, television shows and celebrities would inspire her to wear colors other people didn’t even dare to try.

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“I’m not a pro or anything so I obviously don’t really know what I’m doing most of the time,” Matthews said. “When I do get ready in the morning, it’s just like a new day, like ‘what can I create and what can I do today?’ ” Most of her makeup is purchased from drugstores and Morphe, a brand that is widely known to be less expensive than other mainstream brands.

A competitor brand like MAC offers an eyeshadow palette with 12 bright colors for $48. One of Alyssa’s makeup idols, Jeffree Star, debuted an eyeshadow palette collaboration with Morphe, which gave beauty enthusiasts 30 vibrant shades for $35.

“Yeah I definitely don’t spend that much money on makeup at all. Pretty much all the makeup I wear is from the drugstore, Target and sometimes Ulta,” Matthews said.

For some of her more exotic looks, she not only uses eyeshadow palettes, but embellishments as well.

After purchasing a 3,300-piece set of jewels from Amazon, she can expanded her looks even further.

For Matthews, she gains confidence in wearing her looks through the feedback and compliments she receives from others.

“When I do get ready in the morning, it’s just like a new day, like ‘what can I create and what can I do today?’ “ “So when people ask me like, ‘Oh, how are you so comfortable wearing colors?’ I think it’s just all about having confidence,” Matthews said. “If you go out confident that you’re wearing like blue eyeliner with rhinestones, then everyone’s going to be like super excited about it.”

Her prismatic style even inspires her friends and sorority sisters to go outside the box with their own looks.

Many people might say her makeup is strange for an everyday look, but a recent HBO series showcases looks like Matthews’ for casual ensembles.

“Euphoria,” starring Zendaya, tells the stories of high school students who go through their own battles such as domestic violence and drug addiction, issues that aren’t openly discussed on a large platform. The actors on the show wear unique makeup looks that are incorporated into their everyday outfits.

“It’s super exciting for me to see, like it’s more on-trend now because I feel like when I was doing smaller comparisons to that, it kind of looked a little off,” Matthews said.

She admires how the show allows people to take inspiration from it and grow the confidence to try out the looks.

Her advice to those who want to delve further into makeup is to go a little more dramatic each time.

“Just start with a little bit at a time to see what you’re most comfortable with. I wouldn’t want someone to do all these crazy things to their eyes and then seem too nervous to go outside.”

Matthews said.

The biggest aspect that allowed her to wear bold colors and glitter was building that confidence.

Through it, her self esteem grew and was fueled by compliments from people who commended her for taking that risk.

“Start out with smaller things and build your confidence with it,” Matthews said. “Practice makes perfect, I’ve been doing it for a long, long time now, so that’s why I got a little bit better over time.”

Matthews emphasizes the importance of self-expression and that taking the extra step to show your true personality is ultimately what will build your confidence in who you are.

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Political Musician Words and Photos by Hoi Shan Cheung

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he raps on beats, sings like a queen, acts as an activist and writes like a poet.

Saline Chandler, a senior sociology major, first showed up in the Mercury News as one of the former homeless students at San Jose State University. However, now she’s better known as Queen Saline by her 541 followers on Instagram.

Chandler, a solo rhythm and blues singer and political rapper, shines through her lyrics which are mostly inspired by current social issues.

The name comes from her pride in being African American, as well as her admiration of iconic rapper, singer and actress Queen Latifah.

“I am a black queen and I like Queen Latifah,” she said. “I think I should reflect on myself and reflect her and be an image of her.”

Besides seizing all the music collaborations she sees, Chandler also likes to keep her works polished and her performance steady.

With a clean and powerful voice, Chandler usually receives positive feedback from both her audience and music producers.

Her hunger for success motivates her to treasure all the feedback she has received.

Multimedia artist and educator, Miguel Gonzalez, is impressed by Chandler’s performance during their current collaboration of a song called, “Diamond.” It’s a song about couples who vow to protect each other and grow strong together.

“I have songs that are not necessarily telling a story but they are significant and they have meanings.”

Chandler and Gonzalez first met at an off-campus African American art event during Black History Month. The two connected immediately through their passion for music.

Later, Chandler found out that they were both working on songs with the same name.

“She got a good voice. She takes the words seriously, she shows up and keeps the works,” Gonzalez commented.

Without a second thought, they decided to combine the two into one.

“She is definitely off to a great start. Not only just the city of San Jose but also the world. As an artist, you want to continue to seek growth from every song you put out. So I think she is on the right track,” local San Jose musician Joe Hudson said.

To continue growing as an artist, Chandler often pushes her own limit by investing every second of her day into creation.

She writes down every single song that pops up in her mind immediately and uses up any time she can spare from work and school.

Sometimes, it shortens her sleeping time.

“If I don’t have time, I have to make time, and sometimes that cuts into my sleep but it is not a big deal, I am OK missing sleep,” she said.

For Chandler, music is more than just a career.

“Work is more, like, just to pay the bills. School is because I want to get my degree but this is something different, it is self-expression.”

As a singer, her goal is to resonate with underprivileged people, to reflect the bitter reality of being excluded from prosperity.

She does so by turning her experience into stories and transforming the stories into lyrics.

“I have songs that are not necessarily telling a story but they are significant and they have meanings,” she said.

With the help of social media and SoundCloud, Chandler built several valuable connections through collaborations.

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Some of the connections are nice enough to recommend her to their professional studios, which brings her music to the next level.

But as a rising star, money is still a problem.

From charter city Merced to tech-savvy San Jose, she envisioned her future like a normal 20-year-old.

Being a college student in Silicon Valley, she was looking forward to obtaining her bachelor’s degree and building her own career in sociology.

The reality crashed her mercilessly.

Two hours away from home with no financial support, she became homeless during her sophomore and junior years at SJSU. The young artist saw her chance of success was slim, especially in a city where economic progress overrides poverty.

“The wealthy we see there is mostly invested by the tech companies, so I will have to have a tech background to get my piece of the pie out here,” Chandler said.

But this didn’t stop her from pursuing a career in music. Instead, the rough experience nurtured her talent.

“Even at that time, I was still writing music,” She said, “The struggles fuels my music and fuels a lot of my poetry.

A full-time job in security alleviated her dilemma, but being a new musician with school and two jobs to handle was difficult.

Her music equipment, most of which is from Craigslist, is worth $500.

With just the basics, she produced 15 songs in total, but only released two of them on SoundCloud in the past three years.

With a speaker, mini Mac, standard size desktop, one audio USB and a microphone, which attaches to her study desk in her small living room, Chandler built herself a safe harbor from scratch.

One is a smooth R&B love song called “Issues.”

It begins with a solo guitar playing in the background, then her deep jazzy voice accompanies steady drum beat waves, before she begins singing “I know we got issues.”

Words like clean and powerful are not enough to describe her voice.

It is both satisfying and complex like drinking a perfectly-aged red wine.

Another is a collaboration entitled “Only Heaven Knows” with local musician Myc Ripley.

Until now, Chandler only managed to record two songs in a professional studio because of the high cost of $50 per session.

She is willing to pay for the high costs in order to improve her songs.

But when it comes to image, she holds her principles high by not following the oversexualized and gangsterish culture.

Because for Chandler, her music is much more than just a few minutes of visually pleasing entertainment.

It carries her thoughts, her past, and her future.

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More Than The Mainstream

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BROTHERS Words by Jessica Ballardo Photos by Johanna Martin

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roovy, smooth, mellow, innovative, funky. These are the five “keywords” brothers Frank and Esteban Gallardo live by when choosing songs to play on their radio program, Leftfield Radio.

Founded in June 2018, Leftfield Radio is a radio program on Soundcloud in which the Gallardo brothers hand-pick all of their mixes and publish a new episode on Soundcloud every other Sunday.

“The reason our name is Leftfield is because we want the music to sound like it’s coming out of left field,” said Esteban. “We want it to be a bit different than what you’re going to hear on the radio. We want to get away from the mainstream and showcase different artists.”

The music played during an episode of Leftfield Radio ranges from tracks by up-and-coming artists like local band Swells & the Lunatics to songs by more well-known bands like Tame Impala.

While a majority of the music in their mixes comes from more underground artists, the brothers said they also like showcasing older songs from more popular bands that people might not have heard. For Esteban, this includes a lot of “oldies” as well as rap artists like The Alchemist and DJ Quik.

“We try to bring a light to music that has gone overlooked or underappreciated,” said Frank. “For example, the B side tracks you’re not going to hear from your favorite artists because people don’t generally take the time to listen to other tracks that are on the album that aren’t played on the radio.”

Frank and Esteban, who grew up in Stockton, California and now live together in San Jose, always had music around them.

Their dad, Frank Sr., is a DJ and they often helped him out with gigs when they were younger.

Their grandfather is a bassist and used to always play bass for them when he would babysit.

They both have a passion for DJing and sharing music with others.

“I’m an Uber driver. So when I’m driving I love trying to feel people out on what kind of music they’re going to dig,” said Frank. “If I can get that person at the end of the ride to ask me who that was or where they can find that song, that inspires me. That makes me want to keep going.”

Esteban, 25, is the main DJ for Leftfield Radio. His DJ name, Misterwolf, comes from a character with the same name from his favorite movie “Pulp Fiction.”

“He’s smooth and just goes in there and gets things done, and that’s how I want to carry myself,” said Esteban.

Esteban leads the show and edits the mixes together so the songs smoothly transition into one another. He records all of his segments with a setup he created in his bedroom made up with a few speakers, a microphone and a DAW, or digital audio workstation.

Frank, 26, experimented with producing while living in Los Angeles for four and a half years, but said he realized he was much more passionate about DJing and promoting artists.

Frank said his experiences with producing gave him a whole new respect for the amount of work musicians put into creating a song.

“We’re living in a culture today where a bunch of people can just say whatever they want behind a keyboard about a song they might not like,” said Frank. “I like the person I’m sharing a song with to know that this is a piece of art, somebody put their soul into it.”

Frank said he thinks a lot of people listen to music at face value, and he hopes that through Leftfield Radio he can encourage people to put their judgments aside and realize the artist is expressing themselves from an emotional place.

Esteban and Frank put together episodes of Leftfield Radio with the help of their friends Megan Torrecampo, MJ Vallejo, Adrian Bautista and Joon Lee. They consider Leftfield Radio a small part of what they hope to accomplish under the name Leftfield.

They are currently working toward expanding to other mediums like YouTube, television and live events.

Their main goal is to one day create and run a record label called Leftfield Records.

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“The reason our name is Leftfield is because we want the music to sound like it’s coming out of left field. We want it to be a bit different than what you’re going to hear on the radio. We want to get away from the mainstream and showcase different artists.”

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A BALANCed LIFE

Words by Alexis Navarro Photos by Johanna Martin

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I

t’s not unusual to be stopped by your friends for a quick chat.

However, it is unusual to be stopped by total strangers for a picture or even a follow on Instagram. You don’t know them, but they know you.

This is more than just a random occurrence for San Jose State University business marketing senior and part-time YouTuber, Kris Hui. As we sat at the local campus Starbucks before our interview even began, a girl asked Hui for some advice about Instagram. She came up to us with a huge smile on her face, and Hui mirrored her expression. The two had a quick back and forth and then we began our interview.

The fact that this girl could point out who Hui was in the packed coffee shop, with Hui wearing what could only be described as a laid back college-chic wardrobe was fascinating. Even though this doesn’t happen to Hui a lot, the fact that people are so open to approaching her should be an indicator of her personality online.

If you are not like many college students who love the internet, YouTubers are videographers, also known as content creators, who share entertaining content on the video-sharing website, YouTube. Some creators’ videos become so popular, because of subscribers and overall views, that they become known as an internet personality.

Kris Hui is a self-made YouTuber with more than 132,000 subscribers. Her channel focuses mainly on fashion, health and college life.

Although Hui’s success didn’t come overnight, it doesn’t take long to understand why her videos are so popular.

Her channel is about bringing a positive vibe to someone else’s day and giving advice on college or everyday life to her audience.

This advice comes from her own experiences whether it is being a student at SJSU or going on a road trip by yourself. Her on-screen presence is much like talking to a close friend. She is someone you can relate to who motivates you to be your best self.

Hui never thought that YouTube would ever be in her future, let alone become such a large part of her life.

“The summer before my freshman year of college, I had a lot of free time on my hands,” Hui said.

She already had a DSLR camera and an interest in photography in high school. Hui grew up watching YouTubers like Jenn Im and understood the YouTube format.

While video making wasn’t necessarily on her radar, she thought she should give it a try.

The summer before starting college, Hui began traveling and

attending concerts. She wanted to document her experiences, and with her first few videos her audience consisted of close friends and Instagram followers.

Once Hui started to create college content, she began to see her channel rise in viewership. Her focus shifted into creating content for the average college student.

Whether it was a move-in video blog or a “What to Bring to College” video, people were connecting with her. Now three years in and more than 100,000 subscribers later, Hui is starting to think about what her YouTube channel will look like after she graduates college.

“I think I want to document my journey of post-grad life,” Hui said.

She knows that while her channel is gaining followers, she doesn’t solely want to rely on YouTube as her only income. As a marketing major, Hui is hoping to take what she has learned from YouTube and combine her creative side with a business that will grant her that creative freedom.

Taking viewers on her journey after college will be a new challenge for Hui, especially while trying to navigate this new chapter.

“I need to figure out what my plans are location-wise, do I stay in San Jose? Do I go back to San Francisco? Moving to LA is a possibility,” Hui said.

At the moment, Hui is happy creating content for her audience that doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive.

Hui’s style of creating YouTube content is through “vlogs,” or video blogs. These were a perfect fit for Hui because all she had to do was pick up a camera and record her day.

With her sit-down videos, Hui’s process is to type her main points on a Google document and film herself doing a regular video or a Q&A. Her main objective is to always be authentic, which is how she relates to her audience.

However, being a student and part-time YouTuber is not an easy task, as Hui acknowledges the struggles especially when school is involved.

There will be times when she takes breaks in between videos, which she doesn’t enjoy doing because she wants to be consistent with her channel.

One of the good things about YouTube is that creators have a community of people who support them, whether it is close family, friends or even complete strangers. So if Hui misses a deadline every once in a while, she knows that her audience will be understanding.

Even the concept of having such a big audience or even fans of her channel is surprising to Hui.

“I want everybody to live happy, productive lifestyles and I’m just showing my way of going about that.”

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“There are people from everywhere,” Hui said. “I’ve gotten people from Thailand, Japan, just random places and I don’t know how I relate to them at all but somehow my content relates to them.”

Seeing that her content motivates, inspires and entertains people is what makes Hui happy. She believes that as long as her content is spreading positivity to her viewers, then that in itself is a reward.

One misconception that is centered around YouTube is that the act of making videos and posting them online is a way for people to become famous. Many young aspiring YouTubers begin making videos for money, fame or sponsorships. But for Hui, it was her way of being creative above anything else.

“For me I started off with the intention of just creating videos and it was my creative outlet so all the extra things just came with the consistency that I put into my channel,” Hui said.

Another false impression is that YouTube holds no artistic value, something that Hui disagrees with strongly.

“A lot goes into it, Hui said. “The editing process is long and hard and you have to have a little creative touch to your videos to make it unique and keep your viewers wanting more.”

“If the video is very average then people might not stick around,” she added.

The creative spark in Hui’s videos stands out, whether it’s in her filming, edits or even thumbnails. It shows that Hui is so passionate about her content, that she’s willing to put in time and effort.

Hui’s hard work is being acknowledged not only by YouTube, which awarded her with a silver 100,000 subscribers plaque, but

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also with her audience. Hui doesn’t take her viewership for granted.

With 100,000 subscribers comes the pressure to create quality content for so many people. Hui’s strategy to this pressure is to try not to think about it too much and stick with what she knows – creating content that is easy to process and serves as an escape from everyday life.

For fellow SJSU students who want to start their own YouTube channel, Hui says to not worry about other people’s thoughts and to be committed.

“Don’t be discouraged if at first you’re not getting that many views or don’t have that many subscribers because we all start somewhere,” Hui said.

With only a few hundred subscribers starting out at the beginning of her college career, Hui has worked hard for three years to get to where she is today. If YouTube has given Hui anything, it has been the chance to not only be creative, but to document her life and share memories with herself and those who are close to her.

“It’s for yourself. I make videos for myself too, it’s not all just for my audience,” Hui said.

The one thing that Hui hopes to give to her audience is the message of living a balanced life. Since Hui’s life consists of school, YouTube and other extracurricular activities, she believes it is important to show people that such a balance is achievable.

“I want everybody to live happy, productive lifestyles and I’m just showing my way of going about that,” Hui said.

Passion Lens Words by Myla La Bine Photos by Ben Pham

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dopted at age 3 from Ukraine, Art has always been a huge part of San Jose State University design studies senior Nicholas Douglass’ life. He used art as a means of coping with anxiety and stress as a child.

“I would spend three to four hours just doing mandalas by hand and that was a way of coping with stress,” Douglass said.

He also did an abstract painting in high school after being inspired by German artist Gerhard Richter.

Photography, particularly portraiture, however, is his main passion.

Douglass’ first experience with photography was when his parents bought him a camera to take on a trip to England in middle school. He said he took around 2,000 photos in four days.

“I’d always been begging my parents for a DSLR camera because I thought every family should have one to document their children’s lives and other big events,” he said.

It wasn’t until he took a beginner’s photography class as a general education course during his freshman year that he began to have a serious interest in the visual art form. He ended up adding photography as a minor and decided to set up a makeshift studio in his CVB apartment with various backdrops and new equipment.

Douglass credits his parents as major supporters when he decided to make the transition. He started doing freelance work about a year and a half ago and has a studio set up in his current apartment.

He said he feels very fortunate to have roommates who are accomodating to his passion.

“Although I have to move most of the furniture, with practice it takes less than 10 minutes,” Douglass said.

He then began asking people he knew and other students to pose as models for portraits. He described the experience of seeing someone he could imagine as a model as a lightbulb going off in his head.

“What I love is when they say, ‘That’s me?’ and I’m like, ‘That’s you!’” Douglass said about his favorite part of working with clients.

His Instagram is filled with vibrant colors and bold lighting.

Rather than just using a monochromatic backdrop, Douglass

creates a sense of intrigue with both dark and bright lights, and props such as flowers, jewelry and makeup to showcase his subjects.

He’s mostly inspired by Desiree Mattson, the main photographer for the high-end makeup brand Pat McGrath.

Though he spends much of his time editing and doing photoshoots, he’s still a full-time student. Douglass said he aims for at least two photoshoots a week. “[In] some cases, we’re unable to find a model and we can bump them to Friday or we’re simply out of luck. There isn’t much room for flexibility since I’m booked a month in advance,” Douglass said.

Though he admits it can be stressful at times, there are benefits of being so close to campus.

He recently had the opportunity to take photos at football practice after being invited to shadow Meredith Williams, a resident SJSU sports photographer.

This was his first time doing sports photography, which he admitted was out of his comfort zone but he ultimately enjoyed it.

He said he’s open to other types of photography such as product, business and editorial.

Douglass said the best advice he can give on improving your skills is to never stop taking photos, find the right medium and do research to know what the best equipment is.

In a day and age where virtually everyone has a camera on their smartphone, he thinks that people tend to take photography for granted as an art form.

Nevertheless, technology has helped make editing photos easier for him and given him the ability to work while on the go. He splits time between editing on a computer and his phone.

“It’s kind of like my dad... he’s grocery shopping at three different places... I’m editing on, like, three different apps,” Douglass said.

Douglass’ portraits have been featured in the Spartan Daily and the SD Voyager, a San Diego-based local magazine.

After graduation, Douglass dreams of moving to a big city like Los Angeles or New York. He wants to work for a magazine as either a resident photographer or editor.

“I’d always been begging my parents for a DSLR camera because I thought every family should have one to document their children’s lives and other big events.”

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Pow!Wow! San Jose Words by Zoe Alvarez Photos by Zoe Alvarez and Hoi Shan Cheung

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ow! Wow! San Jose is a self-funded group of artists and planning directors who gather to paint large murals on the sides of buildings and curate art shows around the city. Vibrant art splashed on the surfaces of walls, creating eye-catching backdrops is the final product of Pow! Wow! San Jose.

They are one of many groups nationwide that collectively plan festivals in different cities around the world such as Honolulu, Washington, D.C., and even parts of Japan and Korea. Each city not only showcases the artists behind the murals, but also includes music and other elements of culture.

This is the third year that Pow! Wow! San Jose will gather and paint District Two of San Jose to bring more color into an already vibrant city.

“The reason we do it is we all love art and culture,” said Tommy Aguilar, co-director and co-founder of the group. He joined through close friend Stacey Kellogg, director of the organization. “We try to do our best to produce a very inclusive event.”

Aguilar assists in reaching out to artists, gaining sponsorships such as proud sponsor Empire 7 Studios and arranging opportunities for funding. The funds help house, feed and supply artists with the tools needed to execute the murals.

“It’s a huge physical undertaking. We apply for grants, we lean on crowdfunding to support our festival, even the big businesses around San Jose have helped sponsor us,” said Aguilar. He explains how curators are involved in the process of selecting artists who have been referenced by others or who have shown interest in painting a mural.

Twenty artists were selected to complete murals in the first two years of the festival, and this year they obtained a skatepark to paint for the first time. The skatepark at Great Oaks Park was approved by the city and artists Ryan Bubnis and Stephany Sanchez had the privilege of painting it.

“This is my second skatepark I have painted. I never thought I would get to this point in my career,” said muralist Bubnis.

Bubnis had created art for skateboards and accessories in the past, which is why he appealed to the group as a muralist this year. He took to a classic brush and a bucket of paint to smear lime green and bright yellow on the concrete while skaters practiced next to him.

“It’s an honor being part of Pow! Wow!” said Sanchez, woodcut printer and first-time muralist. Sanchez, 24, is a San Jose native and was sought after by Pow! Wow! San Jose. “I grew up with Empire 7 and watching people paint murals here when I was young.”

“This event is meant for us to beautify our city and hopefully our gift can last long beyond my lifetime,” said Aguilar.

With expansions into other areas of San Jose, the Pow! Wow! San Jose street art gallery continues to bring in new faces in art and music, as well as pops of color, culture and diversity to locals and visitors alike.

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Stephany Sanchez washing her brushes.

Finished mural of Stephany Sanchez

The mural at the skatepark and Glen Park.

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Stephany Sanchez photographed by member of Pow! Wow! San Jose.

Rista White painting on canvas

Artist standing on a ladder to paint.

Pow! Wow! Swag

White carrying the paint bucket closer to his canvas Sanchez putting more paint on her brush.

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A digital and print publication made by students dedicated to students.

Created at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at San Jose State University.