We Are Engel & Völkers Atlanta

From walk-by hellos with our neighbors and local philanthropic initiatives, to celebrating record breaking sales with nearby Morningside clients, 2021 has proven to be a year of great success and relationship building with those who make this community the home that it is. We would like to personally extend warm holiday wishes to each and every one of our Morningside residents.

that we face as undocumented people.”

Despite being celebrated and embraced by her community, Cambrón is not exempt from the tenuous existence of her immigration status. Plagued by nightmares about being raided by ICE since she was a child, she has an innate understanding of the plight that immigrants face in our country.

Cambrón carries a significant responsibility as one of the few undocumented artists working in such a visible way in our city and even the country. She was the first undocumented artist to ever show her work at the High Museum of Art, for example, and her hard-earned reputation has given her unique access to institutions with reach. “I never would have dreamed that I would have been in a museum at that age, I was 27 at the time,” said Cambrón. She uses her artwork to bring attention to the all-too-often unheard struggles of immigrants, hoping to educate, inform, and provide actionable steps to improve their lives in real ways.

One of Cambrón’s most iconic images is the Education is Liberation Monarch. This motif is half butterfly and half book, united in the center by a pencil. Originally developed when Cambrón was working as a full-time teacher, the symbol was created in response to a request from two fellow Teach for America staff members who were supporting DACAmented Corps members. They wanted something that would highlight the intersection between the identity of an immigrant and their role as educators, and so the Education is Liberation Monarch was born.

“It’s a symbol that for me represents so much resistance. It represents our fight to thrive, and not just to survive. Our parents did that for us; they migrated so we could survive. Their courageous decision has given me the privilege to find ways to thrive. The book is that thriving piece.”

Cambrón hopes that by continuing to paint murals and create works that exist in public spaces she can provide a muchneeded bridge to awareness of the issues that immigrants face in this country. ““Family separation, immigration detention, anti- blackness, racism, imagining a future beyond DACA, all the complex issues that form part of our experience,” said Cambrón.

Working hand in hand with El Refugio, a hospitality and visitation ministry serving immigrants at SDC and their loved ones, she often uses her social media accounts to share actionable aid. Those efforts include fundraising, coordination of transportation once released from SDC (she told me how immigrants are often driven to the airport and deposited there with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, and frequently in the dead of the night), and care packages to help newly released immigrants as they acclimate to life outside of the detention center.

Check out Cambrón’s website at yehimicambrón.com and follow her on Instagram at @ycambron.

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