My thesis is a series of portrait paintings representing individual stories within Latin-American communities that show commonalities and diversities embodied by cultures that fall under the umbrella of Latinex. My paintings serve as a visual index illustrating hybridity within the Latinex community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I interviewed Latinex individuals within my community and painted their portraits utilizing various techniques that speak to the hybrid identity of the sitter and of myself. My ethnicity, an American Latino, is a major driving force in painting portraits of Latinex individuals from my community. Through my exploration I am not only getting to know the subject I am painting, I am learning more about myself and how I fit within the Latin community.
