Eva Sanchez courtesy of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture.
Eva Marengo Sanchez, a native of San Antonio, is one of 38 Tejano artists in the Chicano exhibit, Soy de Tejas: A Statewide Survey of Latinx Art, at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture. The exhibit features more than 100 artworks spanning painting, sculpture, photography, fiber, video, and installation. San Antonio, Texas, curator Rigoberto Luna noted that their works “explore migration, family, labor, indigeneity, gender, and mythmaking while also celebrating humor, love, resilience, and the joy of everyday life.” Soy de Tejas “is both a survey and a reunion,” said Luna.
Eva Sanchez, courtesy of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture.
Featuring more than 100 artworks across painting, sculpture, photography, fiber, video, and installation, the exhibition showcases 39 contemporary Latinx artists who were born in or are based in Texas. Together, their works explore migration, family, labor, indigeneity, gender, and mythmaking while also celebrating humor, love, resilience, and the joy of everyday life.
“Soy de Tejas is both a survey and a reunion,” said Luna.
Eva Sanchéz, “Highway Esperanza.” Courtesy of Ruiz Healy Art. San Antonio, TX, and New York City. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
“The exhibition brings together artists whose individual practices speak to distinct experiences, yet collectively affirm the depth, diversity, and unity of Latinx life in Texas and beyond. To present this show at The Cheech is especially significant—it’s like bringing family together across borders. Our hope is that the stories within Soy de Tejas resonate with the communities of Riverside and beyond, reminding us that, despite man-made boundaries, we can recognize ourselves in one another and find common ground in our shared experiences.”
Eva Sanchez, courtesy of Rosario’s Mexican Restaurant, San Antonio, TX. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
For the artists, the California presentation offers an opportunity to share unique histories, personal narratives, and cultural perspectives from a distinct U.S. region with new audiences—fostering dialogue between Texas and California, two states are deeply rooted in Latinx history and culture.
Eva Sanchez, “Enchilada Plate To-Go.” Courtesy of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture.
Eva Marengo Sanchez’s art brilliantly captures the state of mind, color, and flavor of her hometown of San Antonio. She has been featured in stories by Texas Public Radio and Texas Monthly. Sanchez paints in her studio, on tall buildings, and is a rising star in the Latino art scene.
When Sanchez graduated from a small liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, she was wholly undecided about her career path. That changed after beginning an internship with Andy and Yvette Benavides at their South Flores frame shop in 2013. She credits the Benavides with introducing her to the art scene in SA and with giving her a solo show.
Eva Sanchez in Queretaro, Mexico, show. Photo by Ricardo Ricardo.
The following year Sanchez traveled to Mexico City where she worked on her Spanish and studied Meso-American art and architecture. Her interest in the art of the great Mexican muralists grew as she visited museums and saw their art in public buildings.
Eva Sanchez, Courtesy of Jefferson State Bank, San Antonio, Texas. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Eva left Mexico with a strong desire to begin painting. Eager to develop her artistic skills, she enrolled in several art classes at San Antonio College. In addition, she credits her additional development as an artist to Andy and Yvette Benavides who gave her a solo show in 2017.
Eva Marengo Sanchez, Pan Dulce series. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Sanchez described her food paintings as still-life presentations floating in a white background that allowed her to spend more time rendering each object. Her fascination with the color and texture of Mexican food led her to painting pan dulce, tacos, and frutas frescas commonly found in Mexican restaurants and bakeries on the Westside of San Antonio.
Eva Sanchez, A Mural Commission by the City of San Antonio Arts and Culture Department. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Sanchez describes her use of still life and food as a way of talking about cultural identity.
Eva Sanchez, “Topo-Chico.” Courtesy of Jefferson State Bank. San Antonio, TX. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
A show at the Presa House in 2019 also helped “jump start” her career. That year Sanchez also completed her mural at the San Antonio International Airport titled “Rising Concha” which depicts a giant pan dulce in bright yellow. [Completed with the San Antonio Street Art Initiative].
Eva Sanchez, A Mural Commission by the City of San Antonio Arts and Culture Department. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
More recently, Sanchez participated in the “Soy de Tejas” show in San Antonio and Fort Worth, Texas.
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Copyright 2025 by Ricardo Romo. All photo credits as noted above.