Adriana Garcia, “May You Grow in Knowledge…” . Courtesy of the Centro Cultural Aztlan. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
This year’s Centro Cultural Aztlan’s Women Exhibit, Las Mujeres de Aztlan: Mujeres de Fuerza–Women of Strength, celebrated International Women’s Month. Curated by artist Terry Ybanez, the March 6, 2026 opening at the Centro in San Antonio, Texas drew a large crowd of Latina/o art lovers. The art show, which included 38 local artists, was beautiful, festive, challenging, and cathartic. The guests enjoyed Mi Tierra’s Mexican nopalitos, black beans, and ceviche as a Latina DJ played Mexican music, accompanied by a special reading by four women poets.
Ann Wallace, “We are the children? Family Separation”. Courtesy of the Centro Cultural Aztlan. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Following the poetry reading, the large crowd of visitors at the exhibit engaged in conversations about the show’s artistic themes. Many of the works dealt with the political, economic, health, social, and cultural marginalization of Latina women in Texas. Joan Frederick, an artist in the exhibition, noted, “I painted this surreal landscape to represent the bonfires raging in this dark night of today’s world, where my spirit rises above the chaos to turn into gold, stay steady, and keep trying to change negative into progressive change.”
Edma Lugo Martínez, “La Chamana.” Courtesy of the Centro Cultural Aztlan. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
We heard discussions about the growing vulnerabilities of the status of women in education. Several college art students and university faculty members spoke of the recent Texas higher education policies affecting women and minorities. The New York Times reported that the Texas A&M System, governing some of the largest public institutions of higher education in Texas, will ban advocacy of “race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity” without higher‑level administrative approval. Such degrees are creating a chilling effect on classroom discussions about race, history, and gender.
Jessica Fuentes, writer at the art journal Glasstire, recently commented on the growing negative effects of the pending consolidation of gender- and race-based programs at Texas universities. She agreed that the “degradation of gender- and race-based initiatives sets us back nearly 40 years in education, but beyond the erasure of these programs is the reality of how new guidelines around what can be taught or discussed in the classroom will do ever more damage.” She added that “putting tight restrictions on classroom rhetoric means that university courses, where discourse is supposed to take place, are silenced.” Fuentes questioned the value of a university education if academic and artistic freedoms are being terminated.
Terry Ybañez “Hummingbirds/Colibries.” Courtesy of the Centro Cultural Aztlan. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Lead curator Terry Ybanez’s painting honored three prominent Texas community leaders. Her painting includes a portrait of Rebecca Flores, a leader in the United Farm Workers’ [UFW] presence in Texas. Appointed by Cesar Chavez as State Director of the UFW in Texas in 1975, Flores became one of the most prominent UFW leaders outside of California. Ybanez’s portrait of Patricia S. Castillo, Founder of the P.E.A.C.E. Initiative, represented an influential domestic-violence advocate and mentor to women, teens, and community leaders. The portrait of Nickie Valdez is Ybanez’s recognition of the 1976 Co-founder of Dignity/San Antonio, one of the city’s longest-running LGBT Catholic organizations.
Manola and Maria Ramirez, “Where Trouble was Brewing”. Courtesy of the Centro Cultural Aztlan. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Over the past twenty-five years, Terry Ybañez’s life has been filled with painting, teaching, and community service. For seventeen years, from 2004 to 2021, she taught art at Brackenridge High School. Ybañez attended Brackenridge as a high school student, where she organized art events and shared ideas and art skills with her high school friends and classmates. As a preschool, middle school, and high school teacher, Ybañez influenced many talented Latina and Latino artists.
Liliana Wilson, “Cruzando”. Courtesy of the Centro Cultural Aztlan. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Ybañez is retired from teaching but is actively engaged in painting and preserving the cultural heritage of her San Jose Mission neighborhood. The mission and surrounding area are part of the San Antonio UNESCO World Heritage site. Ybañez has worked with other community activists to support parks and the preservation of historic spaces near the mission where she lives and has her art studio. She eagerly awaits opportunities to expand her work as an artist.
A painting, “Where Trouble was Brewing,” by San Antonio artists Manola and Maria Ramirez, portrays a woman with her face partially covered and raising her fist, suggesting struggle and resistance. The Ramirez sisters collaborate on many of their art projects.
Adriana Garcia, “May You Grow in Knowledge…” Courtesy of the Centro Cultural Aztlan. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Manola credits a Life Drawing class at San Antonio College as transformational to her art career. Her art teachers commented on her creative talent and encouraged her to seek an art degree. After two years at San Antonio College, Manola and her sister Maria both transferred to The University of Texas at Austin and were admitted to the UT Art Department. The sisters excelled in art classes and graduated with Bachelor’s of Arts degrees in 2018.
The Ramirez sisters returned to San Antonio after graduation and today operate an all-female collaborative space known as Lavaca Studios in Southtown. There they create, teach, and provide artistic resources to the community. Several years ago, the Ramirez sisters completed a mural in the Southside, which Glasstire praised for its “graphic aesthetics, use of color and font, and whimsical style.”
Ashley Perez. NT. Courtesy of the Centro Cultural Aztlan. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Liliana Wilson, an immigrant from Chile who has been living and working in Austin, makes social and political statements with her art. As a first-generation Latina immigrant, she addresses her concerns for the plight of humanity by looking at global issues, such as migration, climate change, and social justice.
Wilson’s work in the exhibit reminds us, for example, that immigration is not just an American issue; it is a worldwide phenomenon, and the news media provides daily evidence of tragic events affecting migrants. Every continent and most countries of the world are affected by migration issues, either losing or gaining migrants.
Wilson’s painting of a young boy standing on a discarded truck tire represents the immigrant’s journey. Many of the crossings of the Rio Grande are accomplished with inner tubes and floating devices. The painting reveals that teens often make the dangerous trek to the United States unaccompanied by adult or family members. Over the years, many of Wilson’s works have touched on the subject of migration. Sadly, today the Latino communities are consumed with horrid accounts of deportation.
The painting also brought back memories of my childhood in San Antonio’s Westside. Some of the teen boys in our barrio were very poor and could not afford toys or bikes, objects common to middle-class families from the neighborhoods to the north. There were no playgrounds in the barrio, and kids played with tires and other discarded items.
Anita Valencia, “Sor Juana de la Cruz,” Courtesy of the Centro Cultural Aztlan. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Adriana Garcia’s portrait of a young woman surrounded by plants is radiant and hopeful. In the bottom-left corner, she depicts a small girl on her knees with a watering can, planting corn in a brown field with a bright blue sky behind her. The dominant figure is a young Brown woman positioned at the center of a colorful sphere with blue swirls.
There are large yellow sunflowers attached to her upper body, and Garcia placed Indian jewelry on the young woman’s ears and wrist. In explaining her artwork, Garcia once wrote: “I create as a way to document the lives I’ve shared, (which) provides a way to honor a person’s existence and make visible the marks they have imprinted upon me and the environment– a legacy left as well as those still to come.”
Many of the artworks in the exhibition were familiar to the Centro audience. I had to confess to Centro CEO Malena Gonzalez-Cid that the work and the enthusiasm of those attending the exhibit opening overwhelmed me. If I had the time and space to write more, as a start, I would add discussion on Ann Wallace’s work that documents “Family Separation”; Ashley Mireles, “Terminal Migration”; Anita Valencia, “Sor Juan de la Cruz”; Edna Lugo Martinez, “La Chamana”; and Veronica Castillo’s ceramic sculpture. The exhibit included colorful and inspiring works by Lorena Young Medillin, Ashley Perez, Gloria Sanchez Hart, Ethel Shipton, and Kim Bishop. Too much exciting art is a good problem to have. The exhibit will be on display at the Centro Cultural Aztlan until April 16, 2026.
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Copyright 2026 by Ricardo Romo. All photo credits as indicated above. For more information on the Centro Aztlan exhibit visit:
Latina Women of Strength Celebrated at the Centro Cultural Aztlan International Women’s Exhibit