Cactus Garden Huipilista

The Works of Kathy Sosa
Kathy Sosa moved to San Antonio from Alabama as a child and immediately fell in love with the blended culture of the Texas-Mexico border region. After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at St. Mary’s University, she spent years in advertising and political consulting. Kathy began her life as a painter during her late 40’s and embraced the artistic expressions of the Mestisaje culture. Her work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Latino Center in Washington D.C. and regionally in Texas; it has also been featured on CNN and in various publications.

“Everything in my body of work is about the Mestizo culture that I live in, and I would like to bring to people’s attention to the very cool things about the blended culture in the Texas-Mexico border land… It’s a distinct culture of its own” ---Kathy Sosa

From the Huipiles Series
The artist makes the point:  “It is important to know these are things (wearing huipiles) that are happening now! Not in the past! The wearers incorporate these cultural garments into their wardrobes…what we do is find beautiful things from our culture, beautiful things that we stumble over and see and …you are wearing it to carry something from the past forward or from the present into another place.” --- Kathy Sosa

Kathy Sosa (American, b. 20^th Century)
Cactus Garden Huipilista
Oil portrait on water color papger
Unsigned
30 ½ x 30 ½ inches

The painting depicts a very proud, young Latina posing in front of a native cactus. Her lips mirror the red of the cactus bloom. What comes across is her pride in her Mexican roots, her pride in her culture and the culture of the Mestizos of the Texas borderlands.  Her confidence and attitude are plainly visible.