![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Hey-Homegirl_1_web.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&quality=89&ssl=1\")
\u201cI know that when I wear their stuff, I feel empowered,\u201d Moreno said of sporting merchandise from women-owned brands. \u201cAnd the fact that I\u2019m supporting another woman\u2014and another woman of color\u2014that probably went through the same things that I did, makes me really happy. Maybe I can create something that someone will feel empowered by.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yearning to contribute to and be part of that community, Moreno\u2014as part of her senior project\u2014proposed to her professor that she would organize an event to launch her Chika Xicana brand. Moreno\u2019s professor accepted the idea, initially believing that the event would be theoretical and not really happen. But Moreno envisioned the event beyond just some faux assignment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m going to do something, I\u2019m going to do it. \u2018De de veras,\u2019\u201d Moreno said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there is a deeper motivation for the show as well. Growing up the oldest of three daughters to Mexican parents in the San Diego neighborhood of City Heights, Moreno longed for role models that looked like her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI feel like growing up, I didn\u2019t have a lot of representation,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having white women as representation \u2026 but I really wish I was inspired or empowered by people who looked like me. So that\u2019s what I want to do for my sisters. I want to create representation not just for my sisters, but for other young girls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a young woman, Moreno endured abusive relationships and trauma with family and friends. Now, she\u2019s intent on voicing those struggles on her way to empowerment and healing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWomen in general go through a lot growing up,\u201d she said. \u201cI was going through a lot of struggles, and I was quiet about them. That\u2019s something that I want to do now: Voice who I am and reclaim my space in this world. Because I feel that was taken from me when I was growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The name of the show is also especially significant for Moreno. As part of her research, she scoured Urban Dictionary (the trusted web source for definitions of slang), searching the term \u201chomegirl.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome of their definitions are great\u2026 and then it starts to get worse,\u201d Moreno said. \u201cA lot of people have this stereotype of what a \u2018homegirl\u2019 is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreno became incensed upon seeing definitions that used words such as \u201choodrat,\u201d or that they\u2019re \u201csupposed\u201d to look a certain way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018Fuck that,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s not what a homegirl is. A homegirl is someone who\u2019s there for you, someone who has your back. You know, a woman. Who is trying to live her life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey Homegirl: It\u2019s Time we Reclaim Our Space,\u201d opens on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. Acci\u00f3n Latina\u2019s Juan R. Fuentes Gallery, 2958 24th St., San Francisco. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was a phrase Korina Esther Moreno heard often growing up: \u201cNadie te va dar un vaso de agua,\u201d the Spanish equivalent to: \u201cNo one is going to give you a glass of water.\u201d The phrase was intended to remind her to always fend for herself, a mindset carried by many immigrant parents whose familiarity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":42905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"coauthors":[18473],"class_list":["post-42904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Hey-Homegirl_3_web.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&quality=89&ssl=1\")