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MEG came to the U.S. in the 80\u2019s. \u201cIn El Salvador, I had a boutique where I sold clothing. I had my own house and my own business. I came over because if I didn\u2019t come with my sons the war would have robbed me of them,\u201d said MEG. Like many new arrivals from Central America, coming North was a survival instinct. Making a home in the Mission District, however, was a choice to be near a pueblo of our people, culture and art. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe birds in the sky are close to God,\u201d said MEG. \u201cOne day, I went to Golden Gate Park and there was a bluebird. I had some nuts and I started calling the bird, \u2018Come bluebird, come bluebird, come.\u2019 The bird was in a tall tree and it flew down and ate the seeds I had from my hand. Isn\u2019t that so beautiful? … The bird heard me, from so high, from so far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MEG raised three boys by herself in San Francisco, including local muralist Josu\u00e9 Rojas. \u201cShe sold everything that she owned and left everything that she knew to raise us here,\u201d said Rojas. \u201cShe has been my hero and inspiration. If not by her painting ability, but by the way she lives her life and her independence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n MEG and Josu\u00e9 worked together on the curation and direction of her debut exhibition. As people passed by the gallery\u2019s big front-facing window, they stopped, placed their hands around their eyes and leaned on the glass to watch the duo at work. \u201cThe most interesting thing is that my teacher is Josu\u00e9,\u201d said MEG. \u201cWhen he calls me he says, \u2018Paint Mam\u00e1, paint.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not uncommon to find them painting murals together in San Francisco. \u201cWe support each other a lot,\u201d said Rojas. \u201cAs long as it’s on a huge lift or on the ground floor, she comes and supports me. That has been a training ground for her painting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The synergy is evident. The two artists are often working on the same idea, both attempting their own version. \u201cShe is one of my mentees,\u201d said Rojas. \u201cBut I am one of her mentees in life. There\u2019s always mutual support.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like many of us, MEG endured the quarantine by herself. The majority of her artworks in the show were created during her time spent in solitude. \u201cThis is an expression of love, light, and joy during lockdown,\u201d said Rojas. \u201cThat was one of her prolific times. I made sure she had her meds, food, and fresh paint. To keep her mental health high.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Capturing the small moments in life is MEG\u2019s specialty. Her body of work feels like a homecoming after a long day of work. A warm plate of food to nourish your soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery single one of these paintings are like a child to me,\u201d said MEG. \u201cEvery time I create a new art piece, something beautiful happens: I feel like I\u2019m receiving therapy. No conozco la soledad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fiesta de Vida Y Colores: A Celebration in Paintings is on view until May 11 and artworks are on sale at accionlatina.org<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MEG’s debut show, \u201cFiesta de Vida y Colores: A celebration in paintings,\u201d is now on display in San Francisco’s Juan R. Fuentes Gallery until May 11. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88922,"featured_media":60549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":true,"newspack_featured_image_position":"above","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":[18510],"class_list":["post-60545","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\/2024\/05\/IMG_9424-medium.jpg?resize=600%2C450&quality=89&ssl=1\")
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