I’ve got a special place in my heart for mun2. I don’t get the channel here in San Francisco but whenever I’m at Mariela’s place I’m all over it. I recently stayed up to three in the morning watching a Chicas Project marathon. I tend to roll my eyes at all the reggaeton videos they play but their scope of material is amazing. I can’t think of a better survey of what encompasses Latino pop culture in the United States. The graphics and visual aesthetics of mun2’s site and promos give me hope in my aspirations to establish a career as a Chicano graphic artist. I check out the site on a regular basis for their hilarious videos which range from silly to politically subversive (like Chingo Bling’s PSAs).
I registered on the site last week as a way to better bookmark and organize all of my favorite mun2 videos. Lo and behold I woke up this morning to find out that I was mun2 BFF of the week, listed right in the bottom right corner of their site. I’m not sure what about me got their attention or if it was totally random but I feel all special right now. Aw shucks mun2, thanks.
As an artist there have been a good number of videos on mun2 that have inspired me and got me thinking, my two recent favorites are below. The first is a video narrative by my favorite artist to ever walk the earth, Jaime Hernandez. His motivations for creating stories about Chicana punk rockers have inspired my own ideas about creating art using culture and mythologies. The video is simple and to the point but profound in so many ways to me. Check it out.
The second is a video diary by VJ Yasmin who presents her paintings to the viewer. Her straightforward discussion of her work delivered in her east-coast accent is real. Homegirl kicks her art discussion straight up. Her anxiety filled command to “don’t laugh at me” brings me back to all of my art school critiques and it warms my heart.
Peace,
Rio
Graphic Art, Tortillas, Comics, and Troublemaking 