Ramona’s Kitchen: The Wild Horses & Wild Flowers, 2022
48” x 36”
To: Mom and Títi’s Lupe & Chunga
My Grandmother birthed 3 beautiful daughters. My Mom and my Titi’s: Lupe, and Gladys. Titi is Spanish slang for Tía, meaning Aunt.
Growing up, I spent a lot of time in different capacities with each of them. Listening to, what I know now, are the growing pains of women. I developed a great admiration for the plight of the female. Watching obstacles of unfairness that were dealt to them, forged my own determination to be a better man in my dealings with the opposite sex.
Titi Lupe, my aunt, is the oldest of the 3. She used to let me rummage through her music and movie collections at a young age. Her house had vases, statues, candles, cool living spaces & HBO (before Netflix), things that are essential to my quality of life, now. I always loved Lupe’s house as a kid because I felt I was crafting my cultural identity and preferences. She always would bring the family together at holidays, for pictures, etc. and play her role as the oldest sibling. I look back now, it was truly hard work and I commend her for it. She did our family a great service for years.
Titi Chunga, my youngest aunt, lived with us when I lived with my Grandparents. We’ve always been tight since I was a kid.
I always saw her as a big sister. We lived in the same house and I watched her adolescence and teen years closely. As my Titi, she was fun-loving, venturesome and would always see the positive to our situations. Even when we were down to our last at times, my Titi would stretch $20. We’d rent movies and takeout and spend time as a family with my baby cousins. I cherish those times and always use that as motivation to stay fun and adventurous for my young.
Lastly, Momma. We only get one in this life, and despite all the roller coaster rides we've been on…I now know, God gave me the right one for who I need to be in this world. Being raised by my grandparents, I built a relationship with my mother at a time in my life where I was molded as a person. There were some volatile moments in our relationship. As a kid, Mom was everything all at once. She was beautiful, talented, hardworking and I admired her versatility. She could be completely comfortable in the unpleasant environments we lived in at times but was able to “turn it on”, and adapt once she was in a different environment. Something I pride myself in today.
