“PODEROSAS”: How community health advocates are recognized
It has been five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, causing lockdowns and affecting the experience of everyday life. On this year's International Women’s Day, Alicia Rojas shared her project “PODEROSAS” with the 18th Street Art Center community.
“PODEROSAS” is a portrait series of 63 “promotoras,” or community health advocates, in Santa Ana. The project consists of digitized oral stories of these women and their stories.
These women took on the role of health advocates to the Santa Ana Latino community during the height of the pandemic, becoming pillars of support for their communities.
During this time, problems that affected the Latino community in Santa Ana were amplified by the lack of access to healthcare, child care and housing security. Communities saw an increase in evictions, unemployment and domestic abuse. They also underwent a rise of misinformation surrounding COVID-19 and vaccinations.
As “promotoras,” these women were acclaimed for directly engaging with their communities and informing them about resources. They helped advocate for vaccines and worked to ensure people got vaccinated.
Speaking to the attendees, Rojas shared how resilient Latina women are and reflected on how crucial women are to immigrant communities like Santa Ana. Rojas said, “I see my aunts in these stories, because they are hardworking women… they are starting to build community, they're starting to build up their families... they care, not just about their immediate family or themselves, they understand that there's a community out there like them, so they start linking.”
In her work, Rojas likens promotoras to “worker bees,” comparing their shared abilities to adapt to any place they are migrated to, help their communities and work to build “hives” anywhere. This also influenced Rojas’ public art installation at the Latino Health Access (LHA), a brass sculpture in the shape of a honeycomb.
During the celebration, Rojas shared a short documentary highlighting her process from the inspirations behind her portrait series, which were accompanied by digitized oral stories, and her art installation, which pays tribute to the women of her community. Ali Coyle, who made music for the documentary, accompanied Rojas along with Cecilia Ortiz Fernández, who filmed and directed the documentary.
This project was a recipient of the 18th Street Arts Center California Creative Corps Fellowship, a program designed to fund 18 artists with the intention of creating any form of community-based art. The purpose of this program is to address the identities and experiences of communities in California, Oregon and Washington. The goal is to use art as a way to promote the well-being of marginalized communities.
Rojas was able to use this opportunity, along with a grant from the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, to fund her project to completion. Her project allowed promotora women to be celebrated and recognized for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rojas notes that their efforts are overlooked, and recognizes them as first responders in their communities.
Rojas made an effort to ensure that these women felt empowered through the process, even getting them recognized by the Santa Ana County and Congress. The “PODEROSAS” project was recognized in the “American Heroes of the Pandemic” collection by the Library of Congress.
For more information on Alicia Rojas and her art projects, visit www.alicia-rojas.com.