Cruz Zamarrón: Chicano Trickster

2/19-3/15-2025

The colorful painting depicts a bright and vibrant BBQ party. Two men (Los Tios) in white t-shirts and brown pants stand in front of two large BBQs lookingnto the right, one holds a burrito the other holds a beer. A woman to the far right stands before the open BBQ, smoke streaming out and to the right, she prepares tortillas on a plate as an armadillo runs past her feet towards the men on the left. In the background people watch dancers beneath the colorful lights
Cruz Zamarrón, Los Tios, 1990, acrylic on canvas

Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery & Museo Eduardo Carrillo present the collected works of Chicano artist and UCSC alumni Cruz Ortiz Zamarrón. Through the artist’s unique style, this collection of paintings and drawings captures the cultural and historical imagery of the West Coast Chicano experience in the 70s through the 90s. Zamarrón’s animated imagery spans from the playful and nostalgic in “Los Tios” to the grim and political “La Llorona lamenting the death of her children.” The artist’s contemporary imagery is peppered with Azteca Mexica references and Mexican folklore displaying an integration of his heritage into the everyday. Mentored by UCSC professor Eduardo Carrillo as a student and later as a friend and colleague, the viewer can see the influence the two artists had on one another. These works were collected by Carrillo and are a reflection of that mentorship and the growth that Zamarrón experienced in that time period.

Cruz Ortiz Zamarron (1953-2024) was a gifted storyteller. His multimedia artworks are rich with Mexican folklore, colonial history, and the life of a Chicano artist living in Santa Cruz in the 1970s. Born with Morquio Syndrome, Zamarron’s mobility and health were greatly impaired his entire life, however Zamarron was eager not to let his genetic disability define him. At nineteen he hitchhiked to California from San Antonio Texas and established himself as an artist in a new city. A joyful rascal by nature, much of the stories of Zamarron involve a significant level of mischief. One such story was on the evening of the artist’s birthday when he and a group of other UCSC art students painted the Virgin de Guadalupe on the side of the sand cliffs near the downtown Santa Cruz clocktower. Even though the mural was promptly removed by the city, in its short lifespan it spoke volumes to the local Latino community and it became a common sight to see flowers and offerings left at the base of the image that miraculously appeared days before the Feast of the Virgin de Guadalupe. This particular representation of the Virgin Mary is a valued icon specifically to the Mexican-American community symbolizing both a legitimacy of the Mexican people within the Catholic Church but also a connection to the Azteca-Mexican Coatlicue (koh-at-lee-kway) goddess of life, death, and childbirth. Zamarron emphasized this connection within his artworks, incorporating imagery both Catholic and Indigenous Mexican. 

By placing cultural and folkloric imagery within contemporary scenes, Zamarron modernized Mexican and Indigenous culture, placing tradition in the present. Zamarron’s canvases are inhabited by both joyful celebrations of life and death as well as grim, mournful expressions of loss. This duality outlines the complexity of being Chicano in California and Texas; of living in geographical spaces that work to forget that they were Mexico once, and indigenous land always. Zamarron emphatically reminds us of this history within his art, a prime example can be seen in his many depictions of the Mexican folkloric figure of La Llorona. Through these works Zamarron illustrated the tragedy of colonialism, stating in an interview that in these paintings the tragic specter of La Llorona drowned her children so that they would not have to face the horrors of being enslaved and murdered by the invading conquistadors. He returned to this figure often, contemporizing her with PF Flyer sneakers, a popular brand in the 60s with the slogan “run faster and jump higher,” as a touch both humorous and serious to let the viewer know that the fight isn’t over and that the horrors persist into the present.

In an important act of Chicano resistance, Cruz lived in joy and laughter which he regularly depicted in his works. The vast body of his artwork showcases a glowing and colorful celebration of life. In works such as his 1990 painting Los Tios, we see Mexican-Americans thriving in familial spaces where they are safe and surrounded by loved ones, the smell of delicious grilled meat and the sound of vibrant music visible in the air. Though this scene rarely appears in art, the painting is a familiar and beloved scene for many Mexican-Americans who grew up going to such family and neighborhood bar-b-ques.

Cruz Zamarron was a beloved UCSC alum and mentee of Art Professor Eduardo Carrillo. A firm believer in community, Zamarron was a staple of Santa Cruz artist groups and could be found in numerous local galleries in his lifetime as well as teaching workshops to children on Mexican Cultural art. He was repeatedly featured in local newspapers for his beautiful art and his strong Chicano viewpoints. 

Last modified: Feb 03, 2025