El volador
Alex Cortes-Cruz
Grade: 12
Card Number: 53
Refran: "Taking a brief getaway, Leaves you stuck in an endless pit"
Card Description: For my Loteria Card I wanted to share my thoughts on substance abuse. I chose substance abuse as the subject matter because it connects to my childhood and storys ive heard growing up. The colors in my piece represent the emotions that most addicts have experienced when taking drugs.The images in the piece represent a man that escaped the burning planet because he couldn't handle all the pain and suffering that he has gone through. For me personally, this card represents the homeless people around my block and my cousin that is in prison because they both have a connection to drugs. I want to show the audience that all the homeless especially the addicts have a story and those stories are the reason they are who they have become.
Student Biography: My name is Alex Cortes-Cruz and I am a senior at Santa Maria High School. I live in Santa Maria, California with my mom, dad, brother, sister, and my 2 cats (Tito, and Odis). My family is from Oaxaca, Mexico. In my Loteria card, I chose to represent substance abuse. What inspired me to draw my Loteria card was because a lot of people around the world use and abuse drugs but sometimes for a good reason. The world is cruel and dark and sometimes one needs a break and for some its drugs. The artistic process was very real to me because growing up my cousin was an alcoholic and use cocaine, until I told him why he abuses drug, he told me how cruel he gets treated at work and in his social life just because he’s Mexican. Life after high school will be adventurous and hard because I am going to become a billionaire and it’s not going to be easy but it will happen.