When Alex Zarate was a kid, he liked to draw scenes based on his favorite comics and superheroes. Then, he started drawing portraits of his family. “My uncle paid me $5 for his portrait, and I realized that I could make money doing this,” Alex said. He realized that his talent in art could be the way to a life different from what he knew.
Art as a Voice for Immigrants
Growing up in Salem with parents who had immigrated from Mexico, art didn’t necessarily seem like a path that might be open to him. Zarate’s parents worked tirelessly to provide for their family, and it wasn’t easy. As he said, “I was given a privilege to live here by my parents, who sacrificed so much.”
All of Alex’s extended family in the United States worked in labor-intensive jobs in conditions that were often very challenging. This experience of growing up in an immigrant family makes him committed to amplifying the voices and experiences of the Mexicans and Mexican-Americans he knows. “I, as a son, artist, human being, have a responsibility to speak out for those who cannot do it themselves,” he shares.
Alex went to McKay High School and mainly focused on ceramics. He realized that he wanted to make his life in art, and going to an art school would be the best way to accomplish this. He decided he ultimately wanted to go to the Pacific Northwest College of Art but needed time to prepare his portfolio and be ready. Over the two years he spent at Chemeketa Community College, Alex continued some ceramic work but mainly focused on his drawing skills, hoping to enter PNCA as an illustrator. Through a transfer agreement between the two schools, Alex was able to take all of his credits from Chemeketa and apply them at PNCA so he could complete his art degree in four years. Alex entered PNCA as an illustrator, as he had planned, and just graduated with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Alex Zarate’s Mural at Chemeketa Community College
One of the central reasons Alex makes art is to call attention to the experiences of Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, and immigrants in the United States. He is especially inspired by the activism of Dolores Huerta, one of the founders of the United Farm Workers, a labor union for agricultural laborers instrumental in improving the wages and working conditions of the many immigrants in farm work. For him, these are the kinds of figures and issues that he wants to highlight.
In the summer of 2024, Alex got the chance to design and paint a mural in the Agriculture building at Chemeketa Community College, which had funding for a commissioned mural. He had one element he knew he wanted to include – 1950s farmworker “tickets” that listed the amounts of fruits and vegetables each worker harvested so they could be paid. Laura Mack, Alex’s instructor at Chemeketa, had found these “tickets” from the Otto L. Solberger farm in a recycling bin near her Salem home and gave them to Alex while he was at Chemeketa. Mack helped Alex advocate for his work to be chosen for the mural and helped identify students to assist in the execution of the mural.
Alex’s mural, of a family of farmworkers, takes up the entire wall of a classroom. Five figures with abstracted flowers and berries peer at the viewer from a field. The farmworker tickets form most of the clothing of the three adults and even parts of the children’s clothing. If you get close enough, you can still read the names of the workers and how much they picked. The mural is a powerful commentary on migrant labor and its influence on the agriculture of the Willamette Valley. As Alex explained in his statement about the work, “Migrant workers are the backbone of the U.S. To leave a home to make a better one for others not only takes bravery but heart. Nowadays, there is an all-time high when it comes to discrimination against people of color, including many migrant workers. We must not back down; we were passed torches to make life a better place. We must continue to shape humanity. We must be kind to each other. We need to choose humanity.”
Art has brought Alex a long way, and he plans to continue working as both an illustrator and a muralist. For Alex, art is central to his life. “Art, for me, is a means to connect with others. The art process is a hassle. It’s such an ugly process. I can draw for an entire day and will still be nowhere near finished. It can take up so much of your mind and body, but it’s exactly for that reason that I love it. It brings out the most human side of me. It makes me vulnerable and emotional. It makes me human.”
To see more of Alex’s work, check out his website.
