Java.Dec.2017-pages

SPANGLISH
Explores Art from the Borderlands
by Jenna Duncan
Moving to the United States is not just a trade of one place for another, but a
transition that requires adopting a new culture and learning a new language.
Because of the United States’ proximity to Mexico, Central America and
the Caribbean, even families who have lived for generations “state-side” still
hold onto precious fragments from their motherlands, like family recipes and the
native tongue.
Artists and married couple Jenea Sanchez-Uribe and Robert Uribe honor this
characteristic blending in their show SpanGlish: Work by Jenea y Robert desde the
Borderlands, now on view at The Hive in central Phoenix. This current body of work
marries their efforts, with both added brushstrokes to collaborative paintings.
Robert Uribe is currently mayor of Douglas, Arizona – Jenea’s hometown. He
moved to the small border community in 2012. “I just inaugurated the arts and
culture district in our downtown. We are trying to redevelop and revitalize,”
he says.
He did a lot of growing up in Arizona, moving here with his mother and brother in 2005.
But he was born in the Dominican Republic, and spent his youth in New York City.
His journey to becoming an artist and ending up in Douglas is a meandering tale of
searching for identity, of finding home and also of finding hope, acceptance and love.
Uribe grew up in the Washington Heights/Dyckman area of upper Manhattan.
His family left NYC a dozen years ago because his mother was worried that
Robert and his brother would get sucked into a “broken system,” the rough and
unforgiving life of the street. “My mother always had a vision for me and my
brother,” he says. “She wanted us to reach our full potential.” Robert grew up
without his father, so he and his brother had to fend for themselves.
But his mother would go out of her way on her days off to take Robert and his
brother on adventures around Manhattan. She would take them to Tribeca, Central
Park, MoMA and other cultural sites around the city because she wanted to show
her boys something bigger.
Robert says he loves NYC a lot, but after 9/11, things started to get uncomfortable.
His mother decided it was time for a change. She met a new man and
remarried. Within a couple of years, she had a plan. “She’s a believer, and so
am I – a Christian,” Robert says. A pastor told his mother, the city is getting too
complicated. Why not try Arizona? And so the family moved during one of the most
scorching summers he can remember.
At 33, Robert is the youngest mayor ever to serve Douglas. His path to the office
was unanticipated. Before he moved to Douglas, met his wife and started his
family, he’d never thought about entering politics.
In Douglas, they opened a coffee shop and became immersed in the town’s
bi-national culture and the arts. Coming from NYC, Uribe was able to
contribute some of his vision and city smarts. He became interested in
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