2023-01-18 08:00:00
The sports world always has a way of making itself present in the path of muralist Lucinda Yrene Hinojos.
She recently received word that the NFL had selected her to create the art that will be used on various elements surrounding Super Bowl LVII, including a mural dedicated to the big game on February 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Hinojos, also known as ‘La Morena’, is the first Mexican-American and indigenous artist selected by the NFL for a collaboration of this nature.
The news made Hinojos shed tears, because until a few years ago, she had a full-time job in a bank and has struggled since she was 18 years old as a single mother victim of domestic violence.
“It makes me cry in a happy way. Finally, there are a lot of people who are happy for me, because they are finally seeing us,” Hinojos said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times regarding being part of the most watched game in the United States in any sport.
“It was exciting, my children were next to me. When they gave me the job, I started crying. Images came of everything I had to go through to get here. It was validation. I’ve been through so much, raising three kids on my own, working full time. I never gave up. Being a woman of color, Latina and indigenous… I have worked very hard to be here. I deserve it,” Hinojos said.
Hinojos will work with other indigenous artists to create a 9,500-square-foot mural, the largest in Super Bowl history. Hinojos has already designed the art that will accompany the Super Bowl tickets, which honors his Mexican origins, as well as the Pascua Yaqui, Chiricahua Apache, White Mountain Apache and Pima (Akimel O’Odham) tribes. On the NFL draft, he will work with Randy Barton (Diné/Navajo), Anitra “Yukue” Molina (Yaqui) and Carrie “CC” Curley (San Carlos Apache).
Fennel art that will accompany the Super Bowl tickets. The artwork itself features multiple symbols that represent key parts of Arizona culture and history.
“I’ve always had that determination to never give up, and I’ve always had that determination to keep going,” said Hinojos, a former soccer player who had to leave competitive sports when she got pregnant at 18 and lost an athletic scholarship.
Hinojos played soccer since he was six years old and has been in competitions since he was 14 at the club level. He got a sports scholarship and planned to play tournaments in Brazil, until the news of his first pregnancy came.
But Hinojos never gave up, following all, she had a great example as her inspiration. His grandfather Abram Arollo had been a soccer pioneer in the Phoenix area. He has been involved in soccer in the region since the 1960s, owning AZ Cotton and AZ Sahuaros (USISL). He passed away in 1998 when Hinojos was 17 years old.
Lucinda Hinojos, also known as ‘La Morena’, is a visual artist and organizer who illustrates her Native American/Mexican roots and activism through her art.
“I was very close to him, he was a great inspiration to me. He was an engineer, who helped develop the 10 freeway here in Phoenix, Arizona. He was also a professor at ASU and Glendale Community College,” Hinojos recalled.
The artist also said she has many memories of her grandfather as her soccer coach since she was six years old.
“When my grandfather passed away, a lot of people came from the soccer community,” Hinojos said. “When Pelé passed away, I remembered him a lot.”
What Arollo wouldn’t suspect is that her granddaughter would become a successful muralist who exhibits her work throughout Phoenix and has worked on projects from New York to Marseille, France. Hinojos’ art, which is found in various parts of Phoenix, alludes to indigenous women, as well as missing children and the fight of the “Dreamers.”
“I don’t do this for fame or money, I do it for something bigger than me. I want to connect with my ancestors and I am an instrument for them,” said Hijonos.
Although it is more than a decade since he began to be a muralist, Hinojos pointed out that it was in 2015 the year in which he became a person aware of the causes that impact his people. In that year, she hosted a group of artists who were going to paint a mural in the center of the city, something that changed her perspective on things. It was regarding a group that was going to work on an immigration mural on Washington Street in Phoenix. Suddenly, the project was halted for logistical reasons, but she felt it was regarding something more. In her opinion, the project was stopped when the owners of the place found out that the mural was regarding an immigration issue. Then several protests began in favor of the mural, in a state known for immigration issues, such as B1070, the “show me your papers” law.
“I had not seen that art managed to cause something like this. That made me think,” declared the muralist.
That mural was finally completed on another wall in the city, but the most important thing was the mark it had left in Hinojos.
The Arizona native has worked closely with various political and social service organizations, including Promise Arizona, the ACLU, and in 2018 co-founded Colors of La Comunidad, a movement of artists and activists to inspire and motivate communities in need.
Hinojos had his first big project in Rochester, New York, in 2017 where he worked on a mural that went viral. After that, she started to get more opportunities and little by little she became very busy with art projects, until it started to interfere with her full time job at the bank. Her bosses told her to make up her mind because she was not meeting the expectations of her job.
In the end, in 2018 he dedicated himself to his art full time and since then he has not stopped.
“I took a step of faith. I haven’t had time to be afraid. So far everything has worked,” Hinojos said.
When the NFL came to her, she thought it was all a lie. After the first meeting, the American football league asked him to send him an immediate first proposal, so he immediately started working on it, with the help of his children, especially Nathaniel, 18 years old and a great fan of football. football.
“Lucinda’s insight and direct, personal connection to Arizona’s incredible and diverse history made her the perfect partner for this project,” said Marissa Solis, NFL Vice President of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing. “She is a talented artist, a soccer mom, and a woman who authentically represents her Chicano heritage, and we are so excited to use the Super Bowl as a platform to showcase her beautiful artwork and, by extension, highlight the whole local communities of Arizona”.
Gone are those days when Hinojos worked full time in a bank, supported his three children and managed to find the time to do what he loved most, his passion for art. Now, he is dedicated to what he is truly passionate regarding and has learned that he can complete projects with the help of people who share his determination.
For this reason, today she has a message for those single mothers who want to follow their dream.
“Faith is number one. Determination is number one, keep walking. Everything can be solved. I didn’t look to the right and to the left, I just kept going. Go with your heart and you will achieve it”, recommended Hinojos.
‘La Morena’ will be at the NFL Experience in Arizona, in addition to collaborating with Wilson, the company that makes footballs for the NFL to create a new design of the ovoid that will soon be on sale.
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