Lucinda”la morenaThe rise of Hinojos in the field of street art has long been established. Over the years, she’s created more than a dozen murals across her home state of Arizona. Now, she’s the first native Chicana female artist to collaborate with the National Football League (NFL) as a Super Bowl artist—her work will be featured on Super Bowl tickets. LVII and throughout Arizona ahead of the February 12 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles in Glendale.
Marissa Solis, the NFL’s senior vice president of global branding and consumer marketing, said the vibrancy and energy Hinojos embodied in her paintings was striking and that ultimately made lead to cooperation. “Her unique approach to color and design makes her the perfect artist to liven up themes of celebration, unity, local culture and football,” says Solis. in our Super Bowl LVII themed art.
Before diving into the art world, Hinojos said her life was filled with sports, so this partnership with the NFL felt like a natural fit. “Since the age of 6, I have been playing football,” she said. “I also played competitively growing up and in college.” Now a mother of three, Hinojos’ life still revolves around athletics—she has two sons who play soccer and a daughter who takes care of her. “So I’m a soccer mom,” she said, chuckling.
This latest project is another way for her to incorporate deeply personal themes into her art, which is what drew the NFL to Hinojos in the first place. “She infuses meaning from her Native American and Mexican heritage into the images and symbols she uses in her work,” says Solis. Apache, White Mountain Apache and Pima (Akimel O’Odham).
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How Hinojos came up with his nickname
Like most street artists, Hinojos has a nickname, la morena, which means “dark skin” in Spanish. “I grew up so dark that I was called more And more and more Hinojos said. She adds: “When I started painting murals, I was looking for a reputable street artist — and with spending so much time outside, I really got dark again. “One day, my friend and I were thinking about an artist name for me. She looked at me and I looked at her, and we both said ‘Furthermore!‘”
Hinojos says she uses her art to reconnect with her culture. “There was a cultural assimilation that happened to the generation before me – our mom, dad, grandparents,” she said. “Their culture was oppressed, and now my generation is hungry for that cultural identity.” Regaining her childhood nickname in new terms is part of the process. “I am proud to identify with [morena] because it’s beautiful To be brown and brown To be beautiful,” she said.
How she integrated her legacy into her artwork for the NFL
For the Hinojos, this partnership with the NFL is like another form of reclamation. “That’s what natives, Chicanos and people of color can Final see themselves and connect with,” she said.
Hinojos says BIPOC people feel represented in her work is integral to her purpose, because her community is her source of strength. She told me, “I don’t do any of this alone, physically or mentally. “Everything I do, I focus on my ancestors, my community, and my family. The beautiful part about being Chicana And Indigenous is that we do things in the family. That’s exactly what I did for this project.”
She incorporated many icons representing Arizona’s culture and history into her artwork for Super Bowl LVII. This includes the reflection of the White Tank Mountains on the Lombardi Trophy and depictions of a Fancy Shawl and an Azteca dancer who pay homage to the indigenous tribes of Arizona, according to the NFL.
“In addition to her incredible talent, the opportunity for us to break down barriers and finally award this important award to the first indigenous woman is a very important milestone,” said Solis. “Working with her has been an incredible journey, and we are all so excited [about] the creativity she’s bringing to Super Bowl LVII.”
