MILWAUKEE — In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re dedicated to highlighting the stories and contributions made by our Latino neighbors.
In that vein, one local artist is using her love of her native culture to create and inspire others to try it for themselves.
Each stroke of her paintbrush, every color on the wood tells the story of Yesica Coria.
Yesica is an artist who creates pieces inspired by her life and interests, but she says getting to do this for a living took some time.
“When someone is creative, you can’t hide that side of you. Sooner or later, it explodes and I knew I had to do something,” said Coria.
That desire pushed Yesica to find something that would fill that void.
After making the journey from her hometown of Veracruz, Mexico to Milwaukee to join her mother and brother here nearly 20 years ago, she says she struggled to find her way.
"It was hard because you leave everything behind. Aside from your family, you leave what you did, your routine,” said Coria.
After some time, she found a craft show that took new artists and signed up.
Without any material, she started making corn husk flowers and then transitioned into what she’s known for, the yolotl.
Yolotl means heart and it’s a word that comes from the Nahua, an indigenous people that come from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Yesica says she grew up seeing the symbol, which are known as ‘sacred hearts’ in Spanish.
While the ones she remembers were much more elaborate and full of wooden figures and decorations, Yesica says hers are simple but purposeful.
“I like it because I can use the hearts as a way to represent and highlight various parts of myself,” said Coria.
Some of the hearts have flowers or polka dots, while others have portraits of people she admires, like Frida Kahlo.
Yesica says each of her pieces is unique, based on how inspired she felt the day she created it.
“Everything comes from my heart, so to speak. Everything I believe comes directly from my heart,” said Coria.
Yesica says she’s drawn to using the wooden hearts for her paintings, rather than a normal canvas because it isn’t as big or overwhelming.
“The heart is more significant. I can see something that small and say, ‘I can do this, I can paint that,’ and no one can judge if I painted it well or not. They can criticize how I interpret something because in the end, it’s what I feel,” said Coria.
Yesica says she tries to instill that freedom in her students.
On top of her business, she also holds workshops for students in the Milwaukee area through Latino Arts, teaching them how to create their own yolotls.
Jacobo Lovo says Yesica’s interest in sharing her culture is a big part of why they offer the courses.
“We're so proud to support them and to partner up with them so they can continue to teach their heritage to other students and other people who are interesting to learn about, you know, where they come from and all those different elements,” said Lovo.
Sarah Markwald is a teacher at the University School of Milwaukee who has brought her students to Latino Arts for close to ten years.
“Working with Yesica and doing some of the programming through Latino Arts has given our students the opportunity to really see beyond the walls of our classroom, what our community has to offer and the beauty of the artists within our community. Bringing that tradition to life for our students, I think is really valuable,” said Markwald.
Yesica says she’s always creating and encourages others to try to do the same.
“We all bring something different to the table. It’s just a matter of finding ourselves first and then showing it to others so people can get to know us and be able to learn something as well,” said Coria.
If you want to see her work for yourself, Yesica has a stand at Xocolo Food Park on 6th Street until the end of September.
For more information on her art, as well as where you can get your own yolotls, click here and here.
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