LAS TRES MADRES by artist Pamela Enriquez-Courts

Metallic acrylic on canvas board, 12x16”.

Hand painted wood frame, 16x20”.

About the piece:  

The story of “Las Tres Madres” (The Three Mothers) was first conceived in the 1970’s during the time of the Chicano/a/x movement.  

Gloria Anzaldúa, Chicana activist and feminist, states in Borderlands/La Frontera:  

“La gente Chicana tiene tres madres. All three are mediators: Guadalupe, the virgin mother who has not abandoned us, la Chingada (Malinche), the raped mother who we have abandoned, and la Llorona, the mother who seeks her lost children and is a combination of the other two….In part, the true identity of all three has been subverted—Guadalupe to make us docile and enduring, la Chingada to make us ashamed of our Indian side, and la Llorona to make us long- suffering people.”  

I was inspired by this quote and also with some recent reading on the story La Malinche to create this painting of Las Tres Madres. I wanted to portray strength by using strong and vibrant colors and I also wanted to create this piece in a style similar to the Aztec codex, which are Mesoamerican manuscripts made by the pre-Columbian Aztecs and their Nahuatl speaking descendants.