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Felicia "Fe" Montes

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Felicia “Fe” Montes (born November 29, 1975) is a Chicana indigenous artist based in Los Angeles.[1][2] Montes is a multimedia artist, poet, performer, educator, professor, and emcee.[1] She is the co-founder and coordinating member of two creative women's collectives, Mujeres de Maiz[2] and In Lak Ech and El MERCADO y Mas.[1] She also assists with organizing transnational art exhibitions including Zapatistas, Peace Dignity Journeys and La Red Xicana Indigena.[3]

Education

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Montes holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles in World arts & cultures with a minor in Chicanx studies from the Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicana/o Studies.[1] She holds a Master's of Arts in Chicanx Studies from California State University, Northridge as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Public Practice Art from Otis College of Art and Design.[1] In addition, Montes has various certifications related to wellness and teaching.[4]

Public art practice

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Botanica Del Barrio Rolling Remedios Cart

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In her project entitled Botanica Del Barrio, Montes aims to educate and facilitate a dialogue about Mexican traditional medicine.[5] The project is both a workshop in that Montes is the teacher educating the viewer on the art, but is also a visual installation in that the plants are arranged in a certain way and the cart is painted with “Botanica del Barrio" in large letters.[5] The rolling nature of the cart bridges the gap between the artist and the audience[6] by creating a space for education outside the home or expensive wellness clinic.[7]

Politricked Public Art Cart

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The Politricked Public Art Cart was created by Montes and Joel ‘ragoene’ Garcia and it aims to disperse “know your rights information” through “posters, projections, performance, poetry, and politics”.[8] The Politricked Public Art Cart looks like a corn or elote vendor cart to allow for mobility and travel to various communities.[8] The Politricked Public Art Cart uses a TV monitor and P.A. system to disperse political information through images, performances, and video.[8] Montes hopes that this format of arts activism can be used as a template by other artists to educate.[7]

The Bumpin’ Bici

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The Bumpin’ Bici is a public performance piece meant to raise the consciousness of audiences through performative protest in the streets.[9] The Bumpin’ Bici is made up of a sound system connected to a bike basket.[9] Montes takes on the character “Raramujer” who is an “urban indigenous wom[a]n who shares oral history and urban indigenous worldviews across Los Angeles”.[9] Montes rides the bike through the streets reciting “floetry” and playing indigenous songs.[9] Montes hopes to create a space of public ritual and redefine what protest looks like.[9]

LACMA Olmec Exhibit Indigenous Peoples Day Intervention

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On October 12, 2010, a ceremony ritual to honor ancestors and spirits was organized by Montes to commemorate Indigenous People's Day.[10] The main purpose of the ceremony was to put a blessing on the Olmec stones and statues that were in the exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.[10] The ceremony took place unannounced and in places throughout the LACMA that were unauthorized for public use.[10] The ceremony consisted of Native prayer drumming, Aztec dance, and huge projections of Indigenous history, resistance, and music.[10]

Collections

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Montes' work is in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.[11] Documentation of her performance work is held in the archive of the Woman's Building, Los Angeles.[12]

Publications

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IN MEMORIAM: JENNI RIVERA: La Chicana De La Banda

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Montes is also a Chicana/x voice in journals. In the article entitled “IN MEMORIAM: JENNI RIVERA: La Chicana De La Banda,” Montes discusses Jenni Rivera's singing career and life as an activist.[13] Throughout this article, Montes reveals how Rivera's emphasis on common themes such as love, sadness, and freedom to live made Montes feel less pain.[13] Though this article is about remembering Rivera, Montes sheds light on what motivates her as an artist.[13] When writing this article, Montes emphasizes Rivera's background: “Jenni Rivera was truly a CHICANA Mexican regional music star (even sang it out loud in a song), representing LBC (Long Beach City), homies, single moms, and homegirls from across Cali, the southwest, and the Americas”.[13] Montes’ emphasis on background and commonality when describing Rivera reveals that Montes is an artist who values culture and community.[13]

Lotería Xicana

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In this article published in Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, Montes discusses her spoken word piece entitled “Lotería Xicana”.[14] This piece focuses on Montes’ multiple identities coming together to create her.[14] “Lotería Xicana” is an art piece that combines poetry, props, images, and music.[14] Montes’ “hope is that women of color can connect and relate to these pieces and realize that each of us has our own role and way”.[14] This project reveals that Montes is an artist that is personal, aims to unite, and build community.[14]

Full Moon Coyolxauhqui Circle

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In Voice from Ancestors: Xicanx and Latinx Spiritual Expressions and Healing Practices, Montes and Martha R. Gonzales write a chapter entitled “Full Moon Coyolxauhqui Circle” to describe one of Montes’ community building projects centered around women empowerment.[15][16] Montes created a community of women that come together to sing, celebrate the stars, listen to one another, and let go of worries.[15] In her chapter, Montes emphasizes the need for women to have a community to transform emotions with.[15] The chapter reveals the values (community, spirituality, and tradition) that motivate Montes as an artist and leader.[15]

Ten Fe

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In 2011, she published several performance pieces under the title Ten Fe.[17]

Mujeres de Maiz en Movimiento: Spiritual Artivism, Healing Justice, and Feminist Praxis

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In 2024, she was one of the editors of Mujeres de Maiz en Movimiento: Spiritual Artivism, Healing Justice, and Feminist Praxis.[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "BIOGRAPHY". Felicia 'Fe' Montes ([non-primary source needed]). 2010-04-25. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  2. ^ a b "Meet the Gangster-Turned-Muralist Out of Boyle Heights Who Survived L.A.'s 'Decade of Death' and Now Makes Art That Unites Black and Brown Communities ~ L.A. TACO". lataco.com. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  3. ^ California State University website, Faculty and Staff section, Felicia Montes
  4. ^ "Felicia Montes". Otis College of Art & Design. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b Smithsonian Institution website, How Felicia Montes’s Botanica del Barrio Harnesses Herbs as a Tool for Connection, article by Isabel Hohenlohe dated January 16, 2024
  6. ^ "Fe Montes: Xicana artist, poet, hip-hopper and curandera: Healing, memory and spirituality". Fe Montes ([better source needed]). 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  7. ^ a b "Botanica del Barrio". Felicia 'Fe' Montes ([non-primary source needed]). 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  8. ^ a b c "Politricked Public Art Cart". Felicia 'Fe' Montes ([non-primary source needed]). 2011-03-18. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  9. ^ a b c d e "the bumpin' bici". Felicia 'Fe' Montes ([non-primary source needed]). 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  10. ^ a b c d "LACMA Olmec Exhibit Indigenous Peoples Day Intervention". Felicia 'Fe' Montes ([non-primary source needed]). 2011-03-18. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  11. ^ "Prayer Placaso, Occupied LACMA - Felicia "Fe" Montes". Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  12. ^ Stromberg, Matt (9 May 2017). "A Month of Artworks and Performances Inspired by the Historic Woman's Building in LA". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e Montes, Felicia (2013). "IN MEMORIAM: JENNI RIVERA: La Chicana De La Banda" ([non-primary source needed]). 13: 9 – via ProQuest. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ^ a b c d e Montes, Felicia (2020). "Lotería Xicana". Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies ([non-primary source needed]). 45: 298–300.
  15. ^ a b c d Montes, Felicia. "Full Moon Coyolxauhqui Circle". Voices from the Ancestors ([non-primary source needed]): 298–300.
  16. ^ Medina, Lara; Gonzales, Martha R., eds. (8 October 2019). Voices from the Ancestors: Xicanx and Latinx Spiritual Expressions and Healing Practices. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780816540525. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  17. ^ Blurb website, Ten Fe
  18. ^ University of Arizona Press website, Mujeres de Maiz en Movimiento: Spiritual Artivism, Healing Justice, and Feminist Praxis
  19. ^ Amazon website, Mujeres de Maiz en Movimiento: Spiritual Artivism, Healing Justice, and Feminist Praxis

Publications

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  • Ten Fe
  • “Sacrificios," published in Fleshing the Spirit: Spirituality and Activism in Chicana, Latina and Indigenous Women’s Lives
  • “Movement and Spirit: The Artivism of Felicia Montes”
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