Brainstorm Week 7 - Angie Lai

The readings from Week 6 explained that Chicanxfuturism explores how technology and social media "transform Mexican American life and culture" (Ramirez, 187). Julio Salgado embodies this with their use of social media to spread their art and messages, breaking stereotypes and publicizing the diverse narratives of undocuqueers. In the interview, "Layers of Humanity", Salgado says, "As an undocumented person, I am seen as a criminal. As a queer person, I am seen as somebody who is going to go to hell. So… through the art, I turn that [around] by showing ourselves in dignified ways that embrace the terms that make us feel like we are less than human" (Seif, 300). They fight the criminalization of their identity as an undocumented person, resisting the "social death" that Cacho describes. They also address the problems with using a citizen rights claim to justify respect and belonging. Salgado says that the idea of obtaining papers absolving the core issue is problematic, because that "doesn't change anti-migrant culture", which reflects Cacho and Costanza-Chock's argument that a rights-based approach inherently devalues another group (Seif, 308). Salgado's use of social media is definitely a practice of resilience. They describe themself as an "artivist", or artist and activist, that uses social media as a "tool" that then allows for collaboration and physical gathering (Seif, 307). In the "Undocuqueer Movement" in the Equality Archive, the undocuqueers in the movement "refuse to remain in the shadows", exhibiting great resilience through "launching visual art & videos, (utilizing) social media and (organizing) live-in person collective action". The Undocuqueer Movement, in collaboration with other organizations, is partially responsible for DACA getting passed under the Obama Administration (Costanza-Chock, 130).