“Badass women need to be represented” is Corazón Cafe’s motto during the months of March and April through their Chingonas art gallery.
From March, also known as Women’s History Month, through April, Corazón Cafe hosts an annual art gallery. Titled “Chingonas,” the gallery aims to showcase “badass women who inspire.”
Corazón Cafe is a locally-owned cafe in downtown San Luis Obispo, founded by chefs Chencho Hernández Villar and Pedro Arias López, and López’s wife Sara McGrath. Mexican culture influences the cafe, and it is a blend of coffee shop and a restaurant. They strived to embody the motto “Cafe, Community, Comida, Cultura” since their opening day in April of 2023.
“I was so excited because I thought, ‘Oh my God, there’s wall space, I can create art shows. I can create my vision and make my connections and form the community in that way,’” said McGrath when reminiscing on the cafe’s beginnings.
McGrath attended art school where she obtained a degree in art education, then spent time in New York City and Mexico teaching art. It was there where she realized she can use art to create community, and she brought that passion back home to San Luis Obispo.
To honor Women’s History Month, McGrath thought of the theme Chingonas. A Mexican-Spanish slang term for strong, independent, badass women. Traditionally, it has had negative connotations but Latinas have reclaimed it to empower women.
“What is more inspiring than badass women who have a story to tell, or who’ve done something important or powerful or meaningful in the world,” McGrath said. “Whether it be someone famous and well-known or just someone in your family, it didn’t matter. It could be any woman.”
Currently the gallery has around 20 participants, most sending in multiple pieces. McGrath says that she emphasizes that anyone can participate, no matter if they believe they are an artist or not. The participants range in age from five to 85 years old, showcasing that art can bring together an entire community.
Claudia Olsen, a local community member and Chingonas art gallery participant, sent in four art pieces this year: a shadow box with a painting of Olsen done by her sister when Olsen was battling breast cancer, as well as three pieces that detail Olsen’s mom and daughters, with a glitter halo around them, mimicking that of the Virgin Mary.
“All women, we forget that we have that halo around us. We have energy, or blessings of our ancestors, or moms and grandmothers,” Olsen said.
Like Olsen, Lori Wise also sent in multiple art pieces to the Chingonas gallery. All paint pieces are of her heroes, ranging from Michelle Obama, Gloria Steinem, Jane Goodall and Frida Kahlo, to name a few. Wise wanted to send in her heroes as she thought it was important to remember those who have empowered women before, to continue the cycle.
“Being a female in this world right now where the patriarchy is being very toxic, looking for our feminine power and finding feminine heroes, it’s really important to me,” Wise said. “I remember going through the social unrest of the 60s as a child, but it still made a mark on me. I feel like we’re fighting the same fight again.”
The Chingonas art gallery does not just showcase art, but it actively empowers any woman that walks into Corazón Cafe.
In the center of the art gallery hangs a mirror, decorated with large colorful flowers around the edges, and the words “ERES CHINGONA” are proudly printed on. Moncia Garcia created the art piece, which is titled “Reflection.” The description states that the work is “a mirror that encourages self-love and pride, a way of telling anyone who uses gazes into it, ‘You are incredible, you are powerful and you are unapologetically YOU.’”
From the participants to the viewers, the gallery reminds everyone that they are powerful when they walk in.
McGrath retold the story of a coworker’s 12-year-old daughter, who entered a piece into the gallery: a digital illustration of Olympic figure skater Alyssa Liu. After opening night, her mother told McGrath the highlight of her daughter’s night.
“She said, ‘Mom, another artist came up to me to talk to me about my picture. Another artist!’ It kind of gave her this confidence of like, ‘Yeah, I’m one of them. I’m an artist too,’” McGrath said.
Olsen shares the 12-year-old’s same sentiment, sharing the importance of Corazón Cafe in the community as it gives people a space to have a creative outlet and to be displayed — no questions asked.
The sisterhood that comes with the gallery as well is vital to communities. For Wise, it gives her a place to be with women and empower one another.
“Strong women together, we’re a force, and it brings us more power to be with others who are the same and share our big soul and our heart with the world,” Wise said.
When speaking about the importance of the theme, Olsen said it serves as a reminder to the women that enter the cafe that they are powerful and noticed.
“We’re capable of so many things, and the people don’t sometimes see that. Even ourselves. We don’t see ourselves as the chingonas,” Olsen said. “[When] really, we carry life, we make life, we give birth, we manage work, we manage family. We are in everything.”