Soy Artista: Rebeca Cuevas Rosas connects to her cultural roots with every brush stroke

Surrounded by paintings of corazones, Arcata artist Rebeca Cuevas Rosas sat at her easel working on a new piece. Bad Bunny played faintly from a record player in the corner of the room nestled in between boxes of prints and stickers. Her home doubles as an art gallery, each painting hung on the wall symbolizing her deep connection to her birthplace of Mexico.

Originally from Tumbiscatio, Michoacán, Cuevas Rosas intertwines her Mexican heritage into all facets of her life, especially her corazones.

“I grew up on a rancho called La Capirera for the first six years of my life, then I immigrated here to Santa Rosa where I grew up,” Cuevas Rosas said. “I came to Humboldt in 2018 and I have been putting down roots ever since.”

In 2021 Cuevas Rosas started taking her career as an artist more seriously. Most of her paintings are done with acrylics with the occasional watercolor, featuring traditional Mexican motifs such as the sacred heart, cacti and monarch butterflies.

Cuevas Rosas explained that despite living in a predominantly white area, she is able to connect with her Mexican roots through her art.

“My art stems from who I am,” Cuevas Rosas said. “It comes from my roots and my roots are Mexican. My roots originate from the rancho where I grew up, from the people who helped shape me into the person I am today, from my parents and grandparents. So although I’m far from them, I can always paint calabazas, I can always paint nopales and butterflies, specifically monarch butterflies.”

When the Latine-owned marketplace La Ciendita opened in Arcata, Cuevas Rosas felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. During a time of heightened violence and prejudice towards the Latine community, La Ciendita had become a newfound haven for her.

“When the most recent election took place, there was a great deal of sadness and hopelessness,” Cuevas Rosas said. “I saw on Instagram that they had opened this
Indigenous and Latine boutique, and I felt as though my heart just filled up. I went to go meet them and show them my paintings and I remember that I started to cry and thanked them so much for what they were doing for our community.”

In March Cuevas Rosas had the opportunity to paint a mural for La Ciendita.

“She just walked in the door and immediately it was like, ‘yes, we need to have you in here,’” Jessica Vanessa Olivera, co-owner of La Ciendita, said. “It was very heartwarming. It felt really good to have Rebeca here because she feels like somebody that I’ve known for years, you know. And in reality, I’ve just met them.”

Olivera and her husband Octavio had been looking for an artist to fill an empty spot on the back wall of the shop’s courtyard. After meeting with Cuevas
Rosas and seeing her art, they knew she was the perfect fit. Olivera said Cuevas Rosas painted the mural over the course of a month and would even come in to work on it after shop hours.

“I know it takes a lot for somebody to walk in the door like Rebeca did and be like, ‘Hey, would you be interested in my art?’ and knowing somebody may say yes
or somebody may say no,” Olivera said. “I know that takes a lot of guts to kind of do [that] and put yourself out there.”

Cuevas Rosas’ art-making process often begins with a great deal of hesitation. She explained that she always has ideas for new paintings in the back of her mind, but sometimes the act of putting paint to canvas is a lot of mental “back and forth.”

“It all begins the moment a lightbulb goes off in my mind and I decide I want to create something,” Cuevas Rosas said. “Then hours later, sometimes years later, I take out the paints, the brushes, make a huge mess and begin painting. So the process always begins with something inspiring me, something that gets etched into my mind and later on when the opportunity arises, I bring everything out, make a mess and paint.”

Cuevas Rosas emphasized the power of practice and doing it for the love of the game.

“Practice is what brings beautiful things into existence,” Cuevas Rosas said. “Paint what you love, what inspires you. Many times I have tried to veer away from hearts to paint other things but I just can’t, it doesn’t come naturally to me. So paint what you enjoy, do it for the love of it, not out of obligation.”

If you are interested in supporting Rebeca Cuevas Rosas, you can find original pieces, cards and stickers for sale at La Ciendita. You can also find cards at the Wiyot Cultural Center, the Da Gou Rou Louiwi’ Cultural Center in Eureka. Additionally, you can reach out to Rebeca via Instagram @apatsicua for purchasing inquiries.