GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — We continue to honor Hispanic Heritage Month, highlighting stories from the Hispanic and Latino communities. Tonight, we are bringing you a special story of a young Latina artist who lives in Greensboro.
Daniela Alcivar-Castillo is originally from Panama.
She is one of the 14 artists whose work is being featured at the Greensboro Cultural Center.
You can spot the work of Alcivar-Castillo right away inside the GCC.
Hanging among the colorful paintings and photographs, Alcivar-Castillo’s artwork is the only one in black and white. But this collection all shares one thing: it portrays “heroes.”
“For us, it was important to look inwards and see you are the people we are looking at in this time, in this month, in this year?” Claudia Femenias, the co-chair of Casa Azul Greensboro, said.
Faces of different ages and races, showing that the word “hero” can be interpreted in many ways.
For Alcivar-Castillo, it’s a familiar face.
Her hero is her 9-year-old son, Alexander Miller.
“He’s allowed me to embrace motherhood in a whole different aspect and really helped me become a parent I needed when I was a child,” Alcivar-Castillo said.
Alcivar-Castillo came to the United States from Panama in 1999 at the age of 5.
She was raised by a single mother. Through her mom, Alcivar-Castillo saw firsthand just how scary motherhood could be in a foreign land.
“She did have a lot of fear, but it was fear that was noticeable, so I learned from that,” Alcivar-Castillo said.
Through her parenting, she hopes to break that cycle of fear.
“To be able to allow my child to be a child and to be free. Talking has been the one gateway to really changing a cycle or breaking a cycle for him to have a healthy childhood,” Alcivar-Castillo said.
While also teaching her son the richness of their Hispanic heritage.
“I hope he uses his voice, whether it be literal or visual, so continue to spread the love he has for his community and heritage,” she said.
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Alcivar-Castillo wishes her son could see the way she views him.
“He doesn’t even know how much weight he holds within himself,” Alcivar-Castillo said.
You can check out Alcivar-Castillo’s artwork, along with the entire “Heroes” collection, at the African-American Atelier in the Greensboro Cultural Center from now until Oct. 18.
