Art Lecture- Becky Monraz

Early in the semester I attended the art lecture titled "El Mexorcist 4: America's Most Wanted Inner Demon" by Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Before I decided to attend I had heard that it would be quite an experience since he was very controversial and touched upon topics which others were afraid of speaking of. Guillermo Gómez-Peña is an artist, educator and writer whose focus in his performances deals with indigenous rights in the Western hemisphere.

His performance was dominated by the theme of imperialism and the overthrowing of indigenous cultures. He spoke in Spanish, English and Spanglish of many instances where indigenous cultures and traditions have been disregarded and washed away by others. He also used accents according to the character he was describing and identifying with. He mentioned 9/11, the new president and of course the war. He mentioned how illegal immigrants became the new “boogie man” along with terrorists after the September 11^th attack.

Gómez-Peña used unusual props such as the popular Axe Body Spray, what seemed to be some cleaning solution, and a bottle of rum. He managed to pour some liquid into his mouth and spit it back at the crowd, something none of us were expecting. Towards the end of his performance he opened the rum bottle and passed it along to the viewers. Overall, I thought it was a very interesting and great performance that challenged our conventional understanding of the superiority of Western civilization.