Families Belong Together
Juntos is a work comprised of six pieces, all of which depict family members embracing, presumably before being separated. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, at least 2,654 migrant children were separated from their families at the American border from 2017 to 2018. These separations were a direct result of policies implemented by the Trump administration (ACLU). According to Time magazine, however, over 5,500 children have been separated from their families at the United States border. This number takes into account the over 2,500 children separated from their families after the separation “practice” was supposedly ended in June of 2018 (Aguilera).
The bright stripes in this piece resemble iron bars of jail cells, while also symbolizing culture. The majority of families separated were from Latin American countries, mostly Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Upon viewing this piece, I immediately was reminded of traditional dress in some Latin American countries. In fact, many traditional styles of Latin American clothing, particularly the styles worn by indigenous peoples, incorporate such bright colors, and even the striped patterns used in Juntos (Morel). The backgrounds, reminiscent to traditional clothing, are also a nod to many Latin American peoples’ indigenous ancestors and culture. Culture creates unity among families, yet it is the ignorance of these cultures (committed by many American people) that keeps these families from remaining united and continuing to celebrate their culture. Families Belong Together is a celebration of Latin American culture and the Latin American family, while also criticizing the United States’ policies regarding immigration, specifically the separation of children from their families and caretakers.
Natalia Anciso uses Juntos to express the cleaving of culture and families by the United States government, and the continuous efforts of the United States and many Americans to create full assimilation of immigrants into the “American” culture. These ideas, that immigrants must fully assimilate to be accepted into the American culture, fuel stereotypes and discriminatory ideologies that work against diversity and intersectionality. This piece very clearly advocates for the end of a practice that destroys family units. The inhumane and cruel acts of the United States government create divides within different peoples by physically separating families, identities, and cultures.