The first piece of Riojas’s art is of two angels facing each other in front of a red brick wall. These bricks are assembled one on top of the other and structurally resemble the side of a building. These red bricks represent society built with a foundation of blood, which is only accessed through pain. Embedded in buildings as well as in our daily lives is the violence that built the United States through slavery and unfair work practices. This blood loss is also metaphorically present in the sacrifices that the Latinx community must make. To move beyond the wall, looking at the country through a smaller lens, I will analyze the iconography of the angels. One has a darker hair and skin color when compared to the left angel, which means this angel on the right represents the Latinx community. The other symbolizes the United States and its dominant European culture. An angel generally has a positive and pure connotation. Both groups of people are presented as angels which shows neither is inherently bad. This is because neither has weapons of violence permanently attached to their body, so it must have come from their past or what is behind them, like the wall/society. The left, lighter one is a byproduct of its environment or the United States. As dominant society hold their guns, they can put it down too. Moreover, what the right angel holds is significant. While dominant culture faces others who are different with hostility and violence, the “others,” in this case the Latinx community, respond with beauty and an intention to create beautiful things. They want to find harmony. In this artwork that is by playing an instrument. In society, that is by dispelling negative stereotypes much like Riojas does by portraying Latinx people with good intentions.  

These angels face each other and are nearly symmetrical, with the exception of what they hold. Such disposition further illustrates the conflicts between the Latinx community and Americans with power. Both groups share a basic goal to survive, but the Latinx community faces deeper struggles because a gun, representative of the violence aimed toward them, exists. Continuing to look at the artwork overall, I will now focus on the title and its implications. “This is America” is on the wall like graffiti would be, like a stain or an afterthought. This is because no one considered the reality of life in the U.S. with such tension until after Latinx people were discriminated against. In addition, angels are associated with eternity and immortality so using angels in place of actual community members speaks to the long term, essentially never-ending battle that the Latinx community is in. A lack of motion between the angels indicates that their battle is at a standstill and there is no change in their stance, meaning no progress has been made in regard to the Latinx experience. The country of hopes and dreams, that distinguishes Latinx people, cannot make dreams of harmony a reality.