Bakersfield College Women’s History and More committee held its second-to-last event for Women’s History Month on March 23. The event was a presentation that featured Crystal Galindo, an artist who was raised in the Central Valley and whose art focuses on Chicana and indigenous females conveying power, pride, and comfort in their bodies.

Born in Tulare County, Galindo taught herself to draw at a very young age. She said she has always known that she wanted to be an artist and painter. Galindo pursued her art passion and enrolled as an art major at College of the Sequoias and received her associates degree in Art. She later transferred to Sonoma State University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Fine Art and Painting and Chicano Latino Studies.

After graduating, Galindo decided to move on to the San Francisco Bay area in hopes that her art would reach bigger audiences.

When Galindo was in college, she began to paint self-portraits. “Who is going to tell my story better than I can?” said Galindo.

“I wanted to start a series of selfies to express myself and hopefully have others connect with me.”

She claims that while in college, she was often told to stop painting self-portraits and that people thought that she was simply full of herself.

“We used to have days where we would talk about each other’s work and offer constructive criticism,” said Galindo. “But for my work, I always received negative comments. I was told that the colors I chose were ugly and that my work was too Mexican.”

Still Galindo wanted to continue expressing herself with portraits of herself and other women whom she admired.

Galindo later started another series titled Multifacetica, which included portraits of women she knew to show off their power and beauty.

In this series, Galindo wanted to tell the stories of ordinary women and their struggles, while emphasizing their natural beauty.

Her most recent series, Dulceria Gallery, also portraits women who “share indulgency while being unapologetic.” In this series there are portraits of females indulging in some of Mexico’s most famous sweets and pastries, such as pan dulce, mangoniadas,and paletas.

Galindo is currently working on another series titled Xingonxs or Chingonas, which will portray Hispanic women who are hardworking and powerful.

Galindo hopes that her work connects with not only Hispanic women of color but others as well. “There is art behind a selfie because it allows you to express yourself the way you want to be seen and recognized,” stated Galindo. “It’s important to explore ourselves and be comfortable with our image and our roots.”

The W.H.A.M. committee will hold its last event, The Evolution of the Selfie: Deconstruction of the Female from 1400 to the Present, on March 30 at the BC Fireside Room from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.