We were lucky to catch up with Selina Calvo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Selina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on is creating a Community Altar in my neighborhood of Paradise Hills, San Diego.
I originally started this project at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Before then, I helped in curating family friendly events with a community group I helped create called ProjectReo. We would host movie night, community clean ups, and advocate at City Council meetings for improvements in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, once the pandemic hit, everything stopped. Social distancing and being isolated in our homes was the new reality. With that, many experienced personal losses of loved ones from the pandemic as well as suffered from depression and anxiety from the isolation. For myself, I too experienced these life challenges as well as the loss of community.
So, myself, along with my best friend and fellow organizer Gina Martinez-Moreno, decided to create a community altar in our neighborhood so that we could bring the community together again, with the idea that we could bring back the elements of togetherness and celebration in a safe way.
Thus, we got approval from local businesses and property owners to allow us to create a large altar that faced the main street of Reo Drive and invited the community to come by to help us decorate and assemble the altar. The event was truly special. Families, friends, and neighbors came out to help and to also learn of this special tradition of Día de Los Muertos. The children helped cut up the cempasuchil flowers and helped with making the path to the altar with the flower’s elements. The adults helped with adding the elements of papel picado, food, candles, and adding all the pictures the community members brought to add to the altar. Along with the help from the community, a good friend and mentor Macedonio Arteaga Jr. helped with blessing our altar and sharing knowledge of its history.
For myself, this event allowed me to bring all my loves of art, organizing, and being an activist back in action again.
From this one small idea to bring the community together during the pandemic, it has continued each year since then and transitioned to its new location at the Emo Brown Foundation Headquarters in Chula Vista.

Selina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

So I was born and raised in Sacramento, California. Growing up I was always around art. My father, who was my first art teacher, would introduce me to different types of art mediums. I have worked with, watercolor, acrylic, ceramic, black and white photography, and in more recent years worked on murals in and around San Diego.
For me, to be able to bring together my love for organizing, creating art and being an activist has been such a beautiful experience.
Right now Ive been working alongside my XoQUE: Art in Motion sisters to help create site specific art through community engagement and empowerment. We have recently wrapped up one of the tallest murals in Chicano Park “Tu Puedes Mija” which was a restoration project for fellow XoQUE member Dr. Berenice Badillo. We are also working on the Community Mural for South Bay Community Services (SBCS) which we hosted community workshops in order to get community input for the design. This mural we hope to finish up early next year.
In addition to the work I do with XoQUE, I also co-curate art events at the Emo Brown Foundation Headquarters in Chula Vista. (689 Marsat Court, Suite B, Chula Vista CA 91911). Here, my husband Enrique “chikle” Lugo and I host monthly art shows highlighting local San Diego talent. What has been beautiful about these events is that we not only have well established artists participate, but we also have up and coming artists also have the opportunity to show. For so many artists it can be challenging to find spaces to show their work or even give them the opportunity. We are proud to be able to create such a space of opportunity and empowerment.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the time right before the Pandemic, I was doing a lot of work in revitalizing my community through our community group ProjectReo. In addition to the community organizing and advocacy work we were doing with City Council, I was also a co-owner of a local coffee shop Project Reo Collective (PRC) and a brick and mortar shop in Barrio Logan called Golondrina. Life was in high gear. However, once the Pandemic hit, everything stopped. We made the tough decision to shut down our shops and I had to give full attention to my family and personal mental health. I have to admit it was a very overwhelming time filled with uncertainty.
Once everything started to reopen and as a society we started to go back to a new “normal” I found myself struggling with what my purpose was again. Without the shops and stepping back from the community organizing, I came to the realization that my life before COVID was filled with responsibilities that put me on a path of burn out and if it was not for the shutdown, I probably would of experienced a personal breakdown due to all the stress. So, even though I lost businesses and work that gave me a sense of purpose, it was a blessing in disguise. It allowed me to reset and reevaluate what joy and sense of meaning really meant for me.
Now, I find myself more selective in the projects I do. I now take on project that I feel truly connected with and am mindful of not over serving my plate. In addition, my first priority is my family and personal health. Thus, I’m constantly making sure I keep a healthy balance with all parts of my life.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

As an artist I know the struggles and challenges that we face in trying to make a name for ourselves. However, what I’ve learned is that it is so important and vital for there to be creative spaces that amplify artists voices and visions. Such spaces give opportunity for artists to network, showcase their work, and gives the community the opportunity to be inspired by their pieces. There are some amazing spaces that are doing that work right now like Emo Brown Foundation Headquarters in Chula Vista, The Soap Factory in Logan Heights, Vision Cultures in National City, and A Reason to Survive (ARTS) also in National City who focuses on youth empowerment through art. Yet, there is a great need of funding to help sustain the work such spaces are already doing. As visitors and supporters, we can help with donating to such organizations. No donation is too big or too small. In addition, there is a need for more grant opportunities that are accessible and easy to apply for.
My hope is that such spaces continue to make an impact in the art world and continue to inspire more creative spaces to open.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.xoque-artinmotion.com
• Instagram: @littleselin

Image Credits

All photos by Selina Calvo