PSA: Juntos Sanaremos / Together We Will Heal
05/12/20
By Brian Herrera
All we hear in the news is how the pandemic has disproportionately impacted Black and Latinx migrant communities from Chicago’s South and West sides. In addition to all struggles and injustices low-income communities face everyday, including foreclosures, skyrocketing unemployment, scarce health services, and lacking access to public transportation, they now have to deal with adjusting to the new pandemic norms. This crisis hasn't been fair to these communities and hasn’t motivated any changes to support them; rather, it has only contributed to further strain their mental health—especially among us undocumented immigrants.
As undocumented immigrants, our minds toggle between being exposed to dangerous working conditions, connecting with family members (abroad or in-state) through technology, wondering if we should be with loved ones abroad (even if we can’t be assured to come back to the country), and worrying about our financial situation—we are not able to receive financial aid and definitely do not get a stimulus check. We are strong and resilient, but the toll this takes on our mental health, and the trauma we carry with us, is often left unspoken.
Sometimes, starting a conversation requires some creativity. A public service announcement can always deliver a message and bring hope. I have been a spokesman through street art. As a working artist in this pandemic, I had two choices: to stay home and continue working for myself, or to utilize my art to share information about essential resources like the Chicago Food Depository, the Domestic Violence Hotline, and the Mental Health Hotline.
Juntos Sanaremos / Together We Will Heal is a public service announcement to remind our people that we deserve mental wellness. The goal is to create mental health awareness; especially during this time of isolation, it is key to communicate our feelings, concerns, fears, and anxieties. The wheatpaste posters I make are a message to not feel alone nor suffer in silence in our homes. A lot of POC families, women, and children of low-income communities are suffering in silence, and they often lack access to external resources.
This public service campaign is my response, as an undocumented queer artist, to other Black and Latinx folk dealing struggling with their mental health. Surviving in this environment while being self-employed and undocumented takes a big toll on my own mental health. It requires me to check in with myself often, to heal, and look within.
In a guerrilla-style campaign, I am distributing the Juntos Sanaremos / Together We Will Heal posters to paste around high traffic areas on the South & West side areas of the city, from Austin, Humboldt Park, Hermosa, and Logan Square to Pilsen, Little Village, North Lawndale, and beyond. I chose this method because lot of people from these communities do not have Internet access. These posters have given them an opportunity to access free relief hotlines, while sending a tender mental health reminder that we will heal together.
Juntos Sanaremos / Together We Will Heal. Photos by Mateo Zapata, Tattianna Howard, Ricardo Miranda / Video Campaign Process by Erick Arias. Special thanks to Gabriel Cortez for printing campaign posters.
There’s something in common between this guerilla campaign, my queerness, and being an undocumented immigrant: they are all public, loud, unapologetic, and make people uncomfortable. These identities, and this activity, put me in a limbo of fear and uncertainty at times, but they also give me a sense of freedom. This sense of freedom is the root of the reason why I am an artist. I hope that when you see these posters in the neighborhood, they remind you that sanaremos juntos and that we are here for each other.
A limited edition of silk screened posters by Hoofprint will be available at Brianherrera.shop on Friday, May 15 at 12pm (noon). Part of the proceeds will benefit a Chicago-based mental health non-profit. Follow @Brianherrera.art for updates.
Brian Herrera is a Chicago-based artist specializing in design and illustration. Herrera was born in Veracruz, Mexico and raised in Chicago, and his work explores the themes of immigrant identity and queer culture through different mediums. He is the founder of Crossin’ Borders Magazine, a platform curated by and for contemporary undocumented immigrant artists. Herrera is a member of the inaugural class of Define American Undocumented Art Fellows, a unique artist development program available to undocumented artists in all mediums. Contact him at contact@brianherrera.art, learn more at brianherrera.art, and follow him on social media at @brianherrera.art.
Brian worker with Quarantine Times’s Tuesday Editor Stephanie Manriquez.