CONNECTICUT, USA — Artwork to her culture, Margarita Hernandez Maxson's story is one rooted in love and passion. It's one that led her to her partner and then to Connecticut.
Maxson migrated from Mexico to the U.S. and said starting over in a new country took some adjusting.
"I wake up, and I'm in another country. My family isn't with me anymore, my friends, my former studio in Mexico, my clients, my whole life was gone from one day to the next."
However, she said she was happy with her husband and connected to her history and culture through one of the things she knows best.
"I express that through my paintings. So immediately the next day, I started setting up my studio."
She focused on her favorite Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead, painting skulls, skeletons, and more.
"If you see Mexican culture from the time of the Aztecs there for the Mayas, do you see skeletons everywhere, skulls everywhere in the paintings, in the sculptures, everywhere."
To her, it's a Mexican symbol. However, she also learned and painted other cultural scenes, specifically Native American.
"Learning about them, painting them, and then I realized all natives are kind of the same; it's the same race."
Learning and painting from her love and passion for cultures and history, she said she hopes others see it all with an open mind.
Raquel Harrington is the race and culture reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at rharrington@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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