We talked at length about her love of San Francisco and Muralismo, the culture of the street art murals which started popping up in the late 1970s in the alleyways of the Mission District. They were created initially by political refugees from Central and South America after coups and government takeovers. Public art is
so important, because often there is no art at home and very little in the classroom. La Doña agrees, saying, “Exposure to the arts is crucial to a child’s confidence and creativity.”
This led me onto Cecilia’s own personal style, which, as a fashion photographer, I had picked up straight away. I love to see someone express their personality in the way they dress. “I grew up being really interested in fashion and style, but it wasn’t really the culture of the house to be materialistic, so I started making my own clothes,” La Doña explains. “I love everything to be custom; it’s a way to adorn the body, but also to put art onto everything! Make everything beautiful and you’re the canvas.” La Doña has a few people she works with who create custom pieces for her like Oscar Olima out of LA and Lauren D’Amato who is a painter and muralist out of San Francisco. “She does pinstriping on classic cars, and lowrider art like that, but she has designed a bunch of outfits for me.” The latest is a white outfit with airbrushed flames like you would see on a hot-rod. Just as La Doña was about to break it big time with the release of her EP and features in The New York Times and Billboard, the pandemic struck. “I put out my album on the day that shelter in place
was announced in California, so I had to cancel the release show. Everything kind
“ I love everything to be custom; it’s a way to adorn the body, but also to put art onto everything! Make everything beautiful and you’re the canvas.
of stood still. It was a pretty big shock to go from being so busy to doing nothing.” La Doña is currently on a mini tour with shows in Palo Alto, New York, and Chicago over the summer and then to the Austin City Limits Music Festival (aclfestival.com) at the beginning of October. I think that with the times we have just lived through, we could all do with a big outdoor party, and for me, La Doña’s music would be the perfect soundtrack.
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