my history

after recently celebrating father’s day over the weekend and mother’s day last month, i decided that perhaps it was time to do another mi familia post today. i’ve done a few installations in the past including images of my mother’s side of the family from as long ago as the 1910’s seen here, here, and here. i was really delighted by the positive reception i received from them, particularly because i recognized that there isn’t a lot of representation of people of color in historical images of the united states unless it’s in the context of migrant farm workers or the civil rights movement. we don’t often get to see the more typical images like family portraits or snap shots at the park or on the beach. so i’m glad to be able to contribute my little collection to the public archive by posting them on my blog occasionally.and while we’re on the subject, i want to let you know that threadbared is calling for submissions for images of women of color in fashionable looks! they’re also looking for garments and accessories, newspaper articles, or other ephemera relating to women of color for a special fashion exhibition. click through for details on how to submit!i definitely intend to continue sharing more vintage images of my family on my blog as i unearth them, but in honor of my parents, today i thought it would be fitting to show you a few more recent images of my family. above from left: my mom, my dad, my dad’s sister/my godmother, and my mom’s brother/my nino. oh yes, and the little baby is me back in 1983, a few months after i was born. hehe, my mom is especially tiny at 4’11”. note the super tall wedges.

with my older sister, erica. i would just like to note that she is now 5’9″. apparently she got tall of the tall genes…

from left: erica (my older sister), devin (my younger brother), and me!

23 comments

  1. darling! My mama is so petite too, around 5 feet tall (I'm only 5'1") and she always wore the big platforms as well. :)

  2. I love the first photo! Everyone is sporting great shoes and outfits! How adorable, please keep sharing, I hadn't seen the earlier posts before, and really loved them

  3. oh I love this post! I finally caught up on all of your old family featured posts and boy, are these some astounding and gorgeous photos! You come from a line of really beautiful people, which is no surprise of course seeing you today! I like how part of you purpose of putting these online is to show Mexican Americans in less politically charged context is really inspiring and necessary. Thanks for sharing this with us!

  4. Such a great post! I'm really excited about what Threadbared are doing, I can't wait to see it.

    That last photo absolutely kills me, I love it!

  5. 1983 babies rule of course. Go us. wow your sister is the same height as me. how tall are you now?? I always thought you were my height, honestly! You were adorable!

  6. Erin, this is such a lovely little peak into your family portraits! Love your mom's wedges! It really inspires me to go through my family albums and represent! There aren't enough images of families of color like ours! Thanks for the inspiration, and for linking to Threadbared's awesome project. I'm a 1983 baby too!
    xoxo,
    Gina

  7. oh I can see many resemblances between you and your mom! and love the last picture of you and your brother and sister with those cute glasses!

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