This painting, entitled “Humming in Paradise,” was created by my aunt Rennie Rau Marquez. It is deeply connected to my family history because of its connection to the arts and the American Southwest. Though I am not an artist myself, the immigration experience of my family in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is deeply rooted in artistic expression. Several of my family members from Germany, Austria, and Poland were artists. Some were visual artists like my aunt, but others were actors, musicians, or folk artists. A few were able to pursue their artistic dreams full time, but many others had to work less fulfilling jobs to keep themselves and their families afloat. This painting is thus a representation of the way in which art can be a window to the past and present. The subject matter, a Southwestern “adobe” style building also connects with my family’s deep roots in California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona and the history of this area as a borderland of mixing cultures and identities. Parts of my family have lived in the area for over one hundred and fifty years. The Southwest pulled parts of my family to homesteads in Arizona, artistic inspiration in Utah, chances at fame in Hollywood, and to naval bases in San Diego. Most of us hold more closely to this regional identity than a national (“American”) one.

– Calen Rau

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant