On this week’s episode, I sat down with Mexican artist, illustrator, and YouTuber Paloma Cordova. Paloma is relatively new to the illustration world but has already amassed a community of fans via YouTube. She has developed a playful illustrated world that features themes such as cowboys, witches and cute cats. Listen to this episode to learn more about Paloma’s complicated immigration story, how she got into illustration and YouTube, and where she hopes to take her career.
On this episode, I have a very vulnerable conversation with 21-yr-old Mexican illustrator and YouTuber Paloma Cordova. We get real about how broken the US immigration system is, the intricacies of race and Latinx identity, and how she broke into the illustration world through YouTube.
In the first half of this episode, we discuss how Paloma’s Mexican heritage impacts her work and she gets honest with me about the struggles of immigrating to the US. Paloma reveals that she’s an undocumented DREAMer in the US, how that impacts her life here and her relationship with her Mexican roots. We also bond over the intricacies of racial identity as light-skinned Latinx women and how it can be difficult to navigate racial terms while staying true to ourselves, our experience, and our culture.
In terms of her creative career, Paloma got her start in illustration by following her love for cute stationary and stickers. Her father (adorably) gifted her a Cricut machine as a way lifting her out from a depressive season, and she seized the opportunity by launching her online sticker shop in mid 2019. Once sticker sales started picking up in 2020, she realized — alongside her parents — that she could pursue art as a career.
Now, Paloma is studying Art History all while balancing a thriving YouTube channel, Patreon, and merch store. Her degree is helping her round out her influences and develop her style as she keeps exploring new mediums and evolving her digital work. Listen to this episode to hear more about Paloma’s complex immigration story, racial identity as a Mexican woman, and career as both an artist and content creator.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Guest Info
Check out Paloma’s latest work on Instagram, YouTube, Merch store, or website.
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Topics Covered:
00;00;09;28 - 00;00;22;20
Fabiola Lara
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Draws in Spanish, a podcast that showcases the creative journey of notable Latinx visual artists and designers. I'm your host, Fabiola Lara. Thank you so much for being here with me today.
00;00;22;20 - 00;00;34;22
Fabiola Lara
Thank you for clicking play before I introduce today's guests, I wanted to first thank all of you who have written reviews for the podcast so far. It's truly like the most meaningful way to support the show. So really big.
00;00;34;22 - 00;00;51;12
Fabiola Lara
Thank you. I also want to thank all those who have shared episodes with friends who have shared about the episodes in your stories, who have been me about episodes, and thank you for generally being excited about this. I have to say that because I've had this idea for this podcast for a while and it's a lot of
00;00;51;12 - 00;01;04;09
Fabiola Lara
work. Honestly, it's work that I enjoy, but it's work nonetheless. And your positive feedback, it really keeps me going. It means the world to me. I don't know how to express that to you, but just know it really means a lot to me.
00;01;04;09 - 00;01;21;09
Fabiola Lara
So I wanted to say thank you. I'd love to hear more from you. So it doesn't feel like I'm just releasing episodes into the void. Please reach out to me on Instagram or YouTube or literally wherever. And just like, tell me if you like it, what you don't like about it, anything just reach out.
00;01;21;09 - 00;01;39;05
Fabiola Lara
Let me know if you want to connect about something, I'm here. And if you've listened to a few episodes already, please consider writing a review, since that's the biggest way to support the show. Anyway, I just wanted to like, take a moment to thank you guys for your enthusiasm and for sharing the show and for just supporting
00;01;39;05 - 00;02;02;03
Fabiola Lara
me. Basically, thank you for supporting me. OK, let's get back to the show now. Today, I'm so honored to chat with Houston based artist and YouTuber Paloma Cordova, a.k.a. Paloma The Peach. Paloma is a Mexican illustrator who runs her own online shop, YouTube channel and Patreon, and even recently collaborated with Kinokuniya USA on a set of
00;02;02;03 - 00;02;17;14
Fabiola Lara
stickers. She creates really warm and playful characters, drawing inspiration from everyday life in her two cute cats, Salem and Clementine. All right, let's get into this chat with Paloma. You are not going to want to miss this. We talk about so much.
00;02;17;23 - 00;02;25;25
Fabiola Lara
I had an incredible conversation with her. Hey, Paloma. Welcome to draws in Spanish.
00;02;25;26 - 00;02;42;14
Fabiola Lara
I am so excited that you agreed to be on the show. I have been watching your videos for a really long time now. So this is like an honor to me. I'm just so excited to chat with you about your work and about you being Mexican and everything that that involves the before we get started into all
00;02;42;14 - 00;02;48;03
Fabiola Lara
the fun stuff. Could you introduce yourself for those who might not know who you are or aren't familiar with your work?
00;02;48;07 - 00;03;07;22
Paloma Cordova
Hello, everyone. My name is Paloma. My artist name is Paloma the beach on Instagram. I have fun and just because I think that's a cute thing, and I am currently an art student and artist on my journey. I make YouTube videos of behind the scenes of my art and the work that I do.
00;03;07;22 - 00;03;13;11
Paloma Cordova
I run a Patreon and I am just figuring things out and selling my art merch.
00;03;13;25 - 00;03;25;08
Fabiola Lara
Yeah. Yes, that's awesome. Thank you so much for that. I'm sure most people will be familiar with you already, but just in case. OK, so just right off the bat, I know that you're Mexican. You've mentioned that like everywhere.
00;03;25;08 - 00;03;28;03
Fabiola Lara
But can you tell me where you were born and where you were raised?
00;03;28;10 - 00;03;43;24
Paloma Cordova
So I was born in one of the academy school and I moved with my parents when I was about ten years old, so I don't remember. And we lived in California until I was about three years old, and I have been living in Houston, Texas, ever since.
00;03;44;06 - 00;03;54;24
Fabiola Lara
Nice. Awesome. I also I was born in Chile, and I moved here when I was a baby, so I have like no recollection. So that's awesome. And so now you've been in Texas for a long time now.
00;03;55;01 - 00;03;59;27
Paloma Cordova
Yes, I have lived in Houston, Texas, for 17 years now.
00;04;00;07 - 00;04;05;16
Fabiola Lara
Then my next question was how many generations has your family been in the US? But this would be.
00;04;05;19 - 00;04;19;20
Paloma Cordova
Yes. So I I guess I would be immigrant generation. The first person in my family to move to the US was one of my aunts, and she moved to the US in the nineties. But we moved here in about 2001.
00;04;19;20 - 00;04;23;09
Paloma Cordova
So basically immigrant generation.
00;04;23;13 - 00;04;38;14
Fabiola Lara
Immigrant zero, I like to call that zero, but I don't know how you feel about that because for me, technically I was born in Chile, so I'm also the zero generation, right? The first start. But I've been here all my life and I feel really assimilated, right?
00;04;38;14 - 00;04;50;20
Fabiola Lara
Because I grew up here. So I like to call myself like half generation. Not quite first. I don't know about you, but I sometimes I feel like it's unfair to consider myself zero generations and like, it's not like the same as my parents' experience, right?
00;04;50;22 - 00;04;53;24
Fabiola Lara
Like, their experience is different than mine. I don't know how you feel about that.
00;04;53;25 - 00;05;09;16
Paloma Cordova
I still would consider myself the zero generation just because my parents, you know, we moved here at the same time. And even though I was a baby growing up as a child, I still felt like I went through the same struggles that my parents went through.
00;05;09;16 - 00;05;25;17
Paloma Cordova
So struggling to learn English, I went to school not knowing English. Growing up, having parents with accents was like a really big marker for my childhood know compared to other kids parents, especially in Texas, in the south. You very much stick out a lot if you're an immigrant.
00;05;26;02 - 00;05;32;21
Paloma Cordova
So I feel like my experiences is quite similar to my parents because it kind of felt like we were roommates.
00;05;33;00 - 00;05;46;24
Fabiola Lara
I get that totally for me. I have a lot of similarities, and I rarely meet people that I don't know about you. But like, I live right now in Philadelphia, I don't have that many Latina ex Latino immigrant friends almost, you know, so I'm like, Oh, yeah, me too.
00;05;46;24 - 00;06;02;19
Fabiola Lara
But I also didn't have to go to ESOL for like three years when I was in elementary school or whatever. But I guess I had the luck of growing up in Miami at first. And so everybody around us was from a Hispanic country, from Latin America.
00;06;02;26 - 00;06;19;24
Fabiola Lara
So it was kind of like normal in a sense for your parents to either speak Spanish or have an accent or whatever was pretty normal as opposed to what I'm hearing that you're saying. Tough. That's tough. It's already hard being like a immigrant kid and having like that dual life, you know, like where you go to school
00;06;19;24 - 00;06;23;11
Fabiola Lara
and you're like, I don't know if you're pretending to be American, but you're like trying to fit in.
00;06;23;14 - 00;06;27;03
Paloma Cordova
No. Yeah, definitely trying to be as American as possible.
00;06;27;04 - 00;06;36;28
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, that's tough, given that you live in Texas, which is proximity wise, really close to Mexico. What's your current relationship with your Mexican heritage with your roots?
00;06;37;06 - 00;06;52;16
Paloma Cordova
So I have never announced this, but I feel comfortable saying it in this podcast. I am undocumented. I am under the DOCA program, so I unfortunately have never been able to go visit Mexico. Technically, now we're allowed to get permits to travel outside of the country.
00;06;52;17 - 00;07;10;10
Paloma Cordova
I just don't feel comfortable. So my family that lives in Mexico, they will come visit. It's usually been every year, but since the pandemic they haven't really come to visit. It's only been my grandparents so that they could come and get their vaccine because in Mexico, the vaccine thing is a whole mess.
00;07;10;16 - 00;07;27;20
Fabiola Lara
Thank you so much for sharing that first off, I grew up undocumented until I was 15. I just had the flu. I get emotional. I had the luck of my sorry I had. The luck of my mom getting married to an American citizen before I turned 18.
00;07;27;28 - 00;07;40;14
Fabiola Lara
So it was just a pure I mean, my mom fully knowing like it's better for her to do this now than later. But otherwise I would have been under at the time when I got my green card. The DOCA program was just a concept.
00;07;40;17 - 00;07;58;20
Fabiola Lara
Obama was talking about it, but had it been passed or anything, so I'm so glad to hear that you are under that program, even though it's not perfect. It's better than nothing. I'm just glad to be able to talk to people about it because I think it's a really big part of being Latino in the U.S. is
00;07;58;20 - 00;08;05;28
Fabiola Lara
your immigration status, and you either are really aware of it or you're just oblivious to it.
00;08;06;14 - 00;08;22;05
Paloma Cordova
Yeah. And it's honestly terrifying to talk about because you don't know if you're putting yourself in danger or your family. And there's also a lot of Latinos that are against illegal immigration like they do not like you if you are undocumented.
00;08;22;18 - 00;08;39;05
Fabiola Lara
I know, and that's really unfortunate because I think people fail to realize that there is not legal ways to come here. That really makes sense for most people who are trying to come here, like if you can afford to come here just for fun because you want to switch it up, not because you want to switch it
00;08;39;05 - 00;08;50;26
Fabiola Lara
up, but you want, you know, American opportunities or whatever. Then there is a pathway may be for you that if you can afford it, but most people who need to come here seeking a better life can't afford the pathways that are currently available.
00;08;51;02 - 00;09;03;06
Fabiola Lara
And it's really frustrating for people to not recognize that. But I also think a lot of Americans just don't even know what the options are. Like, why don't you just come here legally? And it's like, name one way.
00;09;05;03 - 00;09;17;14
Fabiola Lara
And there's none. And I feel like for Dhaka and for dreamers, it's really tough because you can be on that program for a really long time with almost no kind of relief and you've been here since you were one.
00;09;17;23 - 00;09;35;14
Fabiola Lara
So it's like, so unfair. So what's your relationship with your Mexican heritage, given that you're so close to Mexico now knowing that you don't have the liberty? It's not really the most comfortable thing to be traveling across the border when you don't have a green card or like, even if you have it, it's always dicey.
00;09;35;15 - 00;09;44;11
Fabiola Lara
Like, when I had a green card, I barely traveled because I was like, I don't want to deal with this. So how do you kind of stay in touch with your Mexican heritage anyway?
00;09;44;21 - 00;10;03;22
Paloma Cordova
So my boyfriend, we started dating over a year ago, and she's also a Mexican immigrant, and I didn't realize how amazing it is to date someone within your nationality and even like immigration status, because I've never done that before, I've always dated outside of my race, my nationality.
00;10;04;11 - 00;10;19;22
Paloma Cordova
And once I started dating him, it really caused me and my relationship with my Mexican heritage to really flourish because he has the same experiences. And even though he's from Monterrey, which is a different area, it's still somewhat the same heritage.
00;10;20;00 - 00;10;35;13
Paloma Cordova
His family, I understand he understands my family, so it's been really good to be with him. That has definitely helped me feel a lot more connected to my Mexican heritage. I speak Spanish with my entire family, so that obviously keeps me connected.
00;10;35;22 - 00;10;51;08
Paloma Cordova
I eat a lot of Mexican food. I keep up with Mexican artists. I learn about Mexican art history. You know, I'm studying art history in university right now, and I'm thinking about specializing in Mexican art. So those are just some of the ways that I keep connected.
00;10;51;10 - 00;11;10;19
Fabiola Lara
Oh, that's so cool. I mean, I'm so glad that you're dating someone with a similar background to you because, yeah, it just makes the whole thing. You feel less alone. But being that you're in Texas, do you feel like you have a big community you personally of, like other Mexican artist or just friends growing up?
00;11;11;01 - 00;11;27;09
Paloma Cordova
Not really. I have grown up in the suburbs of Houston, and that constitutes mostly white people in elementary school. It was pretty, very moving into middle school and high school. It was really mostly white people or black people.
00;11;27;09 - 00;11;48;13
Paloma Cordova
There was not a lot of Hispanic people, and if there was, they worked of immigration status. And that's something that I like to talk about a lot with people that there is definitely. At least a little bit of a barrier or a difference in identity when it comes to Mexican-Americans and Mexicans who come from a different immigration
00;11;48;13 - 00;11;56;18
Paloma Cordova
status, if that makes sense. So no, I really did not grow up. With people that I can relate to at all.
00;11;56;26 - 00;12;13;14
Fabiola Lara
I wouldn't have thought that, given that maybe I am just ignorant on like Texas Dynamics, I feel like maybe it's just like the news or just what you see everywhere like that. There's a really big Mexican population in Texas, and like you're saying, that may be true.
00;12;13;23 - 00;12;25;26
Fabiola Lara
But with the different generations, I definitely get that because it's a totally different experience if you grow up never thinking about immigration studies as opposed to. It being kind of like a daily.
00;12;26;25 - 00;12;39;22
Paloma Cordova
Issue. Yeah. And there is definitely a lot of Mexicans in Texas, but I would say it's a lot more concentrated in San Antonio and in El Paso. I mean, Houston, it just got named the most diverse city in the country.
00;12;40;05 - 00;12;53;05
Paloma Cordova
So we are a mixing pot of a lot of different cultures. But you know where my boyfriend lives, he lives on the east side of Houston. And there is a much larger population of Mexicans over there and just Hispanics in general.
00;12;53;20 - 00;12;56;19
Paloma Cordova
But just the area that I grew up in, there wasn't a lot.
00;12;56;25 - 00;13;15;26
Fabiola Lara
Just hasn't been your experience yet. I get that I grew up in Miami like I was telling you. And so there it's like super Latino heavy. And then I moved in middle school north to ours, and it was like just blue eyes and blond hair, like surfing white people outside of Florida that I had never in my
00;13;15;26 - 00;13;24;07
Fabiola Lara
entire life seen. And it was completely different. And that was just like, yeah, like you're saying, it really varies depending on what part of the state you live in. Can just.
00;13;24;07 - 00;13;25;17
Paloma Cordova
Completely change your.
00;13;25;17 - 00;13;38;01
Fabiola Lara
Whole experience. Well, that's unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear that you felt a little bit disconnected, but at least you have your family. Now you have your boyfriend. That's always cool. I've never dated anyone with the same immigration status as me.
00;13;38;04 - 00;13;47;02
Fabiola Lara
I mean, now that I'm a citizen recently, but before that, it was always kind of like this thing I carried in my back pocket. And you just like, figure out when to disclose it?
00;13;47;03 - 00;13;58;11
Paloma Cordova
Yeah, because a lot of people have the stereotype of like, Oh, you want to marry me for a visa or a green card? So it is a little bit scary to break it to someone that you're dating for the first time.
00;13;58;18 - 00;14;13;27
Fabiola Lara
I like to think that now people are more open minded about it. Are they kind of want to know more? But I really feel like. For the vast majority of Americans, it's not something that they ever have to think about and they never think about the status of other people.
00;14;14;13 - 00;14;26;14
Fabiola Lara
So it's like really feels like a bomb that you're dropping when you first bring this up in any anyway. How was it like growing up undocumented for you? I know that you still are, but you have your Dacca status.
00;14;26;14 - 00;14;32;01
Fabiola Lara
So how was that like in your experience? I'm just curious because I never really had the chance to talk about it with anyone.
00;14;32;05 - 00;14;43;19
Paloma Cordova
So I didn't know that I was undocumented until I was about 14 years old, which I think was a good decision on my parents' part. I really think it would have affected me a lot mentally as a kid.
00;14;43;24 - 00;15;01;06
Paloma Cordova
Know that's a lot to think about your parents possibly disappearing and you having to be taken away. So luckily, they kept it from me and they protected me from it. But there were a lot of things that wouldn't make sense to me, like licenses, driving licenses.
00;15;01;06 - 00;15;16;24
Paloma Cordova
A lot of people like you said, they're very ignorant when it comes to stuff like this just because they have never been able to be connected with it. So they don't really know. But, you know, stuff like driver's license, bank accounts, buying a house or renting an apartment, all that stuff was always very difficult for my parents
00;15;16;24 - 00;15;30;23
Paloma Cordova
, and I didn't know why, but now I know why. But once it hit me, I really did have a lot of anxiety for a very long time. Now it's kind of like a feeling that I've become numb to, and it's something that's pretty out of my control.
00;15;31;03 - 00;15;50;24
Paloma Cordova
So I can't sit down and think about how my parents could be taken away or my doctor could be taken away. But yeah, luckily my parents protected me and they explained to me the darker. I think I got it when I was about 1617, and I'm under protection and I try to protect my parents as much as
00;15;50;24 - 00;15;51;07
Paloma Cordova
I can.
00;15;52;05 - 00;16;06;03
Fabiola Lara
That's good, I'm so glad you have that program, and I think it's important for people to realize how much it means to people because I think again, I think it's one of immigration is one of those issues that unless you had to think about it before, you literally have no reason to think about it.
00;16;06;13 - 00;16;12;05
Fabiola Lara
And so I love that we can talk about this. How was it like when your parents first told you processing that?
00;16;12;27 - 00;16;27;24
Paloma Cordova
I don't remember an exact moment where they told me, but I remember when I got my doctor and then my Social Security card came in probably a year later or so. And my dad just starts crying. And, you know, dad's especially Mexican, does they don't cry.
00;16;28;08 - 00;16;48;16
Paloma Cordova
So he just starts crying, and he's telling me, this is so big for you because, you know, obviously we don't have Social Security cards. And I think that's the moment that it really hit me how serious all of this was and how my status and my parents' status had affected us while I was growing up and how
00;16;48;16 - 00;17;04;29
Paloma Cordova
it was going to affect me becoming an adult because it has, you know, getting this apartment was very difficult. Being undocumented. No rental history, no credit history. Anything very difficult to get apartments. I experienced a lot of discrimination when I was applying to apartments.
00;17;05;01 - 00;17;20;06
Fabiola Lara
And affects everything you do constantly. I can't even imagine. I don't know if it's good or bad, but like I found out, since I was a kid, like since I have consciousness, I knew that I was undocumented. But I remember little things like.
00;17;21;10 - 00;17;26;07
Fabiola Lara
You know, it's hard to explain to like a seven year old what immigration is.
00;17;26;22 - 00;17;27;20
Paloma Cordova
So I remember.
00;17;27;20 - 00;17;41;01
Fabiola Lara
Like asking my mom like trick questions, you know, like, OK, mom, what about like, why can't we travel? Or like, why can't I go there, OK, but what if I was born here, then that would change everything, like how does that matter?
00;17;41;02 - 00;17;55;09
Fabiola Lara
Like just as a kid being like, why does it matter if I was born here or there and her trying to explain it to me, and it's definitely almost better not to know. But it's still hard. Then once you know, it's like helpless to, you know, like what's better?
00;17;55;10 - 00;17;59;14
Fabiola Lara
It's tough. I hope that they make something. This something changes, you know?
00;17;59;23 - 00;18;16;20
Paloma Cordova
Yeah, right now it's I mean, my siblings are citizens because they were born here. I have two younger siblings, but so it's just me and my parents. But the pressure is really laid on thick for me to get married because that right now seems like it's going to be the only way because there doesn't seem like there's
00;18;16;20 - 00;18;18;13
Paloma Cordova
a light at the end of the tunnel.
00;18;18;19 - 00;18;23;18
Fabiola Lara
I hate to say it, but I would agree with your parents. I've seen it happen, and I feel like that's the only.
00;18;23;22 - 00;18;24;16
Paloma Cordova
Foolproof.
00;18;24;16 - 00;18;41;09
Fabiola Lara
Way because otherwise every other option is. Non-guaranteed. Sounds like an expensive. So like if it happens to be that you meet someone, you fall in love, hey, maybe it's not a bad idea to get married, but it's tough.
00;18;41;23 - 00;18;55;01
Fabiola Lara
I can't imagine my family, I feel like, had a different experience than your family because if you moved here in the early 2000s, I think it was different. My parents moved here in the early nineties and you could get a Social Security number.
00;18;55;02 - 00;19;08;02
Fabiola Lara
My parents came from Chile on a flight, and so they had to get Social Security numbers to get approved for visas and stuff like that. So they had all that stuff. And before basically pre 911, you could get like a driver's license.
00;19;08;04 - 00;19;12;14
Fabiola Lara
And that lasted for a while. And then after 9:11, it's like horrible.
00;19;12;15 - 00;19;21;28
Paloma Cordova
Yeah, my parents were actually able to get Texas driver's license when we first moved here, but by the time that they expired, they took that away in Texas.
00;19;22;00 - 00;19;38;26
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, I remember my family like traveling around the US to try and get it. But again, that's risky and it's in in and of itself. You know, like we drove out of Florida to try to get a driver's license in Georgia, and that drive alone is twelve hours, craziest twelve hours, you know, it was like, I think
00;19;38;26 - 00;19;50;25
Fabiola Lara
I was twelve, and I remember being like, if we get pulled over, we're done for. But you know, it is what it is. We did not get anything on that trip. It was the first time I left the state, so that was kind of interesting.
00;19;51;06 - 00;20;08;04
Fabiola Lara
OK, speaking about immigration and the relationship, your Mexican heritage here in the U.S. and how that impacts your everyday life. Are there any Mexican stereotypes that you are most sick of? I ask this because I want to like hopefully anyone listening can learn a little bit.
00;20;08;12 - 00;20;30;11
Paloma Cordova
So I think the first one is, and I want to preface this by saying that I know that I'm lighter skinned for a Mexican woman. I do definitely benefit from lighter skinned privilege, and whenever I would share my nationality with people, they would be very shocked and be like, Oh, I thought you were Middle Eastern and I
00;20;30;12 - 00;20;47;08
Paloma Cordova
thought you were some sort of Asian, et cetera. So I guess in the back of my mind, I always wonder what people are picturing in their head when they think of a Mexican woman. And I can't help but imagine that they are thinking of a face that is very stereotypical.
00;20;47;18 - 00;20;53;04
Paloma Cordova
So I think that's the main thing that I have experienced just growing up in general.
00;20;53;20 - 00;21;10;21
Fabiola Lara
No. Yeah, that's a big one. I feel like Americans, I guess by what I mean by Americans is like white people in the U.S. but even I guess it can, they can be from any race or whatever have like this very specific idea of what a Mexican person and or like a Latino person looks like.
00;21;11;01 - 00;21;24;06
Fabiola Lara
I'm not Mexican, but I feel like I've gotten that people are shocked. You know that I'm from Chile because I think people just think all of Latin America is just like one place and they have like a stereotype for that.
00;21;24;08 - 00;21;34;22
Paloma Cordova
To me, I look at you and I'm like, Oh, yeah, she's from Chile. And I think it's because I'm Hispanic, and I know all the countries in Latin America and I know people from different countries. So I look at you and I'm like, Yeah, she's from Chile.
00;21;34;23 - 00;21;47;28
Fabiola Lara
That's amazing. I've never thought that about myself looking at myself because I have never met that many Chilean people, persons being here. So thank you. But I feel like I get what you're saying. It's it's tough because you're like, Well, what did you expect?
00;21;48;22 - 00;21;53;12
Fabiola Lara
What were you expecting exactly? If you have another one, you can mention that enough. You.
00;21;53;18 - 00;22;14;19
Paloma Cordova
I mean, I feel like the other ones are probably ones that we hear a lot because I think Mexican stereotypes, they're still pretty normalized and socially acceptable in comparison to stereotypes about other races. So the whole Mexicans lowlands do landscaping do hard labor?
00;22;15;06 - 00;22;22;26
Paloma Cordova
Yes, a lot of us do. But again, the reason that we do is because we're undocumented and we can't get a job anywhere else. That's why we do it.
00;22;22;29 - 00;22;34;13
Fabiola Lara
It's so unfair because it's like a Catch 22. It's like, OK, you don't want Mexican people to do that. Then what else would you like Mexican people to do for you? Like, what do you mean? And also how?
00;22;34;18 - 00;22;47;02
Fabiola Lara
It's because you people who think that who are so small minded don't realize like the context of it all, like, Oh, these are the jobs that they can get because of their immigration status. These are the jobs that people don't ask questions about.
00;22;47;19 - 00;23;02;29
Fabiola Lara
Recently, talking on your Instagram Stories, you mentioned a few times considering yourself way passing and kind of digesting that and figuring navigating that. Like, where are you with that topic? Speaking of racists within your nationality, how do you feel about that?
00;23;03;04 - 00;23;06;13
Fabiola Lara
And how did you come to terms with that or navigate that?
00;23;06;17 - 00;23;22;10
Paloma Cordova
Well, I took an anthropology course, I think maybe last semester or the semester before, and that is where I learned that we are racialized. There is no actual like divided human races. We're just racialized because of stuff, history and everything.
00;23;22;26 - 00;23;40;09
Paloma Cordova
And so I guess on technical terms, if someone were to ask me, what is your race, I would. Say I'm white and Native American, but that's what most Mexicans are. We're a mixture of the people that colonized us and the indigenous people that were already living on Mexican land.
00;23;40;11 - 00;24;03;07
Paloma Cordova
So I used to think that I was white passing because and I'm going to be honest to talk gaslit me into thinking that's what I was because I have tended to navigate the world in a very walking on eggshells way in the sense that I am terrified of making people upset and offending people just in general.
00;24;03;08 - 00;24;20;17
Paloma Cordova
I have a very bad phobia of making people mad. So me trying to like, stand back and not offend people, I would be like, Yeah, I'm white passing. But then I learned, also on Tik Tok, this woman. She was like, I never thought that this term would be so popularized.
00;24;20;17 - 00;24;33;19
Paloma Cordova
But white passing just means that if you walk into a country club with a bunch of blond, blue eyed people and you can go undetected, then that means that you're white passing. And I personally feel like that's not the case for me.
00;24;34;06 - 00;24;50;11
Paloma Cordova
I have suffered a lot of dysphoria about people commenting on my appearance in every sense of my body and what I look like ethnically and stuff like that. So I have kind of like drawn the line and that I won't allow people to try to tell me what I am.
00;24;50;16 - 00;25;12;00
Paloma Cordova
But again, I do recognize the privilege that comes with being lighter skinned, so I do try to be more self-aware and, you know, I'm still navigating it. But right now, it's kind of like I am a light skinned Mexican because I have taken my ancestry test, which actually someone informed me that those aren't even really that accurate
00;25;12;21 - 00;25;17;13
Paloma Cordova
. But I am about 60% European, 40% indigenous.
00;25;17;16 - 00;25;34;11
Fabiola Lara
It's tough. It's so tough. I mean, I have a hard time thinking about it too, because I don't want to upset anyone. But I see what you're saying like that you don't necessarily feel like you could get away with being white, quote quote if you were in these white spaces, and that may be true.
00;25;34;16 - 00;25;53;14
Fabiola Lara
It just really depends on the scenario. But for me, I lived breathe ever so briefly in Barcelona. I went to illustration post-grad program there, and that's when I realized that these people accept me as white, but they also discriminate against me for being South American.
00;25;54;02 - 00;26;13;02
Fabiola Lara
So that's just like its own Spanish problem. But I realized, like, I fit in racially with everyone here. I worked in corporate America for a while and I felt like I fit in. I felt like unless I told someone, while my name is a dead giveaway, that benefit of the doubt is such a big benefit.
00;26;13;11 - 00;26;25;20
Fabiola Lara
But it's still not like the ultimate getaway card, especially when you consider your immigration status. When you have all these things at play, it really leaves you with no good label.
00;26;25;21 - 00;26;40;28
Paloma Cordova
I mean, I think it's a conversation that we have a lot in the Latino community and it's not like we don't want to be white, right? It's not like, Oh, no, I don't want to identify as white. I kind of just want to like, get it right, if that makes sense and not in an egocentric way where
00;26;40;28 - 00;26;45;05
Paloma Cordova
it's like, I always want to be right in the sense of like, I don't want to offend anyone.
00;26;45;05 - 00;26;46;06
Fabiola Lara
And I want to know.
00;26;46;15 - 00;26;57;15
Paloma Cordova
Yeah, I want to make sure I'm checking my privilege basically getting it right. But I think maybe this goes for you as well. It would be weird for me to just be like, Yeah, I'm white.
00;26;57;21 - 00;27;15;13
Fabiola Lara
I actually was going to say, I am white. I identify racially as white because I think if you take off all these situations, if I look at it like point blank, I think racially I am just as white as the Italian down the street here in Philly.
00;27;15;13 - 00;27;31;04
Fabiola Lara
It's all these other characteristics that then influence that I'm Latina. I think the problem, in my opinion, comes with, like in the U.S., people think that white means colonial white. And I think that's where it's where it's like broken down.
00;27;31;16 - 00;27;38;26
Fabiola Lara
I think we have like the idea of race kind of mixed up in the US, and people think that white people are only like this type of white people.
00;27;38;28 - 00;27;50;21
Paloma Cordova
I mean, when I put down my race on papers like for tests and stuff, I just put down white because I don't know what else. That's a whole other thing that came with Mexican citizens in the U.S. and whatnot.
00;27;50;21 - 00;28;10;07
Paloma Cordova
But anyways, the reason that I don't feel comfortable just being like I'm white, like you are, is because I know that I have indigenous roots. That's the only thing that stops me is I also don't want to contribute to erasure of indigenous roots, but I also don't want to be like, No, no, I'm not white.
00;28;10;08 - 00;28;19;11
Paloma Cordova
Definitely. In America, identifying as a race is not just like a racial thing, it definitely comes with a cultural connotation.
00;28;19;16 - 00;28;21;12
Fabiola Lara
Exactly. And I wouldn't identify with that.
00;28;21;13 - 00;28;29;07
Paloma Cordova
I also don't identify as brown. I'm definitely not a brown person. I had someone be like, Well, you're not. And I was like, yeah, I'm not.
00;28;29;27 - 00;28;37;02
Fabiola Lara
I feel that I'm glad that we can both clarify that we're just proving to each other that we're not people of color, but we are Latinos.
00;28;37;03 - 00;28;51;25
Paloma Cordova
I've had people call me a person of color, but again, that just contributes to my dysphoria because I have some people be like, Yes, person of color queen. And I'm just like, That doesn't feel right. But then when people are like, Yeah, you're white, I'm like.
00;28;51;25 - 00;29;08;26
Fabiola Lara
Does feel right, either. I know, I know. Both terms don't feel right to me, like I feel comfortable calling myself white, but with my understanding of it. But if I were to go to, like, just a general place, it would be hard for me to be like, I'm white, too, like some random person because I know they
00;29;08;26 - 00;29;20;29
Fabiola Lara
would be like, No, you're not. You know, so it's there's like so many nuances, and I'm so glad we get to talk about it, even though maybe we board some people because it's so hard here in the US.
00;29;20;29 - 00;29;37;16
Fabiola Lara
And I think like it's only something that you experience. I think in the US, in Latin America, they'd be like, No, you're just this move on. But it's not so simple because you have all these other things. You have your immigration status, you have your race, you have your ethnicity, you have your culture, you have your Native
00;29;37;16 - 00;29;55;12
Fabiola Lara
American roots. It's just like, there's no clear answer. And I think that's why every tick tock that you see, you're like, No, it's not quite right. Moving away from the complexity of your identity, how did you get into art and illustration and like now that you're studying, is your major art history?
00;29;55;17 - 00;30;16;03
Paloma Cordova
I finished my associate's degree at community college in fine arts, so I did all those studio classes. I did ceramics, sculpture, design. All that fun stuff was in my associate's degree, and I transferred to University of Houston. So there is no illustration major at any university in Texas at all.
00;30;16;13 - 00;30;35;28
Paloma Cordova
And again, because I'm undocumented and I hate bringing it up so much, but it literally affects every aspect because I'm undocumented. I pay out of state tuition in Texas because I'm not a citizen or whatever. But if I were to go out of Texas, I would be counted as an international student, so I would have to pay
00;30;35;28 - 00;30;40;29
Paloma Cordova
international tuition, which is insane. So leaving the state was not an option for me.
00;30;40;29 - 00;30;54;24
Fabiola Lara
I am rolling my eyes so hard because that is so ridiculous and I have to mention it for listeners. So I don't think I'm just sitting here smiling. But anyways, OK, so you have to stay in Texas, but they don't offer illustration programs.
00;30;54;29 - 00;31;09;14
Paloma Cordova
So your average closest university to me, they do have an arts program, but I kind of got sick of doing the studio arts thing. I really wanted to do illustration because that is something that I've never learned in, like a professional or educational setting.
00;31;09;26 - 00;31;26;07
Paloma Cordova
But that's not an option, and I didn't want to go the fine arts route again because I was like, I cannot take two to three more years of this because it's a lot of work. So I am majoring in art history and minoring, probably in studio arts, just because I have all the credits for it.
00;31;26;12 - 00;31;40;23
Paloma Cordova
But I might minor in French. So, yeah, I've been doing art since I was a child. I think everyone did art as a kid because it's very encouraged when you're a kid. But I continued it throughout my entire life as a child.
00;31;41;05 - 00;31;46;19
Paloma Cordova
I always did this thing in Texas. It might be only in Houston. It's called the rodeo art.
00;31;46;29 - 00;31;48;00
Fabiola Lara
Fair or whatever.
00;31;48;13 - 00;32;08;01
Paloma Cordova
And we have a rodeo every year in Houston, and it's where a bunch of people gather and there's like carnival concerts and stuff like that. But there's also a section for like super rich people to go and buy things so they buy livestock like super, super expensive livestock and art, so they will buy your art for like
00;32;08;01 - 00;32;10;27
Paloma Cordova
thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, which is insane.
00;32;10;29 - 00;32;14;17
Fabiola Lara
That's blowing my mind. You can do both of those things in one place.
00;32;14;18 - 00;32;29;16
Paloma Cordova
Yeah, it's huge. When we didn't have it, when the pandemic hit, it was like a huge financial loss for the city. So growing up, I did all the rodeo art things and stuff like that throughout school, but it was always kind of like a thing that someone labeled on to me.
00;32;29;16 - 00;32;46;14
Paloma Cordova
So I was like, OK, I'm sticking with it. And then when I hit my last year of high school, when it was time to get serious about school, I was kind of exploring different ideas. I was like, I should do some things seen as more practical quote unquote something seen as more lucrative financially.
00;32;47;00 - 00;33;04;05
Paloma Cordova
So I considered other routes, and that's also partially why I went to community college, because by the time I graduated, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I started taking art pretty seriously my first year of college because I started as a fashion design major and as a fashion design major, you had to take studio
00;33;04;05 - 00;33;13;08
Paloma Cordova
classes as well. And when I took my first studio class, I was like, This is it. I'm good at this. This is what I love. So that's when I started taking it like super seriously.
00;33;13;27 - 00;33;16;23
Fabiola Lara
But then you kind of fell off the fashion path.
00;33;17;02 - 00;33;19;11
Paloma Cordova
Yeah, I switched my major to studio art.
00;33;19;12 - 00;33;34;22
Fabiola Lara
Perfect. Yeah, you were like, Let's leave the fashion. Let's just do the art. I totally get the pressure of following, like a more lucrative quote, unquote. Career, I went to school, I changed my major 1,000,000 times, but I went to school for I was really set, but I wanted to be a scientist.
00;33;35;08 - 00;33;44;05
Fabiola Lara
And then I realized I don't want to do this anymore. I was like, I don't want to actually be a scientist. Like, I like science, but I don't want to actively make science happen. And I switched a lot.
00;33;44;05 - 00;34;00;07
Fabiola Lara
And it's because I had that pressure being an immigrant, being like, OK, if I have this opportunity, I'm not going to like, quote, blow it on art, even though my family is very supportive. They're also like money. How does your family feel about you pursuing a more creative career?
00;34;00;17 - 00;34;15;21
Paloma Cordova
A little bit of back story. When I graduated high school, I was extremely depressed, extremely anxious. I was going through the worst anxious and panic attack era of my entire life, so all I would do was lay in bed.
00;34;15;29 - 00;34;34;16
Paloma Cordova
I would literally do nothing but lay in bed, so my parents were just very like, do something. I was kind of like, I want to do fashion design, and they were like, OK. But I think because I was going through that such severe mental health crisis that they didn't want to discourage anything.
00;34;34;19 - 00;34;35;00
Fabiola Lara
Yeah.
00;34;35;13 - 00;34;51;15
Paloma Cordova
They weren't like, super like, yeah, do it. But they were just like, OK, it's a direction you can go and cool. And then I started doing the art thing, and I feel like when you tell people that you are either majoring in art or you're an artist, they think about the fine art world where it's like, you
00;34;51;15 - 00;35;07;00
Paloma Cordova
want to be so rich because you want to be selling your million dollar paintings to NPR market, blah blah blah. People tend to reduce the art world to that. So my parents were they had that perspective. They were like, OK, well, you need to make it in the fine art world.
00;35;07;01 - 00;35;09;28
Fabiola Lara
They're we want to see you at the MoMA go. Yeah.
00;35;10;06 - 00;35;22;26
Paloma Cordova
That's also what professors push on you when you're a fine art or studio arts major, they're like, you're not going to allow the curators with this one and stuff like that. And then after a few years of doing that, I was like, I don't care about that.
00;35;22;26 - 00;35;25;02
Paloma Cordova
I don't care about wowing rich people.
00;35;25;04 - 00;35;32;12
Fabiola Lara
I think that's a breakthrough that a lot of people have like, Wait a minute, do I have to go that way to fine art? Like, is that the only way right now?
00;35;33;02 - 00;35;48;26
Paloma Cordova
So they were kind of looking at it from that perspective and they were like, Yeah, do it. So the whole illustration thing came from my love of stickers and cute stationery. So it's not like I was like, I want to be an illustrator.
00;35;48;27 - 00;35;59;29
Paloma Cordova
I was like, There is not stickers, enough stickers for me that I love. So I'm going to make ones that I think are cute and I can sell them. And my parents were like, Yeah, that's cute. Sure.
00;36;00;22 - 00;36;05;07
Fabiola Lara
And just like, why not go for it? They're like, We like your entrepreneurial spirit.
00;36;05;24 - 00;36;18;18
Paloma Cordova
Yes, because my both, my parents are entrepreneurs, so they're like, Yeah, do it. So my parents being excited that I was not depressed anymore and wanted to do something with my life. My dad bought me a little cricket machine because I had no money.
00;36;18;19 - 00;36;21;20
Fabiola Lara
God, I love that so much. It makes my heart.
00;36;21;20 - 00;36;38;06
Paloma Cordova
So or mad. Yeah, that is one thing we can get into the whole toxicity of Hispanic parents and their so much trauma. But the one thing that my parents really got right is like, if I was like, I want to do this, they were like, Yes, like, we want to help you.
00;36;38;18 - 00;36;56;13
Paloma Cordova
So my dad bought me the cutting machine and some sticker paper, and I was like, OK, I'm going to give it a try. And I actually opened the store in like mid 2019, I think. And I think throughout the whole, like in one year, I only had like 30 sales, but I was fine with it.
00;36;56;13 - 00;37;09;11
Paloma Cordova
I was like, I'm having fun making these stickers. And my parents kind of saw it as like this like silly little hobby. It was like, Yeah, it makes her happy. It's a cute little thing that she does, but I don't think that's really your career.
00;37;09;11 - 00;37;23;10
Paloma Cordova
And I was like, Yeah, maybe not. But then it started taking off. And I think this is rings true for not only parents, but just like other people in our lives when something starts becoming financially lucrative. Everyone is like, Yeah, that's valid.
00;37;23;15 - 00;37;30;02
Fabiola Lara
I agree with that, but it's not surprising. It's annoying that it has to be proven that way. But hey, at least you proved it.
00;37;30;19 - 00;37;45;29
Paloma Cordova
I started doing that, and I think the first two illustrators are artists that I discovered were catnip illustrations and apple cheeks. I think they are like probably some of the biggest or most iconic illustrators in the community and especially on YouTube.
00;37;46;00 - 00;38;05;15
Paloma Cordova
So I discovered everything through YouTube, and I kind of saw the possibility of what this stuff could become. I was like, Well, I didn't know that people did this. And then, you know, I followed them on Instagram. And then I saw who they would follow, or they would post on their stories and stuff, and I was like
00;38;05;15 - 00;38;07;20
Paloma Cordova
, This is a whole community.
00;38;07;28 - 00;38;19;16
Fabiola Lara
Yeah, these people are doing something. I love that because I feel the same way. And so that's did they inspire you to start your YouTube channel or when did that kind of also click with the sticker making?
00;38;19;24 - 00;38;37;10
Paloma Cordova
Well, I've been doing YouTube since I was like 15, so I have always had my YouTube channel. There were many times in. My use that I just wanted to delete it, because it's not like I was posting consistently for like five years, I would post a few videos and then disappear for like a year and then do
00;38;37;10 - 00;38;58;10
Paloma Cordova
the same thing over and over. I think it was 20, 18 or maybe 20, 19. I started doing stationary videos. Stationary Hall's kind of like Amanda Lee. She's probably like the biggest bullet journaling YouTuber. So it's kind of like that vibe like really into the mixture of arts and crafts sort of thing.
00;38;58;20 - 00;39;16;20
Paloma Cordova
So I started making videos about that and that kind of like drew in a lot of people. But like I said, I was a child and I'm not going to live. That shit messed me up bad. But 2018 2019 is when I really started drawing people in with like the stationary stuff or bullet journaling stuff.
00;39;17;05 - 00;39;35;16
Paloma Cordova
That was also a period in my life where I was very depressed, stationary, and all that cute stuff really helped me with all of that. It was like a nice distraction. And then that led me again into Apple Cheeks kind of illustrations, and then they inspired me to start making videos like studio blogs and stuff.
00;39;36;06 - 00;39;54;11
Fabiola Lara
I love it. I can see exactly what you're saying. I'm so glad that you took kind of like that little bit of interest and cultivated it with YouTube along the way. And now you have like this full fledged business with your shop and your Patreon and your channel.
00;39;54;20 - 00;40;08;02
Fabiola Lara
So now that you have your channel and that you've kind of redirected it from fashion to art, which is where you are today, how did you kind of get started with your Patreon like and how do you feel about your career now?
00;40;08;03 - 00;40;28;22
Paloma Cordova
So I started my Patreon again, seeing other people doing it. I think the first person that I saw or that I explored their patron page was Shane Barton. She's also kind of like an O.G. illustrator and. I kind of was just like, I think it's time, I think I'm able to do a front page now, I think
00;40;28;22 - 00;40;42;07
Paloma Cordova
I've been doing art long enough on the internet to kind of announce this to people. And leading up to it and preparing it every day, I would call my boyfriend and be like, I don't think anyone's going to sign up.
00;40;42;10 - 00;40;55;15
Paloma Cordova
I was convinced and I was like, This is going to be really embarrassing. And I'm like, You guys, I made this thing. And then because the amount of patrons that you have is public and it's just like the number is zero.
00;40;55;21 - 00;41;07;20
Paloma Cordova
And so I was like, that's going to be really embarrassing. And I was fully convinced, like I thought it was so insane that anyone would sign up for my patron. And he was like, That's not true. You know, that's not true.
00;41;07;20 - 00;41;22;16
Paloma Cordova
And I was like, No, I don't. I started it, I think, February of 2021. So, yeah, I just started it because I saw other people were doing it, and it seemed like a really good way to create stable income as an artist because you can't.
00;41;22;24 - 00;41;42;13
Paloma Cordova
It's very scary to depend on just store sales because it varies and fluctuates so much. And I was considering moving out because I knew I was transferring to university. I needed to live closer to the city. And I was like, I either need to find a regular job or I really need to hone in on this one
00;41;42;20 - 00;41;55;01
Paloma Cordova
because if I find a regular job with school and the job, I won't have time to do thing. So I wanted to kind of make it into a more stable career.
00;41;55;23 - 00;42;15;15
Fabiola Lara
And you did, because people signed up. OK, your fears never happened. People signed up. I'm so happy for you. And what would be like your piece of advice for someone who's considering a Patreon? Because I feel like I approached the illustration kind of path in a different way in the sense that I never thought about a shop
00;42;15;16 - 00;42;27;10
Fabiola Lara
. I always thought about it in terms of getting clients. So what would be your advice for someone who wants to do that now? Because I hope to one day be able to do that, but I feel like you need to kind of get all your ducks in a row.
00;42;28;06 - 00;42;43;29
Paloma Cordova
Yeah. So Patria, I'm really the whole package on Instagram, YouTube, all of that is content creating. Whether we like it or not. Yes. first, we're an artist, but we're still content creators like anything that you create for the internet is content that you made.
00;42;44;01 - 00;43;05;22
Paloma Cordova
So I think establishing that kind of content creators side to yourself is going to be the best way to do it and then being consistent with it, because that's how you build people that enjoy your art because that's the basis of having a picture is people really enjoy your art and they want to see more than what
00;43;05;28 - 00;43;25;22
Paloma Cordova
the general public gets to see. So being consistent and working hard to make that content creator label for yourself will, I think, be the first step to making a patriarch? Because, like I said, you don't want to, like, make one and like, have everything ready and then no one signs up and you're like, Man.
00;43;26;12 - 00;43;37;28
Fabiola Lara
That hurts. I know. I feel like anything that you do nowadays. If no one signs up, if no one likes or comments it, it's just so embarrassing. But it's also like the reality. You know, that's how it is.
00;43;37;28 - 00;43;52;27
Fabiola Lara
People have to start at some point, you know, but really good advice. I feel like nowadays a lot of artists, it's like super polarizing. I talked about this on an episode with Fran. Fran nerde, incredible. We love her hair on draws in Spanish.
00;43;52;27 - 00;44;07;20
Fabiola Lara
But she was mentioning that she also considers herself a content creator. And I think a lot of artists don't like they hate that term. But I'm also like, You guys, are you watching what's happening? Like, I think we should hop on this.
00;44;08;00 - 00;44;08;23
Paloma Cordova
I think we should.
00;44;08;23 - 00;44;19;19
Fabiola Lara
All like, go for it. And it's really polarizing. So I'm glad to hear that you're like pro content creation. So I think it's just a term that people don't like, but it's also like a reality of being an artist now.
00;44;19;23 - 00;44;34;27
Paloma Cordova
I don't want to be a content creator my whole life. I'm very grateful for it. Extremely grateful. And it still shocks me to this day that it's a thing, but it's definitely extremely tolling on the mind and the body.
00;44;34;28 - 00;44;52;28
Paloma Cordova
So if the opportunity to be more client based or, you know, graduate with my art history degree and work in the art history field came up, I think I would move towards that. I would probably combine the two just so not as much pressure is on content creating.
00;44;53;07 - 00;45;04;29
Fabiola Lara
That makes a lot of sense and is smart. But I like that you're keeping it open because it's ever evolving. Like, I feel like this is the first generation where content creators are like growing with it. You haven't seen that, right?
00;45;04;29 - 00;45;21;07
Fabiola Lara
Like, we don't know what, like a like a 40 year old content creator looks like I'm going to keep that in mind personally for myself. The advice I just started a YouTube channel. This year or last year, I don't really know, and it's so embarrassing, like I said, like starting from zero is.
00;45;22;16 - 00;45;33;27
Fabiola Lara
Rough, because I felt like I feel like I've been online my entire life. But YouTube is the one thing that I never touched. Like I watched, but I never touch. I never participated, so I started YouTube from scratch.
00;45;34;13 - 00;45;43;14
Fabiola Lara
It's been fun, though, but I think it's been fun because like, I know who I am at this point, I'm not as easily influenced as when I was a teenager.
00;45;43;21 - 00;45;53;18
Paloma Cordova
Yeah, now I have fun with it now. I pretty much get to do it whenever I want. I don't feel pressure to be a certain way or post all the time.
00;45;53;24 - 00;46;12;22
Fabiola Lara
I feel like you make YouTube and everything that you do like your Petria on your shop, your your client collaboration with you. You made everything look really like easy and chill and like. It's flowing super supernaturally. Like, How are you staying on top of it all and like balancing everything that you're doing?
00;46;13;01 - 00;46;13;25
Paloma Cordova
I am not.
00;46;14;27 - 00;46;23;00
Fabiola Lara
OK. You're not all right. That's the reality for everyone. Do you have like a schedule or things that you prioritize, like any sort of routine happening?
00;46;23;17 - 00;46;39;14
Paloma Cordova
So I say I'm not because I am back at school now. So the pandemic hit 2020. I was in community college. Still, you know, that semester was a whole mess. We all moved to online and then I did two semesters fully online.
00;46;39;23 - 00;46;56;11
Paloma Cordova
So this is my first semester, completely in school while my this career is going on, so I am learning to navigate it, it's extremely difficult. All of these things are things that have to come from your own will and motivation.
00;46;56;23 - 00;47;15;07
Paloma Cordova
None of this is like walking into a job or, you know, very like structured stuff. All of this is like, OK, I got to get up and do it now. So I have this planner that I just bought at Walmart because I was trying to do the cute little planning thing with all that.
00;47;15;08 - 00;47;28;19
Paloma Cordova
But it no, I can't. So I just got a random planner and I write down, I plan out my week every week and on the monthly calendar, I write down like the super important deadlines for my Patreon or for school if I have a test or something.
00;47;28;28 - 00;47;49;16
Paloma Cordova
I think the only downside is probably that I just recently realized that I don't enjoy life like I don't do anything for my enjoyment. So I've been trying to also in my planner like schedule in moments to watch something to play a video game, to hang out with someone because I will forget about people.
00;47;50;01 - 00;47;56;20
Paloma Cordova
I will stay at my little desk. And do stuff, and then I'll be like, Oh, I haven't seen my friends in three months.
00;47;57;01 - 00;48;09;19
Fabiola Lara
A few weeks ago, you posted on Instagram that you are questioning whether your art was worth sharing to the world or if it carried value. I have to say I think about that constantly, literally every other week I'm having a crisis.
00;48;09;19 - 00;48;16;12
Fabiola Lara
But if it's valuable and why? What made you think of that? What made you kind of spiral into that moment?
00;48;16;18 - 00;48;31;10
Paloma Cordova
I wish that you didn't have to go through that, but I'm also glad that I'm not alone because it definitely is a very isolating feeling. I think what makes me feel that way is I look at all the other art that is saturating the market.
00;48;31;14 - 00;48;50;19
Paloma Cordova
And I'm like. Is there even a space for me to like, push something new? Right, and I don't think that we as artists have to create something completely and entirely unique because that doesn't exist anymore. That's why in the fine art world, there's so much more performance art.
00;48;50;19 - 00;49;09;15
Paloma Cordova
And like those insane pieces that like you look at and you're like, What even is that? So we're all inspired by something, but I get in very depressive moods, and I think especially again touching on the phobia of making people upset and wanting to do the right thing.
00;49;09;16 - 00;49;26;22
Paloma Cordova
I have really I mean, I do have OCD. I will disclose as I'm not just saying this as like, Oh, I have OCD because, you know, people don't actually and they use it as like a quirky term. I actually do have OCD and I have really bad moral OCD, so I am constantly twisting and turning these ideas
00;49;26;22 - 00;49;34;29
Paloma Cordova
and these thoughts in my mind. And I'm like, Am I contributing something to the collective? Like, I'm thinking of it as like this really intense big picture? And I'm like.
00;49;35;04 - 00;49;37;07
Fabiola Lara
That's a lot of pressure to put on yourself.
00;49;37;19 - 00;49;54;18
Paloma Cordova
Yeah. So I do get into these moods where I'm like, Am I even contributing something, making something new enough? Or am I just making art that people can be like, Oh, that looks like that person's art? And then I kind of get out of it and I'm like, Well, it's not really my job to be like the
00;49;54;18 - 00;50;12;11
Paloma Cordova
next big, innovative illustrator. So the thing that helps me is I will go through periods of time where I will not scroll through my Instagram feed because I like following artists. I like being inspired by artists. I like supporting my art friends, liking their posts, commenting on it, posting it on my story.
00;50;13;00 - 00;50;23;20
Paloma Cordova
But I really try not to scroll through my feed. So that way I know that my subconscious is not pulling stuff that I would scrolled by. You know.
00;50;23;29 - 00;50;27;06
Fabiola Lara
You're like, I don't want to feed the little subconscious beast in there.
00;50;27;08 - 00;50;41;23
Paloma Cordova
So I try to limit my inspiration from other people's art. I used to do that a lot more when I first started, which makes sense. I had never done illustration or digital drawing before, so it makes sense that you look more to what other people are doing.
00;50;42;05 - 00;50;54;14
Paloma Cordova
But now I don't do that as much. I try to find real life objects. My studio space is filled with little tiny objects that inspire me and I can. When I look at it, I remember that same feeling.
00;50;55;02 - 00;51;09;26
Paloma Cordova
And it helps me come up with more. Not even just like original quote unquote original or unique stuff, but stuff that feels truly me, which will naturally come off as unique to people. They're like, Oh yeah, this is a Paloma piece.
00;51;10;02 - 00;51;17;07
Fabiola Lara
Your influences are separate from what's being posted online, so you can trust that they are like your true influences.
00;51;17;20 - 00;51;28;19
Paloma Cordova
Yes. So with that painting, I was like, I am just going to paint whatever picture is formed in my head, and it doesn't have to mean anything, and it doesn't have to come from anything, and it doesn't have to make sense.
00;51;28;27 - 00;51;31;12
Paloma Cordova
But I'm literally just going to do whatever.
00;51;31;19 - 00;51;43;09
Fabiola Lara
It's really valuable now to get inspiration offline. I wonder if it has anything to do with your degree with you studying art history, if that's helping you also, like, diversify your influences.
00;51;43;12 - 00;52;04;15
Paloma Cordova
Yes. So it helps me kind of see where things come from. So actually like talking about how I'm just letting the mind flow and the hand flow, you know, I had a class yesterday, actually, because I'm taking a class called critical theory of modern and contemporary art, and we were touching on surrealism and kind of like this
00;52;04;15 - 00;52;26;23
Paloma Cordova
idea of a Tom ism, which is basically where things don't have to make sense. You just do what your brain tells you to do. So it's kind of nice learning about all the different movements. It's kind of like rounding out your artistic experience and knowledge, which I think makes one's artistic style feel more complete.
00;52;27;08 - 00;52;29;16
Paloma Cordova
And again, more unique to you.
00;52;29;17 - 00;52;47;20
Fabiola Lara
And differentiates your work from other people's work that's happening right now. I'm glad to see that you're like. Making a conscious effort to kind of get off line, get those influences from other places, not only for your OCD, if you have that, like you said, more OCD that has to influence it a lot as well.
00;52;47;27 - 00;53;00;28
Fabiola Lara
But even just as an artist, it's always good to diversify your influences and you're inspiring me to, like, get offline a little bit. I mean, I've been doing like reading and stuff like that, but for me, it's like movies and TV really influence.
00;53;01;02 - 00;53;16;10
Paloma Cordova
I buy a lot of art books, so like a lot of artists or illustrators, you know, they'll come out with a book that is literally just their art doesn't even have to have words. And I feel like that's also a really great way, because even though it's someone else's art, it's they they intentionally put it into something
00;53;16;11 - 00;53;25;21
Paloma Cordova
, put it out there, and you're supporting them by giving them your money when you buy the book and it's something physical to look at. So that's another thing that really helps.
00;53;26;12 - 00;53;39;00
Fabiola Lara
I notice that you redraw a lot of old illustrations, and I haven't seen too many people do that because I feel like I think just in this like Instagram world where I always like a new thing, it has to be like completely new every time.
00;53;39;10 - 00;53;46;02
Fabiola Lara
And that's so nuts. And so I wanted to ask you, like, why you do that and why you like to give it like a second chance?
00;53;46;22 - 00;54;00;21
Paloma Cordova
I'm fairly new to digital drawing. I have always done traditional media painting and graphite, charcoal, whatever. And so I've been sort of digital drawing until about 2019. And you know, when I wanted to start designing my stickers and stuff.
00;54;01;10 - 00;54;15;10
Paloma Cordova
So I'm very new to it. And every few months I discover new techniques and I just improve my digital drawing because you can be really good at drawing on regular paper and terrible at digital drawing. And I say that because that's how I was.
00;54;15;19 - 00;54;33;05
Paloma Cordova
I have a lot of ideas. I have insane amount of ideas and just like images that come into my head. A lot of times I feel like I don't have the skill to bring those to life. And so I like the ideas that I've done in the past, but I just kind of like going in and being
00;54;33;05 - 00;54;46;14
Paloma Cordova
like, Well, I learned all these new techniques and this new way to color this, and I think it would look a lot better if I did it like this. And I have these new interests and I've grown as a person, so I just like going back and reworking it.
00;54;46;14 - 00;55;01;00
Paloma Cordova
And I think it's also because I'm pretty sure I'm the youngest illustrator, kind of like big illustrator online. You know, I'm only 21, and I'm still not only figuring out who I am as an artist, but as a person.
00;55;01;09 - 00;55;12;21
Paloma Cordova
I feel like you don't until you're like 3035. I change very rapidly and develop very rapidly. Learn new things, new perspectives. So I think that goes for my art as well.
00;55;12;28 - 00;55;26;23
Fabiola Lara
Yes, definitely. No. I think you're always like developing and it's cool. I love seeing when you like, bring back an old piece and kind of reimagine it because, yeah, you can kind of think like, Oh, what would like the new Paloma do with this idea?
00;55;27;00 - 00;55;40;27
Fabiola Lara
And that's awesome. And I feel like for me, I'm just like, so quick to abandon a piece. I'm like, OK, goodbye. So you never and like moving on, I hate you. And so being like, You know what? Let's give it a second chance is so sweet, and I really love that.
00;55;40;29 - 00;55;59;15
Fabiola Lara
Like, it feels like you give yourself kind of like the space to explore that when I think right now a lot of people are like, Next, next, next. Don't look back. one more thing before we finish up and before we wrap up, I saw you recently collaborated collaborated with Kino Konia USA.
00;55;59;27 - 00;56;11;03
Fabiola Lara
Huge congrats, major. He is awesome. When I lived in New York, I would go there semi frequently, but out of the way, but I loved it. How did that come to be and how was it like to work on that?
00;56;11;24 - 00;56;27;01
Paloma Cordova
The keynote to you here in Houston opened up about two maybe three years ago. I could be wrong. I don't fully remember, but when it opened up was when I was having my sticker stationary moment and all the cute stationary stuff.
00;56;27;14 - 00;56;39;07
Paloma Cordova
That whole industry is very big in Japan. They make very high quality, very cute stuff. So when they opened up here, I had never heard of it before and I was like, This is for me. This is amazing.
00;56;39;08 - 00;56;43;29
Fabiola Lara
It's like almost like adults in Rio or something. It's like a little bit more sophisticated.
00;56;44;03 - 00;56;55;03
Paloma Cordova
And it's a book store for those of you who don't know it's a bookstore, but they have a lot of really cute stationery, so that's why I go. So when I opened it up, I was like, This is my new home, and it was I still go all the time.
00;56;55;20 - 00;57;11;08
Paloma Cordova
And I guess one of the employees, I wish I could remember their name, but I always say hi to them, and one of the employees was like, Oh, are you, Paloma? I love your videos. And I was like, Oh yeah, and I think that is when I was doing stationary videos and I was like, Oh yeah, and
00;57;11;08 - 00;57;23;13
Paloma Cordova
she's like, Oh, I love you videos. And I was like, Oh, thank you. And we had this moment. And so then I was like, OK, well, one of the employees there knows who I am, and I guess it kind of like, I don't know if they all knew at the same time or if one of them was
00;57;23;13 - 00;57;33;28
Paloma Cordova
like, just like talking to their coworker and was like, Oh my God, that's horrible. And so I kind of got to know all of them, and they all kind of started recognizing me every time I started coming in.
00;57;34;23 - 00;57;56;18
Paloma Cordova
And I'm not sure if this is the case at other locations, but at the one in Houston, they do an art market every second and fourth. Saturday of the month, and so they host a lot of artists, you submit an application and you can set up your little stall and sell there, and they announce it everywhere on
00;57;56;18 - 00;58;12;21
Paloma Cordova
their social media and it's a huge turnout. A bunch, people come, and it's a really fun time. So it's just the community of small artists with that specific location is very large and small artists are very important to them.
00;58;13;05 - 00;58;26;18
Paloma Cordova
Basically, I went one day and I think I went up to one of the employees and I was like, Oh, how do you apply to do the art market because I want to sell there? And then she was like, Oh, I actually wanted to talk to you about a collaboration that we could do, and I was like
00;58;26;18 - 00;58;41;12
Paloma Cordova
, Oh, okay, cool. And they collaborate with a lot of artists. They take care of their artists very well. I loved working with them, and it was just a very chill thing. Like, they were always like, No rush. We don't have any deadlines.
00;58;41;19 - 00;58;46;09
Paloma Cordova
You let us know when the artwork is ready, you send us all the paperwork, all that stuff.
00;58;46;10 - 00;59;00;20
Fabiola Lara
That's awesome. I'm so glad to hear that it seems like a genuine natural partnership as opposed to like something completely random. But I feel like it's going to be only the beginning for like art collaborations and brand collaborations that you could do.
00;59;00;21 - 00;59;13;01
Fabiola Lara
Paloma, seriously, I think. I love that I was like, so much of what you mentioned was like in real life. I'm shocked. I'm shocked because usually it's like some random email, you know, and you're saying, like, you genuinely got to know the people there.
00;59;13;01 - 00;59;30;27
Fabiola Lara
And yeah, it sounds like that Carnegie is really cool because I mean, they're all cool. But like, I haven't seen that kind of engagement at other locations, but really good for your first collaborator. What would be a dream collaboration for you so we can manifest it here right now?
00;59;31;08 - 00;59;51;28
Paloma Cordova
Oh my goodness. I don't even know I. I get such bad imposter syndrome when I think about doing client work and stuff like that. So that realm is still so crazy to me, but I would love to do some sort of collab with like a packaged food company like candy bars or like a drink like a soda
00;59;51;28 - 00;59;53;17
Paloma Cordova
can or something.
00;59;54;11 - 01;00;10;13
Fabiola Lara
I would love to see a Paloma candy bar or snack or a drink. Sign me up. Hopefully it happens. Are there any other like new mediums you'd like to explore? I know on your YouTube videos you do a lot of like tactile creations like what else is out there for you?
01;00;10;14 - 01;00;11;11
Fabiola Lara
What are you thinking about?
01;00;11;18 - 01;00;29;04
Paloma Cordova
So once I finish this semester, I am thinking about doing ceramic classes at a studio here in Houston. Because when I took my ceramics class in college, it was during the pandemic, so I never got to learn how to use a potter's wheel, which really sucked.
01;00;29;16 - 01;00;40;25
Paloma Cordova
So I'm thinking about taking classes and then hopefully using that studio's kiln and wheel and maybe one day selling my own ceramic stuff.
01;00;40;26 - 01;00;56;13
Fabiola Lara
Yes, I see it for you. I'm hoping for it. Thank you so much, Paloma, for letting me ask you all of these questions. Can you tell me, like how people can support you, what your upcoming launches are or any upcoming things that you have going on so that we can all show up and support you?
01;00;57;04 - 01;01;15;24
Paloma Cordova
Thank you. So for November. I am collaborating with many Gallery Box, which is a subscription service where our artists will collab with the company. And basically, we create three prints, three stickers and you pay the price and they get sent to you.
01;01;16;06 - 01;01;26;14
Paloma Cordova
It's going to be super fun. I'm going to try to do a theme that is very true to me. I'm going for like cowboy witch vibes. So that's that's what's coming up.
01;01;26;18 - 01;01;27;26
Fabiola Lara
Awesome. Thanks so much for.
01;01;27;26 - 01;01;36;12
Fabiola Lara
Sharing with us. I can't wait to see all of it. The prints, the stickers, everything. I wish you the best at the market and through the holiday.
01;01;36;12 - 01;01;37;26
Fabiola Lara
Season because I imagine you'll be doing.
01;01;37;28 - 01;01;46;11
Fabiola Lara
Holiday launches. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast for sharing everything that you shared. I really mean it. And yeah, thank you.
01;01;46;18 - 01;01;48;08
Paloma Cordova
Thank you for having me. It was a fun.
01;01;48;09 - 01;01;49;12
Fabiola Lara
Yes, I.
01;01;49;15 - 01;01;50;05
Paloma Cordova
I.
01;01;53;15 - 01;02;06;03
Fabiola Lara
OK, everyone, thanks for listening to this chat with the incredible Paloma Cordova. If you want to see more of her work or watch her incredible YouTube videos, head to Paloma the Peach. I'm going to leave all her info in the show notes, so you can check it out.
01;02;06;12 - 01;02;22;23
Fabiola Lara
I really encourage you to, because it's just like such a delight to watch your videos to see her artwork. It's just the best. And just a little reminder, listeners of the podcast can get a free, undated weekly and monthly planner inspired by the show by using the link in our show notes or going to drive in Spanish
01;02;22;23 - 01;02;35;09
Fabiola Lara
dot com. And since we talk so much about YouTube in this episode, I just wanted to mention that I have a YouTube channel. It's at fabiolitadraws. Same as my Instagram handle. I'll leave it linked in the show notes.
01;02;35;17 - 01;02;51;24
Fabiola Lara
But if you want to see videos for me between podcast episodes, you can go subscribe to my channel and hear more from me there. Finally, if there's a Latin next visual artist based in the US that you think we should speak to on the show, go ahead and nominate them by going to drawsinspanish.com/nominate
01;02;51;24 - 01;03;00;25
Fabiola Lara
Now remember to hit Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of drawers in Spanish. Thank you y hasta la proxima!