By Dr. E. Carrizal-Dukes
Juan Sandoval and I were members of the Accessions Committee at the El Paso Museum of Art from about 2017 to 2018 with curator Dr. Patrick Shaw Cable. After one meeting in February 2018, he asked me if I had a car and if I wanted to go to a party. I said yes. Two weeks later we were at a special art reception for an artist from Paris.
During this time I was also a doctoral student at UTEP and would reach out to Juan about my research on rasquachismo. Juan had the best sense of humor. I remember in 2019 when I received an email from him with the subject “Feliz Año – What Color Are Your Undies.” It was an article that discussed many Mexican traditions for New Years Eve including the yellow or red underwear tradition. You wear yellow for financial success and red for more love.
I was happy when Juan communicated with me in October 2020 and said he was being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Visual Arts from Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Texas.
The last time I spoke with Juan he called and said he wanted to give me two art pieces and to write it down, a Sor Juana piece and a Gaspar Enriquez. I felt sadness because I knew it was the last time I would speak with Juan.
I’m sad that the COVID-19 pandemic kept us from seeing Juan more in his last year of life. I’m grateful for the good times I shared with Juan Sandoval. I look forward to visiting the Juan Antonio Sandoval Jr. Collection Exhibition at Mexic-Arte Museum. Rest in Peace, Juan Sandoval.
Peace and Love, Dr. E. Carrizal-Dukes
Dr. Elvira Carrizal-Dukes is an Assistant Professor of Practice and Undergraduate Academic Adviser for Chicana/o Studies at UTEP where she earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Rhetoric and Composition from the Department of English. Dr. Carrizal-Dukes earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film from Columbia University in the City of New York and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in Journalism and Chicano Studies and a minor in Theatre Arts. To learn more about her work, visit: https://ecarrizaldukes.wixsite.com/multimedia-portfolio
