Latina Leader Spotlight: Zoey Marroquin
Q: What is your ethnicity, where have you lived, and where do you currently reside?
A: I identify as Latinx because I feel like it best identifies my mixed ethnic background. I'm half Guatemalan and Mexican but was born in Los Angeles, California and I have been here all my life!
Q: Tell us about your creation: Art for Activism!
A: ArtForActivismCo is an Etsy Shop where I sell my digital creations into stickers, prints, and other merchandise. I started this shop because I wanted to do something to give back to communities who are out there doing the hard work and fighting for human rights. I started my shop in the midst of the Black Lives Matter Movement, in order to raise funds for jail bonds. Since then, I am committed to donated 10% of my monthly proceeds to specific organizations each month. So far I've donated to Border Kindness, Border Angels, and for the month of October I will be giving to an organization that supports farm workers.
I'm a small business and I work right inside my bedroom. My only goal is to continue to create and raise more funds and spread awareness about various injustices our communities face and what we can do to spread love and support.
Q: What inspired you to create it?
A: I've always been drawn to art/crafting but as a full-time college student, I rarely found the time to create. Once my anxiety started to peak, my therapist told me that I need to spend more time doing what I love even if it's just for 15 minutes a day. I started to doodle more and more. This was also all happening during the start of the pandemic and during the travesties of police brutality. Seeing all these social issues, the art I was creating became both a thing I did to process information and difficult new AND a way that I could raise awareness and share my voice.
Q: What does it mean to you to be a Latina artist and activist?
A: It's exciting to have the opportunity and ability to share my experiences through art and activism. There's something to be said about representation. Obviously, within these industries, one race dominates. Even on Etsy and Etsy Facebook groups, I've faced microaggressions from white women and have been a target of hate speech. This needs to change and as creators, we NEED to make noise and demand space.
Q: You also highlight mental health, can you tell our audience what topics your highlighting and why it’s so important to talk about?
A: So my dream career is to become a Community Psychologist. Mental health is a passion of mine and having gone through severe mental health experiences and knowing others who have suffered from poor mental health, I have seen and experienced the value of engaging in conversation about mental health. Especially coming from a Latinx household, mental health was never talked about and so when I was feeling depressed, I was told by my family that I was being dramatic. My depression and mental health was belittled and I started to believe that I was actually crazy! A couple years later, I learned about mental health for the first time and spoke to more professionals about it. However, when I spoke to my peers and heard people from my community talk about their mental health experience, I felt such a weight lift off my shoulders because I realized I was not the only one. Since then, I have publicly shared my mental health experiences and I talk about it openly. I am diagnosed with severe depression disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and panic attacks. I take anti-anxiety medication and have since made great progress in my mental health journey.
Q: Who is your biggest Latina inspiration?
A: AOC of course! She is such has such a fire and fearlessness that I hope to replicate within everything I do. I also love how real and unapologetic she is. She has inspired me to speak up when I feel like I'm being stepped on and to speak up for those who can't.
Q: What piece of advice would you give to chicas who want to do what you do?
A: My advice is to just do it. Life is too short and we are not promised another day. If you have a passion, go for it, talk about, share it. I firmly believe that you can do ANYTHING as long as you are willing to put in the work. Also, find your support system. Even if it's only one person who is cheering you on, that's all the encouragement you need! You are a badass, believe that!
Q: How can people support / follow you?
A: People can support me by following me on Instagram @art.for.activism, on TikTok @artforactivismco. Social media is a huge traffic source for my business so liking, commenting, and sharing helps to get my business noticed. I am also here to help out fellow creators so if anyone has questions about how to start an etsy business, my dms are open!
