This painting, “Dirty Laundry” by Marlon Siguenza, was donated to the Tucson Peace Center by Meredith Smith, Director of Artists Serving Humanity. We at the Peace Center want to express our thanks to Marlon Siguenza and Meredith Smith for this moving work of art, which we plan to display, along with Marlon’s story, in our office.
Below this photo of the painting you will find the story Marlon has written about his art and the trauma he experienced as a child.
Dirty Laundry by Marlon Siguenza
“I call this piece Dirty Laundry because of the memories that come to mind. I was born in La Paz, El Salvador. I have some good family memories. Then came the war. I remember a truckful of soldiers coming to recruit. They looked at me and let me go because I was too little. Mom and me hid under the bed all night as the gunfire was going on–AK-47 rounds and bombs. Mom and I would walk the dirt road the next day and there would be dead bodies laid out all down the road. Then we were at the village on rock roads. Each night they carried a life-size wooden cross from one house to another. I remember watching that as live rounds were going on. The women’s screams are hard to forget.
“It’s this war that would lead my mother and auntie to decide to come to the United States. I remember holding my baby sister, 9 months old, in my arms, when my mom got on a bus to come to the United States. I can only imagine the pain mom must have endured and what she goes through now as I write these words while I’m in prison.
“As far back as I can remember, the violence and displacement made me question everything. Ultimately, I’d understand that El Salvador was but another proxy war between superpowers, between capitalist and communist powers. So I call this art Dirty Laundry because of the way facts are silenced behind what really happened, why it happened, and who was involved. This war has affected a whole generation.
“It’s taken me 33 years to finally come to grips with everything that happened. I paint to confront these memories and to hopefully bring awareness to the world of what went on. What happened continues to affect the country of El Salvador.”
Here’s a description of Artists Serving Humanity (ASH) taken from their website: “ASH is a 501 (c) (3) charitable non-profit organization supporting incarcerated artists driven by the desire to make positive contributions to society through donations generated by the sale of their artwork. ASH fully supports the tenets of Restorative Justice. Although we work primarily with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists, we also have other artists participating who support our Mission. We now represent over one hundred fifty talented artists across the United States from California to Minnesota.”