Westbury Arts exhibit celebrates first-generation Americans during Hispanic Heritage Month

Westbury Arts will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by featuring 14 local artists whose work showcases the trials and triumphs of Latinos pursuing the American dream.

This year’s exhibit theme is “Nuestro Viaje / Our Journey.” Alex Núñez, the lead curator, said he drew inspiration from  “Undocumented, ” a documentary and the first film by Huntington-based artist Patricia Shih. The film follows the journey of Harold Fernandez as he fled Colombia in his teens to join his parents in the United States — ultimately finding his way to Harvard Medical School and eventually becoming a cardiac surgeon. The film will be shown on Oct. 7 at Westbury Arts.

“I thought how appropriate that would be to tie our exhibit with this documentary,” Núñez said. “We are all striving for the same American dream, and our struggles are very similar to [others’] struggles.”

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated to highlight the achievements and contributions of Hispanic Americans. The celebration runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. 

Among the featured artists at Westbury Arts is Sueey Gutierrez — pronounced Sue-hey — who as a first-generation American said she found success on the shoulders of the strong female figures in her life. At the age of 18, her aunt, Noemi Montalvo de Acevedo, left her native El Salvador, in search of a better life. Years later, in the late 1970s and early ’80s, she would be joined by the rest of her family, as they fled the brewing Civil War in El Salvador and sought refuge in the United States.

“I know that I’m very fortunate and blessed to be in the situation that I am,” said Gutierrez, 36, of Patchogue. “I’ve worked hard to be here, but I also understand that if it wasn’t for my family and the things they set in place for me, I wouldn’t be where I am.”

In her piece titled “Escapar,” or escape, Gutierrez depicts a young Syrian boy wearing a blue sweater with an image of Earth in the middle. As the boy gazes to the sky, monarch butterflies ascend around him. Gutierrez said the piece is meant to symbolize the Syrian refugee crisis prompted by the Civil War in 2011, which reminded her of her family’s plight.

Gutierrez will showcase two other pieces — “La Nina Gruñona en el Jardín,” or the Grumpy Girl in the Garden, and “Los Pies de Mi Mama,” or My Mothers Feet. The pieces honor her grandmother and mother, respectively, who both played a major part in her upbringing, Gutierrez said.

“My mom has been the one that not only grounds me as a person … but she’s also the one that grounds me in my culture,” Gutierrez said.

Through the support of her mother, Juana Gutierrez-Ruiter, Gutierrez said she was able to pursue her passion. For other first-generation Americans having doubts as they pursue their dreams, Gutierrez advises them to ask questions, make mistakes and learn. 

“It’s OK to be timid or shy; do your best to push through it,” Gutierrez said. “You have to think about what your presence can do for someone else.”

Ren Zelaya, 51, a first-generation Honduran American who grew up in Westbury, will also exhibit three portraits of relatives who migrated to the United States.

“I’m very proud that we can show our talents and show a different side to being Hispanic,” Zelaya said.