Favianna Rodriguez

Favianna Rodriguez (born September 26, 1978) is an American artist and activist. She has self-identified as queer and Latina with Afro-Peruvian roots. Rodriguez began as a political poster designer in the 1990s in the struggle for racial justice in Oakland, California. Rodriguez is known for using her art as an tool for activism. Her designs and projects range a variety of different issues including globalization, immigration, feminism, patriarchy, interdependence, and genetically modified foods. Rodriguez works with multiple advocacy groups including Presente.org and Culture Strike, of which she is the Executive Director.

Rodriguez was born in the Fruitvale neighborhood of east Oakland, California in 1978. Her parents are Peruvian, having migrated to California from Peru in the late 1960s. Rodriguez’s artistic talents emerged at a young age; during primary school Rodriguez won art contests and once appeared on Spanish television to share her artwork. Her parents supported her art but pressured her to pursue a career in medicine or engineering.

Fruitvale is a predominantly Latinx neighborhood and here Rodriguez experienced and became aware of anti-Latinx racism. She observed that students from her community were under-served by the school system and profiled as gang members while she only saw negative representation of women of color in the media. Reportedly, in order to better shape her adolescence, Rodriguez went to live in Mexico City from age 13 to 15, first with her aunt and then in a rented room. Here she became interested in politically engaged artwork, learning the political context of murals and the work of Frida Kahlo with whom she immediately identified with. Upon her return to Oakland, she became involved with activism and other Latinx organizers. She created the first Latino club at her school. When she was 16, California Proposition 187 was introduced, marking state level anti-immigrant legislation.

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