Ojalá

José Guadalupe Garza + Miriam Ruiz present a collaborative project in El Chico Bakery, a staple of the Cherokee Street neighborhood for over twenty years. Beyond their role as a panaderia, El Chico serves as willing hosts for countless community convenings for the Latinx community. In recognition of this unique and long-standing position, Garza and Ruiz create a program of artistic interventions in the bakery’s dining area, which often doubles as a gathering space. These interventions, collectively titled Ojalá [God willing], aim to realize the space’s versatility through furniture, a small library, and screenings. The project also hosts a series of public programs that invite dynamic interaction with the space and subsequently document and integrate these interactions as additions to the space itself. Ojalá is thoroughly and unapologetically Mexican-chicanx-latinx in content and aesthetic. The use of Latinx-specifically Mexican-themed literature, imagery, and media centers the interactions and experiences of the community that has overwhelmingly made Cherokee such a rich and unique part of St. Louis.