Estefania Chavarria, the mastermind and creative force behind Con Ganas Collective, chats with us about her life, inspiration, and perspective on art.
Estefania Chavarria is the owner of Con Ganas Collective, a Latina-owned and operated art brand rooted in culture, emotion, and storytelling.
For this year’s Hispanic Heritage Night, the Lights have partnered with Chavarria for a specially commissioned design, available as a free poster giveaway for the first fans through the gates and as a limited-edition t-shirt ticket package.
Her design is centered around the quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala, as Chavarria carries forward her father’s legacy.
Earlier this week, we sat down with the Con Ganas Collective owner and artist to talk through her inspiration behind the design and story as a Latina artist in Las Vegas.
Note: Questions and answers are lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
You are of Guatemalan descent. How did your upbringing influence your outlook on life, community, and art?
Being of Guatemalan descent really influenced the way I saw life here in the US.
My upbringing was really like: “be really proud of your roots and knowing where you come from but still establish something great here.”
That definitely influenced the way I see art. I see art as a voice and as power to showcase your community.
At what point in your life did you discover your passion for art?
I discovered my passion for art at a very young age. My dad used to have a camera, and I used to see him take pictures. He would also record a lot, so my first expression was through photography.
From there I wanted to use different avenues to express myself. That’s how I got into drawing and then later on into graphic design.
You grew up in a city where Hispanics make up a significant portion of the working population (close to one third according to some statistics) and also produce a notable amount of the local cultural output. What was that experience like, growing up in such a Hispanic-heavy city, and did it serve as an inspiration for your work?
Growing up in Las Vegas, you do have a lot of Latino culture here, especially in the north side of Vegas. It really helped me to be closer to my roots.
I didn’t see a lot of Guatemalan kids growing up, but I was very close with the Mexican culture here. That really showed me how to be proud of my roots and where I come from.
They just always have so much pride in where their families come from and how they’ve established Chicano culture here. I feel like that always gave me motivation to also try to find my own way, too.
The Guatemalan community tends to be underrepresented in most cultural organizations here in Vegas and in the rest of the country. How do you give your community a voice through your art?
I give my [Guatemalan] community a voice through my art by showcasing images that we always saw growing up: scenes, food, just cultural decoration that you would see.
I try to put that into my art because you don’t ever really see it anywhere outside of your own family or an artisan shop. Outside of that, it’s not really shown, and I wanted my people to feel like they’re being represented in a more modern way.
I didn’t see a lot of Guatemalan kids growing up, but I was very close with the Mexican culture here. That really showed me how to be proud of my roots and where I come from.
Estefania Chavarria, Con Ganas Collective
They just always have so much pride in where their families come from and how they’ve established Chicano culture here. I feel like that always gave me motivation to also try to find my own way, too.
How would you describe your art?
I would describe my art style as colorful, strong, and always trying to have a positive message behind it.
We live in a world where art tends to be a little bit more minimalist, a little bit more colorless. Why do you prefer this “colorinche,” as we say in Spanish, over modern art?
I prefer it to be more colorful because I want to show that we’re here and I want to take up space.
One way we can do that is with color because our culture and our community is so colorful, so in your face. It doesn’t shy away; it wants to show you that it’s here, and that’s what I try to do with my art as well.
When did you decide to launch Con Ganas Collective? And why?
I decided to launch Con Ganas Collective in 2020 during the pandemic.
I had just graduated from CSN [College of Southern Nevada] and there weren’t any jobs hiring during that time. So, I felt like I could hire myself, create my own brand, and start to create that community and that voice that I always yearned for, even as a kid.
Now, let’s go into the shirt. An important question: why birds?
The reason why I chose birds for the shirt design is because I feel that birds are something that a lot of people can recognize through any culture, any country.
They know who their national bird is. Plus, I just like to draw them! I just feel like they make a really good statement, and it really shows pride more than the flower or anything like that.
Personally, what was your favorite part of the design?
Not to be biased, but my favorite part of the design was the quetzal.
What does the quetzal mean for your culture?
The quetzal is our national bird. It’s also the name of our money. We call them quetzales, and, for us… it means pride, it means “fuerza,” it means representation. It may be a really small bird, but it has a strong attitude.
Why do you think that soccer and art are so influential in most Hispanic communities?
I think it’s the culture and also the pride you feel. I feel like soccer and art go so well together because national team colors make you proud of the team you’re rooting for, and it just gives you a lot of material for art as well.
Why do you think there’s so little crossover, and what can be done to improve that?
That’s true. That’s a good question.
I think that there hasn’t been much crossover across soccer and art because I feel that in recent years sports have been very minimalistic. But I feel that this last World Cup really showcased how much you can do with art and soccer, and I feel like a lot of the national teams did a great job representing that.
Do you have a message for all the fans that will be coming out to Cashman Field this Saturday and receiving your art, whether it’s through the poster or the T-shirt?
It makes me feel really happy and excited to have had this opportunity with the Las Vegas Lights because it really is giving a voice to those that feel unrepresented.
It makes me happy to be part of that and start more conversations with those that don’t feel like they’re seen in their cities, art scenes, small businesses, or even within soccer.
I feel like this is a great way to try to blend both things together and bring both communities together at the same time, and I’m really honored to be part of that.
