Alma López (born 1966) is a Mexican-born Queer Chicana artist. Her art often portrays historical and cultural Mexican figures, such as the Virgin of Guadalupe and La Llorona, filtered through a radical Chicana feminist lesbian lens. Her art work is meant to empower women and indigenous Mexicans by the reappropriation of symbols of Mexica history when women played a more prominent role. The medium of digital art allows her to mix different elements from Catholicism and juxtapose it to indigenous art, women, and issues such as rape, gender violence, sexual marginalization and racism. This juxtaposition allows her to explore the representation of women and indigenous Mexicans and their histories that have been lost or fragmented since colonization. Her work is often seen as controversial. Currently, she is a lecturer at the University of California Los Angeles in the Department of Chicana/o Studies. Early life and education She was born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa and is married to novelist and poet Alicia Gaspar de Alba. Alma Lopéz's family moved from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico to Los Angeles when she was young. Lopez grew up visiting Mexico since their move and the influence of the Virgin Mary was something she saw in her life. Alongside the image of the Virgin Mary much of the culture from both sides of the border influenced Lopez in the development of her artwork. Lopez holds a BA from UC Santa Barbara, an MFA from UC Irvine, and a Photography Certificate from UCLA Extension. Works Our Lady Our Lady is a photo-based digital print that depicts Raquel Salinas, a performance artist, confidently staring back at the viewer, wearing a bikini of roses. In the image, below the mandala of the virgen there is a nude butterfly angel that depicts Raquel Gutierrez. The roses allude to the Virgin of Guadalupe's origin myth, though her posture and eye contact defies the traditional version of the Virgin. Her cloak is covered in images of Coyolxauhqui, the Aztec moon goddess. The juxtaposition of Catholicism iconography and indigenous goddess reference the suppression of indigenous female goddess by Catholicism and Our Lady is contemporary Chicanas re-appropriating both. Lopez views her work as empowering to women and indigenous Mexicans. To Lopez, La Virgen de Guadalope is more than a religious symbol. She is a public figure and a symbol of her culture, community and family. La Virgen also served as symbols in art work