Mateo Zapata

Mateo Zapata was born in Colombia as the son of a Colombian father and Chilean mother. His parents left Colombia during the military dictatorship and arrived in Chicago in the eighties. Having lived all over Chicago, Zapata has found a home in Pilsen but feels a connection to the city overall. Zapata got his artistic start at Radio Arte: El Locale on 18th Street, a community center where he had his own radio show. Growing older, he graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with a major in Latino Studies.

Although holding other full time jobs throughout his life, everything changed when he toured with the artist Molotov and further explored his love for photography. Esteemed as a photojournalist, Zapata has documented residents of Pilsen participating Black Lives Matter marches, essential workers, and he writes about major news stories happening in Pilsen that may not be covered by traditional news sources. Sources such as ABC Good Morning America, the Chicago Tribune, Insider, Univision, and the Obama Foundation have celebrated his artistic journalism.

Along with photography, Zapata is a videographer, graphic designer, and muralist. In Pilsen, he collaborates with other artists and acts as a liaison between business owners and other muralists in the community to beautify the neighborhood. Zapata’s work often addresses social issues such as bi-cultural identity, racism, and the effects of global and national structures on individuals. In doing so, he often incorporates portraits of diverse residents from Pilsen. Zapata is primarily interested in depicting the real stories of the neighborhood, meaning that the people in his murals and photography have a candid nature in their portrayal.

Zapata, in collaboration with Pablo Serrano, is also operating La Esquina, a community center located at 2200 Carpenter, which he hopes will provide the neighborhood with an open space to serve youth and creatives.

In our interview with the artist, when asked how he would like his work to be remembered, Zapata answered, “Real”.

This description was written by Notre Dame students Myldred Hernandez-Gonzalez and Isabella Vega.