Christian Solorzano [00:00]

Hello, you are listening to Underscore, a show by the Chicago Graphic Design Club. I am your host, Christian Solorzano, and on today's episode, I speak with José Rosa, a multidisciplinary artist and designer and also DJ based out of Chicago. And José is going to be walking us through their influences, their muses, and a lot of the early work that inspired them.

To do the work that they are doing today, which is exhibitions, which is workshop series that really explore the themes of identity, drawing inspiration from José's Puerto Rican identity and culture. We're also going to be talking about Chicago. We're going to be talking about music. We're even going to be talking about Amy Winehouse. So we're going to be talking about a lot of different topics.

That I think just showcase a designer pulling from many different facets, bringing them together, and creating work that is unapologetic and captivating. So as always, if you enjoy conversations like this, we really appreciate your support. And if you leave us a rating wherever you're listening, it helps us expand our reach. And to learn more about the Chicago Graphic Design Club, which is the organization that makes episodes like this possible, you can visit us at www.chicagographicdesign.club. Thank you and enjoy the conversation. What's up, José? Hello.

José Rosa [01:38]

Hello, Christian. How are you?

Christian Solorzano [01:39]

I'm doing well. It's nice to finally be having this conversation with you after months of wanting to do it. And I first met you earlier this year. For the first time at Typeforce. I think it was February 1st. It was cold and it was dark and you had this really cool outfit and you were standing by your submission at Typeforce, which was really eye-pulling.

And we met there and you were just such a nice person. And then I've seen you since at different places throughout the city. You've been to some of our events. So you're just someone that when I met, I knew that I wanted to invite to be a guest on this episode, on this, on this series. So thank you for being here today.

José Rosa [02:39]

Thank you. I really appreciate it. I definitely remember it was very cold, very miserable. Day when we met, but it was a happy occasion because it was, Typeforce. It was a pretty big event for the design nerds. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, I was, I was really excited to meet you that day too.

Christian Solorzano [02:59]

Yeah. So I've been doing my research and trying to discover more about who José is. And I found a lot of stuff, but I want to hear from you about your— because you're not originally from Chicago.

José Rosa [03:18]

Right, that's correct.

Christian Solorzano [03:19]

So I want to understand, I want to understand your background and how you got involved with all that you're doing today, which is you're doing— you're having exhibitions, you're experimenting with typography. I've also learned that you're also a DJ and Your Instagram is just like a stream of creativity that just is nonstop. So usually when I see people like that, there's usually some kind of madness to them.

So I want to, I want to understand the origins of your madness and have you kind of walk us through your path into some of the amazing stuff that you're doing today.

José Rosa [04:07]

Yeah, short answer is ADHD. Yeah. So yeah, I'm originally not from Chicago, but I've been in Chicago for 13 years now. But I'm originally from Milwaukee, but I was raised between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico, like 2 completely different places. But I was kind of raised between my grandmother and my mom, just kind of going back and forth. And also through like the diaspora, like the Puerto Rican diaspora. I also lived in Florida, Central Florida. And then spent some time in other places as well.

But Chicago has become like home for me. And then like, I always get the question because I went to like 3 different high schools, like I went to like many different elementary schools. So people always ask me like, what— like, you constantly— I had to constantly adjust. So people always ask like, what place is your favorite? And I think for me, every spot has been very different and like formative for me and like been very powerful for me to experience.

And so it's been great to like sort of like have that. And I think like the, all the different interests that I have and all the different, the way that I can just kind of like navigate different settings and different groups of people has been me constantly having to adapt, like adapt and kind of like, go through life doing new things. And so, yeah, so that's kind of like where all the madness stems from. Yeah.

Christian Solorzano [05:30]

So were you constantly the new kid in school?

José Rosa [05:33]

Yes. Yes. And it's a role that I really loved. I liked it. I think I could reinvent myself every school year or every time I switched schools, actually. But it was a role that I learned how to play really well. It allowed me to be mysterious, allowed me to sort of reinvent myself. I've always been super into fashion and like clothing. And so that was a way for me to really sort of like express myself.

And for me it was just it was always like a little bit of nerves, right? But I could take the stuff that I learned from the previous place that I was at to the new place. And so I was always kind of the new kid. Yeah, for sure.

Christian Solorzano [06:19]

And then what made you get into, what made you want to pursue design? Or like, was there something that happened that kind of— because I think sometimes, growing up, coming of age, we all like fashion, we like, music, pop culture, but then there's a few people that actually pursue that as a lifelong, vocation.

So for you, was it always in you that— did you always know that this is something that you wanted to do, that you wanted to be a designer, or where did that come from?

José Rosa [06:53]

I definitely fumbled into design. I did know for a fact that I've always wanted to be a creative. I always knew that I had that in me. I always wanted this sort of like crazy life. I always knew that I wanted to like— I always wanted more than what I was born with, right? I wasn't born with too many things. So I, was raised, like lower class, lower middle class.

So for me, it was like I've always wanted I remember I've always wanted the type of lifestyle where it was like, I didn't sit at a desk all day or I, was constantly exploring new things. I never really considered myself an artist because I wasn't naturally good at drawing or painting. But I knew that my ideas, I could write stories. I was into writing stories. I was into sort of making music. I remember on PlayStation, I had this music-making game.

I forget the name of it right now, but I remember like that was my jam, was making the music. And then the Need for Speed came out, so I was really good at customizing the cars. And but I didn't know what— how that looked like or feel like. I know I could have a career like no one in my life, where no one in my life, the adults in my life weren't working as designers. They're sort of figuring it out, their life as well.

But and then so when I got to like high school, the bar was very low for me with my parents. They're like, just don't go to jail, don't get into gangs, and don't do drugs. And so my older sister was like, no, you're gonna go to, even if it's like a community college, you're gonna go do something. Like you're not gonna not go to college. And that conversation didn't happen until like my first semester, second semester of senior year.

So this whole time I kind of like, I wasn't really good at school. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was like 12 years old. So I was always considered like hyper and like hire the bad kids. And but for me, I'm like, I never thought that school, like continuing school or higher education was like an option for me. And then my sister was like, no, this is what you're going to do. And one thing about my sister, whatever she says, it goes.

And so yeah, so I, at the time I was living in Milwaukee, so I joined MATC or I enrolled in MATC, which is Milwaukee Area Technical College. And so I was looking at the list and then I saw design and I knew that was interesting for me because I'm the youngest of 4. And so like my brother really loved like hip-hop music and loved the Source magazine. And my sister, my sisters would read like the Vogue magazine, like Vogue magazine.

So I remember just like flipping through the pages and being obsessed with like the editorials and then like looking at the Source magazine, looking at all like the different sort of like photo shoots and being in love with like photography. So that was sort of my, first love. And I got like a point-and-shoot in high school and I was like always constantly taking pictures of like people or like street photography or graffiti.

And then I saw that when I finally enrolled into school, I saw that graphic design at the time was called commercial arts. This was like early 20-teens and I was like, oh, that sounds cool. I totally want to like make magazines and I just wanted something that wasn't just like the normal. I was like, yeah, like my mom was like a social worker. My dad worked in construction. So it wasn't like I wanted something that wasn't that. I wanted something fun.

So that's kind of like how I got into graphic design.

Christian Solorzano [10:31]

Yeah. I remember Source Magazine. I remember it would come with, sometimes it would come with a CD, sampler CD, and it was like the hot music of the time. And oh yeah, you just, I haven't thought of that in like years.

José Rosa [10:46]

Yeah. And you know what's crazy? Yesterday I went to— we were talking about vinyl earlier. I went to a vinyl meetup and David Mays was one part of the creators of the Source magazine was there yesterday.

Christian Solorzano [10:58]

Oh, really?

José Rosa [10:59]

Yeah. And it was funny because he brought a vinyl and he brought like a Biggie vinyl and he was very low-key. He was like, the event basically was like a vinyl meetup. So whoever, liked vinyls or whatever would bring like 2 vinyls and we got to share. So this guy comes up very unassuming. And he has his sunglasses on and his chains and he's like, yeah, I brought a Biggie album, because I really love Biggie.

And then the host was like, come on, man, you need to say why. And apparently he was a part of like, yeah, basically like, bring, getting Biggie like out there into the world aside from— But he was like a really cool guy. And I told him, I was like, hey, you— I'm a designer. And like looking at the Source magazine was kind of like how I got into like layouts. And he was a really cool guy. So yeah.

Christian Solorzano [11:48]

Was this the Vinyl Collective?

José Rosa [11:50]

Yes.

Christian Solorzano [11:51]

All right. So I just discovered that Instagram account like 3 weeks ago or something. And they're blowing up. They're like, their follower count has been like growing up, like just getting really big and yeah, I'm like, I can't wait to go to one of their events.

José Rosa [12:10]

It was, it was really nice. I had, I really enjoyed myself. Like. People had— it was just interesting to see like different— that's why I love Chicago. Chicago has really good people. But yeah, but yeah, it was, it was a good event. You should definitely check out the next one. Yeah.

Christian Solorzano [12:25]

So talk to us about some of the work that you've been up to recently. You had your Typeforce exhibition, then you had another exhibition, Dulce Sueño, and then you also had a workshop series that was about exploring identity through reimagination. And those are like the 3, what I've, what I've counted as like some 3 milestones for you this year. So can you like walk us through some of the themes that you've been exploring? I see that there has been a big emphasis on identity.

And one of the things that I'm always very curious about with these kinds of conversations is understanding the autobiographical components of people's work.

Because once the work leaves us, it's just on— it just leaves us. And there's, and there's like some work is about the aesthetic and just about beauty, and it really doesn't matter what it's about. But for you, your work seems to be very much involved. Like there, there's a big part of you in it. And I really want to learn more about where the work comes from and sort of what you— what some of the themes that you've been exploring this year.

José Rosa [13:40]

Yeah. So for me, I've been really, fixated— I tend to fixate on, this concept of reimagination. Also, decolonizing my identity as a Puerto Rican and as a queer person as well. So reimagination is sort of a tool that I use to explore identity and decolonize that identity. And I can only go through lived experience, so I can only say what I've been through. And I usually focus, or I focus on the cultural nuances of being a queer Boricua.

And so that's been sort of like, kind of like the through line through all those different projects and for like the past 2 or 3 years. And so like I mentioned before, I moved around a lot. And so for me, I've gone through like the diaspora and I've seen a lot of different things that are common and also different uniquely, like Chicago Puerto Rican to New York Rican to, Florida Rican. So, or even Puerto Rican from the island.

So I like to sort of collect all of these things because in all honesty, like I live in Pilsen and so there's such a rich culture. A lot of my friends are Mexican and there's such this rich culture of being Mexicano. And then for the Puerto Rican identity, there is that, but because it's shrouded in colonization. We're still a colony to this day in some sorts, in my opinion. There's a lot of like sort of like misconnection of the Puerto Rican identity that's through design.

And so like I think I really wanted to like explore that and I just got tired of seeing like the same coquí, the same, amapola, the same symbols when we're so much more. So some of the things, one of the things that I really want to focus on was Pasofino culture. So Paso fino culture is basically this sort of like the style of riding horses, right?

And it's a type of horse called paso fino that was brought from Spain to the island during the earlier years of colonization. And the horse is a very special horse 'cause it has like a 4-gait count and it's a very rhythmic horse. And for me, I like find it very interesting that there's this island and it's a very rhythmic island with just the coquis. Coquis are like these frogs that make this sound Every night. Some people, some tourists hate it. I love it.

That's how I used to go to bed, by counting the sounds of the coquís. And so and even like the people, like the people, like Puerto Ricans are very rhythmic. And that's sort of like the, one of the indicators of just like always dancing. And I found it interesting that in this place, in this island, everything has like a rhythm. And then there's also sort of a correlation of a lot of the things, the indicators that they say about this horse is that it's very dynamic.

It can do— it can be equestrian, but it can also be like a workhorse, and it's very good-natured. It's like not like a moody horse, and it's like a happy horse. And so my connection to it is like being raised between Puerto Rico and here in the States was that when I would go to the island, it was very much going into the campo, into like the countryside.

And I would see like the older boys like riding their horses, and I found it so like interesting because I'm like there's cars whizzing by, but then you see this horse just like coming down, and that's there's there was always such like a like an moment, and I'm like wow this is really cool.

And I remember like riding the horses, and like the sound of the horse is like taka taka, and it's a very sort of like for me it's like a rhythmic, but like a hypnotic sound. And so with all that to say, for the Typeforce exhibition, my— for my project, I wanted to focus on that.

I wanted to bring all these things about the Paso Fino culture and sort of like show it in a way that was like personal, but also in a way that people can draw connection to.

And like these days, like a lot of— there's like the Western culture and like there's like the cowboy Carter or Beyoncé, like that was like very in vogue. And also there's like this movement of like the gay cowboy art. And also like there's like all these like sort of like horse and like even in Latinx art and Latino art, there's like this sort of representation of sort of the vaquero.

And I really wanted to showcase the Caribbean sense of this vaquero or this cowboy because I feel like it's such a distinct and very like powerful and unique sort of like sense of identity. And so I wanted to start with screen printing a series of posters that say taka, which is the sound. And if you ask any jibarito or any guy who, or any person who rides the horses and you ask them like, oh, what sound does the paso fino horse make? They will say taka.

And a lot of my work as a DJ revolves with music too. So there's so many old songs that say kata ka, and it's even— and I wanted to focus on it because like as Latinos and specifically like Puerto Ricans, we're very like— all of our language is very like onomatopoeia. Like we talk with our hands, we say yo algo, like it's very much like we use a lot of sounds as words. And so I wanted to— I found that very beautiful.

So I wanted to highlight on that kind of act of being and talking and communicating. And so I wanted to use very bright colors because the houses in the Caribbean are very beautifully painted with like pastels. And so I grew up with— I remember my grandma's house, the cabinets were like lime green and outside was like pink and yellow. And the house next door was like a fuchsia and like blue. And I remember always being fascinated with all the rich colors in the Caribbean.

And it's something that I battled with going to school. I went to Columbia College here in Chicago, and I remember a critique I would get. And at the time, it was all about minimalism and darker tones and grays. And I remember always getting the critique of like, you're using too much color. Those colors are not like— they're not part of the color wheel. They don't make sense in the color wheel. And I'm like, this is my shit though. I love these colors. I love pink.

We were talking about pink earlier. Pink is amazing. And I love pink and green. And I love like how pink, like a guava pink is a very specific pink. And I love like a magui sort of like reddish orange. And those are the colors that I associate with, not as much as the grays. And so I remember that was always a critique and that the Typeforce, that was my way to be like, No, like these are the colors I'm going to use.

This is sort of like my pushback against that. And finally, and so a part of the show was like the posters and then a belt buckle. And I wanted to choose a belt buckle because one of my dad's friends who wore, who like would train Paso Fino horses, he always had a belt buckle. And I think that's such an emblematic symbol of just like it could be like masculinity. It could also be just of Latinidad. It can also just be such a symbol of extraness.

I love being extra. Like you said, my outfit for Type Worth is very extra. So like for me, it's like I was raised with family members were like, if you're not extra, you're not doing it right. So I strive to be as extra as possible. But so I wanted to make something that was big in scale and also just that was like llamativo, like it would call your attention.

I was able to get to that point with— I have a mentor who's an amazing designer, Dominican designer and educator, and I met him in Chicago for the Dean Symposium. And he was doing a talk and I was like, I've never had a mentor before. So I was like, I want to talk to him.

And one thing we were talking about is just like scale, like how scale can really affect things and how just taking like a nuanced item and scaling it up can be so powerful. So that's why I settled on the belt buckle and I wanted to it was like metal. I never dealt with metal before, and I tend to just dive into things and think about it later.

But the one thing that I was able to— the one factor is that having such good community and good artist friends really helped me to really finish that piece. I had a friend who is a construction worker and fabricator, and he was like, yeah, I got you with the stand. Don't worry. You got this, let's do it.

And then I have a friend of mine, Vanessa Vidouet, who's an amazing fabric and textile artist, just also kind of like mentor me as well and like be like a colleague and a contemporary and just be like, yeah, just try this and do that. And they gave me access to their laser printer and I was able to do typography like this very sharp kind of like heavy metal typography. And then I did a symbol with 2 horses kissing.

And the piece is called Sin Amo Solo Amor, which is Without an Owner Only Love. And it's just kind of this like meditation piece. And going back to like reimagination, it's like, what if we imagine a world where we didn't have owners, we didn't have like a protocol, it was just love? You can live your life free, you can live your life the way that you want to. And that kind of— I draw that connection again to like the horses, right?

Like this horse is a very— it's trained to be very like, this 4-count gait and this very like workhorse and this very sort of equestrian animal. But like if the animal was left alone, it would be like this majestic kind of thing. So yeah.

Christian Solorzano [23:22]

So yeah, it feels like such a moving homage to just the horse also. And obviously the horse was not at the exhibition, but I like, I just, I love to, I love the idea of Drawing inspiration from so many different facets, whether it's the culture, whether it's, childhood memories, whether it's identity, but then also just the animal itself.

Like there's something so that feels just so iconic about drawing, like extracting so much from like this horse that had that plays such a big role and that has, that has played such a big impact culturally. For many people. So that really speaks to me as well. And then where's the buckle today? Did you— is that with you or did you— what'd you do with the actual buckle that was mounted at Typeforce?

José Rosa [24:21]

Yeah, it's in my house. Yeah, it's in my house. I still have it. So I just wrapped up in the summer my first solo show. And so the belt buckle was sort of like a kind of like a preview to my solo show called Dulce Sueño. So yeah, it's in my house. I have it hanged up. I am so proud of it. Yeah, it's like, it's like a reminder. I'm like, oh yeah, like you spent a lot of hours without sleeping and just like working.

And it paid off.

Christian Solorzano [24:53]

Yeah. So, and then you also had a series of workshops as well. Can you talk a little bit about that? There is a lot about— I have the title here, Exploring Identity Through Reimagination. So one, I'm curious about what people's response to your work was, because to me, I see it both surface level, it's just like captivatingly beautiful. Like even if you, even if you don't have any of the context, it's just, it just feels like such a dramatic piece.

Like the color, the relationships with the color, the metal, the type, the illustrations, everything was kind of like a little universe that was in that, on that, on that whole wall. So what did people say? Or did you, did the reception, did anything about people's response surprise you? Or just curious about that.

José Rosa [25:53]

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, by the way. But that's a great question. In terms of the workshop, it was so just to kind of give a little bit more context, so I had this— so the workshop was part of— the workshop series was part of my kind of residency at this gallery called El Chaumburg, which is in Humboldt Park. And so when I was talking to Brenda, which is the owner of El Chaumburg, we wanted to sort of make sure that the space was activated consistently.

And so apart from an opening and a closing, we wanted to sort of bring people in and just sort of talk about this work and have dialogue. So that's where the workshops sort of came into play. And so the workshop series was, again, the through line of my work recently has been reimagining. But then I always found out if I can reimagine this for myself, I'm always curious, what do you reimagine for yourself, for your identity, right?

And a lot of the things that, a lot of the work in the show was sort of based on like, we all sort of battle whether we're queer, straight, femme, masc, undocumented, whatever the case might be. All of us sort of have these points of tensions where we battle with like societal norms that don't really like fit us, right? And there's always that tension no matter what your identity is. And so I'm always curious to hear—

And completely understand and try to get to like a, like a meeting point with different people. And I'm always just curious about the other, right? I want to know when my favorite designers are usually not designers that are from the US or even Europe. I really love movements that are happening in Brazil or Argentina. And I also know that Design Indaba, and there's this conference that happens in Africa with all these really cool sustainable design. I'm always curious on what is out there in the world.

And so we have— so regarding the workshops, we— but some of the feedback that really surprised me is that a lot of people mentioned that there was a sense of complete understanding and sort of understanding of the work and relationship and familiarity of the work, even though most of it was sort of showcasing Puerto Rican identity. But there's this sort of understanding of we really need to decolonize the mind, right? And sense of identities.

And that's something kind of was interesting to me because it's, yeah, no matter— a lot of people were colonized and we kind of move in certain ways. But before that, a lot of people, a lot of Black and brown people moved in different ways, right? And so that to me was like really surprising. And so another thing that was interesting is that I asked people to bring an item that reflected their identity. And we were just going to make art through that.

And so it was just, it was like a very chill session. It was like no masterpiece. Let's just talk about it. Let's workshop and let's all use each other as like a thought partner. And a friend of mine brought their makeup. And I thought that was beautiful because I'm like, you brought your whole ass makeup. That's crazy. What are you going to do? And so they started making a portrait with like makeup.

And just like using blush. And another friend, he's Black and Puerto Rican from New York, and he has a disconnect to his Puerto Rican side. And so he wanted to make a connection to that. So he had only one photo of his father who was Puerto Rican. So he brought that and he started to make a collage. And I thought that was very powerful because a lot of our identities, specifically in the Puerto Rican identity, there's a lot of disconnection.

So that's one of the main reasons that like that made me really excited to see that because it was just there's this sort of sense of like coming back to the roots, right? And like when you're like a 3rd or 4th generation Latinx person or like child of immigrants, like you tend to lose your identity. And so that to me was very special that people were sort of uncovering their roots and really digging deep and sort of reimagining this beautiful world.

And part of the questions in the prompt was like, what does true liberation mean to you? And I'm like, what does that look like? What does it smell like? What does it taste like? And the surprising answers were like, it smells like amber and bergamot. And liberation means a cracked door in the fall and a fresh breeze through the cracked door. Or there was answers like, liberation is like merengue típico from the Dominican Republic. It was just answers that were very nuanced and very everyday.

But that were also very like magical and—

Christian Solorzano [30:45]

Yeah. So when it comes to, so I like a friend and I, we were driving, we were in the car yesterday. And one of the things that we were talking about was the concept of doing some kind of workshop where participants are encouraged to be deconditioned or to like, rather than coming to learn, they're going to go through a process of unlearning in hopes that they can sort of unmask themselves to go back to who they are, who they truly are.

Because to your point, I feel like even your story about your critiques in school with like color theory, for example, I feel like there's so many unspoken rules that we're all kind of just conditioned to believe, whether it's these colors won't work together or you need to be in this box because XYZ. So what I, what I, what I hear you describing seems like such a radically important concept for just helping people come back to who they are.

Or to just like shed Parts of themselves that are just not serving them. Is that— would you say that that's like an accurate kind of depiction of what you're speaking about?

José Rosa [32:11]

Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, very true. And a lot of that, I actually— so I was able to— I spent some time working with an amazing person, Antoinette Carroll. And Antoinette Carroll is the founder of Creative Reaction Lab. And so Creative Reaction Lab, they focus on just providing, amplifying Black and brown youth voices through just like this concept of like equitable, inclusive design frameworks.

And a lot of these things that you're mentioning about like deconditioning and unlearning, this, that was a place that I was able to really sort of like explore that.

One thing I really appreciate about Antoinette is that she provided a space for people who normally, like our voices would be silenced to just really be like, okay, hey, how do you feel about this? And let's like talk about it. Let's go through the weeds through it and let's sort of kind of like deconstruct and let's analyze, let's unpack.

And I think my time working there was where I could really explore that, where I kind of like found the language to like talk about these things and about like, and even make the practice of unlearning things. And I think that, that's something that I took from that job and just took through my art path because I felt like it was such a powerful way to do that. Because, design school can be very— it can be very, exclusive, right?

It can be very— So the classists a little bit, right? When people are just trying to make ends meet, they're not worried about design. And sometimes as designers, I really like, I wanna challenge us as designers and even myself, yes, we have to be a little bit pretentious and snobby 'cause, inherently we all have good taste. But what does that mean though, right? Like what, I think it's up to us to really like unpack that, and really like, what does it mean?

What is the difference between like folk art and like design or fine art, right?

Christian Solorzano [34:13]

Yeah.

José Rosa [34:13]

And I think that that's something that really needs to be like examined and unpacked. And like one of the workshops and webinars that Creative Reaction Lab used to have, I believe still has, is how traditional design thinking supports white supremacy. And so when you think about that, like when you think about like the othering of like folk art and discutting like the amount of like research and like the ancestral knowledge of folk art, like that becomes very problematic, right?

And so I think, I think that would make design very sort of not very inclusive, right? So I think really practicing those ways of just seeing other things and leaving an openness for it, that also just makes design a lot more fun and innovative. And it keeps the sauce, right? It keeps it going, it keeps it building, it keeps it fresh and new. We all don't want to see just minimalism all the time or—

And trust me, I love, I love me a good layout, a good Swiss design moment. But I think there's so much more.

Christian Solorzano [35:21]

So when it comes to your— so you have your artistic practice, but then you also— I understand that you also have a job that's more on the commercial side, is at Snap Products.

Can you talk to us about like if there's any relationship between your career as like a 9 to 5, because I feel like a lot of designers and especially meeting people through the Design Club these last 5 years, I've noticed that people tend to be the most excited about the work that they're doing outside of work.

So can you walk us, can you just share with us a little bit about what that relationship is like? Of going into a profession that obviously is intended to give us some financial stability, but then also real— coming to the realization that where the money comes from isn't always the thing that is the most exciting, at least for myself and a lot of my peers.

So how do you, how do you, what's, what is the intersection of José, the artist, the music, like the DJ, the person that is into all this big, vast array of interests, and then also the person that has to like, clock in at a job, or I don't know if you actually physically clock in, but how do you, how do you, how do you, do you carve, is everything, yeah, just how does everything coexist?

José Rosa [36:56]

That's a really good question. But just to clarify, so I no longer work at Snap Products. This happened just recently, but I will, I will bring up Snap Products because it definitely supports what I'm about to say. But so currently I work for Hyatt Hotels, like their corporate media design. But when I worked at Snap Products, I worked as a package designer.

And so like the correlation, so I took a lot from that job. So for example, like I got to work with an amazing designer. She has like over 20 years of Anya Ferro. She has over 20 years of just packaging design experience and very like crafts, right? Like very stickler, like stickler, very like has to be like this, like this, like this. And she doesn't play around when it comes to like comping, right?

So like we did a lot of comps where I had to like old school, like use the X-Acto blade to cut out a package design and, put it together to see if it would fit on the shelves for like CVS or like Target. And it was a very sort of like technical job that like, that like changed my entire view as a designer. As an artist, I'm a little bit more free. I'm a little bit more like, nah, like let's blur the lines.

Let's go a little crazy. As a designer, which is like the only part of my life, but I'm very much like into order. Right? Very much like, no, it has to be like this. Everything has to have a reason. We're not just doing stuff because it looks cute. We're doing this because it has to have a reason.

I learned a lot of those skills through Snap Products and working as a packaging designer. And the way I tie it in with my art was last year I was part of a group exhibition where we had to sort of like the concept was like how souvenirs represent Puerto Rican identity. And so I chose to use coffee because I used to work in coffee. I used to work in coffee farms. I used to work as a barista.

I used to design coffee labels for Bitch Park Coffee, do all these things with coffee. So I wanted to fuse my interest in coffee, my interest in packaging design and art. And then so what I did, I created 3, coffee packages. And then within the label, I told the story of basically like the coffee culture and the coffee history in Puerto Rico, which was like a very colonial history.

And because of the location of Puerto Rico, so in the 1800s— and I'm sorry, the 1700s— the coffee in Puerto Rico was tied to the coffee of popes and kings. And so a lot of the coffee, there was this huge culture and, economy of coffee. So it was sent to Europe. And there was a lot of things that happened, like different hurricanes that happened in the 1800s and then early 1900s, and then also the US sort of like annexing Puerto Rico from Spain.

So I wanted to include all of that history because I'm a huge history nerd and also include the fact that I've gotten really good with an X-Acto blade. So, I wanted to sort of include that. And so, and also just being able to take things from like being tangible and like 3-dimensional and like measure out and you have to be like on the millimeter. And I love that intensity of like, of like correctness when it comes to design.

So for me, I try to blend, my art life, my DJ life, my designer life. And so far it works really well. Like with this new job where I'm doing social media, like I am sort of— I've always wanted to learn how to do motion graphics. And now that I'm sort of doing social media and doing reels and working more with the software, I'm starting to incorporate that digital aspect back into my art where I kind of strayed away a little bit.

And so I think, like you were like, I can't just live off of my art. It doesn't work like that for me. So it's like, you got to work, right? You got to make some money. So for me, it's like I try to blend those worlds as much as possible because I don't got it like that. I have to try to work with what I have and what I have access to.

And so I try to like blend all the things that I'm into these different projects. And I think it's very helpful because it just gives things more substance and it broadens your POV of just art and life and even design. Yeah.

Christian Solorzano [41:29]

Yeah, I like that because I know early in my career I often felt like there was some code switching that was happening where I would go from Christian, like this Christian, and now it would be this other Christian. And it gets exhausting.

And sometimes you meet people where there's just, they're just one person 24/7. And they just seem, they seem happier. They just seem freer. Like there's no, there's no wall separating one person from the other. And it kind of ties back to like the liberation and freedom that you're talking about. So yeah, I really liked talking about this. So I know that you're a big fan of Amy Winehouse.

I've seen, I've seen several posts about her on your Instagram. And I also like her. I like her for both like her music and her story and also like her ending was so tragic and sad. But I want to learn about your influences or your muses, or like, where do you turn to? You mentioned a mentor that you have, but who do you turn to when you're trying to figure things out, or when you have a question?

Who are the people that you— that you turn to, whether they're people, whether they're people that are alive or no longer with us? I'm curious about your influences.

José Rosa [43:04]

That's a great question. They're all over the place. But yes, we love Amy Winehouse. That is my girl. I love— she actually was the first record that I ever owned, Back to Black. So that, as a vinyl DJ, that is very special to me. I also just love sort of the moody and the darkness that she has in her music. With that being said, like music is a huge inspiration for me.

Like whether it's like album covers, whether it's just like artists like being unapologetically themselves, like the artist being the art, right? Like that sort of those are like my muses, right? Like those are the people that I'm like yes. Like every moment needs to be extra. Every moment needs to be dramatic. Every moment needs to be like.

In a biopic. And one of those artists that kind of fall into that is a Brazilian artist from the 1970s named Ney Montenegro. And Ney Montenegro is sort of like, kind of like the Freddie Mercury of Brazil. And queer, amazing vocalist, very weird, very weird and very artsy. But I really appreciated his music because, and even his album covers, because they were just so liberating for what seems common now. It's just, we always see that all the time.

But in the '70s, it was something that was very groundbreaking. And there's also a film that came out on Netflix called Son Latino, I believe is the name of the film. It's like a biopic. So I'm really I've always been inspired by like musicians and performers. But in terms of design, I'm a huge design nerd. I love to, even though like I'm a DJ, artist, community organizer, but like design was like, really was the one thing that I've stuck with for such a long time.

I've been doing design since like '09. So for me, like that has been something that has been something that I've been researching heavy and like always sort of been like obsessed with. I've, been doing it for so long and I'm still not tired of it. So that's great. Some of my muses design-wise is I love the— I love like Craig Ward.

He's a British designer and I love sort of his use of like, it's very clean and it's very minimal, but also like he pushes the bounds of stuff, right?

Like the bounds of like how things can look. When I first came into school, I studied— I wanted to do fashion. So like he also incorporates like different like fashion brands like Calvin Klein and all these different things. And then I also love— I may be mispronouncing her last name, but Marian Bantjes. I love her work just because it's very like ornate.

Like I find sometimes that like I do love the structuredness and the cleanness of design, but like I also just love the extra-ness of just like Ornate art and even like typography. I love what she does with like typography. I think she's like a master at like blending things and using like actual items to create things.

Christian Solorzano [46:22]

Her house recently, her house was recently on sale and you can see like the interior of it on the, on the, on the website. And man, her house was so freaking cool. Like it looked, it looked like you were, you're, you were like inside of her work. Like it was just beautiful. I'll send you a link after the— I like her a lot too, but her house, man, I was just damn, I want to, I want to live there.

José Rosa [46:50]

Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know that. I would love to. Yeah, please send that because, man, I remember just even looking at— she had a book and I can't think of the name right now, but there was a book on her and I was just like floored. I remember, I remember being in the Columbia Library just like Going through it. And I had a friend who worked, a student, was like a student worker and was like, yo, you need to leave. I'm trying to go home. Yeah.

Yep.

Christian Solorzano [47:17]

So do you have any, so when it comes to music and design, well, more music, do you have any guilty pleasures or anything that it's just like unexpected?

José Rosa [47:26]

Oh my God. So much. Yeah.

Christian Solorzano [47:31]

Something that you'd, that no one would ever Respect.

José Rosa [47:36]

Yeah. Listen, I will forever be that little monster. I love me a Lady Gaga album. I remember, Lady Gaga came out, when I was in high school, and the high school that I went to, that was not cool. You were not listening to Lady Gaga. You were, listening to trap music, or like, that was not what you listened to. I remember, Lady Gaga has always been, my little guilty pleasure. The way that I would just, seeing the house down to like all of the tracks.

I think that is one of my— and I think she really inspired me to just like tackle art, right? Or like to even be into creative because she had like a creative house. And I always see myself not being just like one thing, just like sort of like, exploring different avenues, whether it's like fashion, typography, photography.

And so, I never was like, I just want to be a painter, or I just want to be a designer or a photographer. So I thought that was, really cool that she was able to write her own music, do all that. But in terms of other— I'm looking at my vinyl collection right now to see some funny stuff. I really love— I have a lot of, Catholic, hymns.

Because I want to do, a crazy set where I mix, house music with like the Catholic choir, like hymns. Be a little, blasphemous, a little bit, a little bit blasphemy, a little bit. So yeah, that's, I think that's like the guilty, the guilty pleasure is like sort of mixing like random shit together.

Christian Solorzano [49:17]

Yeah, I love that. It's crazy to think that I remember Lady Gaga growing up and she somewhat like Poker Face is almost 20 years, like 20 years old, which is crazy to think about.

José Rosa [49:31]

Yeah, time flies, I'm telling you.

Christian Solorzano [49:34]

So today, what's making you smile?

José Rosa [49:37]

I would say the sunlight. This is definitely making me smile. It's getting a little chilly. I'm a Caribbean baby, so I love warm weather. I love humidity. I love, the sunlight. And I love Chicago, but wintertime gets me every year. So the sun is bringing me Lots of happiness, because I know that it's limited. Enjoy while it lasts. Right. To the point that in my apartment, I have a hammock that I bought in Mexico.

And I spent some time in Mexico and, met amazing artists and designers there too. And I got, a hammock and I got a bunch of plants. And I have my main light source is, one of the sad lights, like the seasonal depression lights. So to the point that my heat bill comes expensive because I'm thinking I'm back in the island and I'm sitting in shorts all day in the wintertime and I'm like, oh yeah, I'm not, I'm not there.

Christian Solorzano [50:37]

And what's, what are you, where do you draw hope from? Because you, I don't know, you could correct me, but you seem to be a very optimistic person. Is that a correct assumption?

José Rosa [50:49]

Sometimes.

Christian Solorzano [50:51]

Okay. Sometimes.

José Rosa [50:52]

Sometimes.

Christian Solorzano [50:53]

Yeah. So where do you— so what's giving you hope today? Where do you find the optimism to just continue?

José Rosa [51:02]

I would say, to be honest, as student guidance counselor, as this sounds, it's really like in the youth. So I've been an uncle since I was 9 years old, right? So I, Have conversations. I'm pretty close to my nieces and nephews. And also I've been thinking a lot about like legacy and as a queer person, thinking about just sort of like, how does that look like for me as a queer person?

I don't think I'm gonna be having kids anytime soon, but how does this like chosen family dynamics work? And I do have like sort of like queer babies in my life where I sort of mentor and like just give advice. And that brings me hope.

For me, like having to sort of like live life stealth, like within Puerto Rico and all the like cities that I lived in and like living in like urban neighborhoods where like that was like looked down upon, like seeing them being able to be like their absolute like themselves and at their realest without it being like hidden or like palatable. That gives me a lot of hope, a lot of hope in the future, because like right now, in my opinion, it's very shitty.

I have a lot of friends who are undocumented, who are trans, who are really going through it right now, and who like are on, SNAP and like all these things. And, like all that is just, could go in the blink of an eye, right? And so like seeing all these young people sort of. I used to be very political, but I've kind of chilled out. And just seeing them sort of like take the reins of like really like fighting for what's right or like being mad.

I think, I don't know how to say it in English, but el coraje, the, I guess the anger or the, I don't know, the rage, right? Like that brings me hope because it feels like we're not just settling. It feels like we're not just sort of like giving into a certain way of life or a certain way of being. And I see that a lot within the young people and like thinking about legacy, like how do I sort of like foster that as a queer person?

Like how do I pass this knowledge and this like way of being to like the next generation who's already doing it, right? But like how to protect them from parts that I had to go through that I wish that they didn't have to go through.

Christian Solorzano [53:37]

Yeah, I like that response. So with so you so today I know summer's almost over, but is there anything that you're still gonna like? What can people expect for from you for the rest of the year? Is there anything else that we should be looking out for in regards to stuff?

José Rosa [54:02]

Yeah, a lot of stuff coming. Definitely a lot more DJ gigs if you want to dance. Mover la colita if you want to dance. Definitely have some stuff coming. In terms of like vinyl DJing. Also like shows. I'm going to be a part of a show from amazing person, designer Oscar Solís. Oscar Solís is doing a show at CAD, which is the Chicago Art Department, and it's focused on non-hierarchical learning and also just like different forms of diagramming and then just expressing design.

And then like he's done such amazing work on just like research on like, on different ways of diagramming and just like master at like risograph and just such a brilliant person. And so you have a whole thing where folks are going to be exhibiting. So that's coming up.

Christian Solorzano [54:54]

Is this Oscar? Oscar, he was at university at UIC?

José Rosa [55:00]

Yes.

Christian Solorzano [55:01]

So Oscar, At one point, he was my boss. Yes. And then this was well, he had a— there was a company that he was starting and I worked there for a little bit. And this was, this was probably in 2013. Like it was 11, 12 years ago. So I know what you're talking about. Yeah. And it's, and it's been nice to see. To see him still, doing amazing things. So maybe he'll be. Maybe I'll tap him on the shoulder and yeah, on the podcast next.

José Rosa [55:39]

Do it. Do it. As you're so cool.

Christian Solorzano [55:42]

Yeah, he's really smart. He's just like he's too smart.

José Rosa [55:45]

He's a smarty pants for sure. For sure. For sure. Sometimes I'm like oh, I'm like I have to like you know up my vocab a little bit more. I'm like yeah just. Just gonna— I recently got a grant to do more artwork, so I'm definitely going to be doing that and playing with like reimagining identities as well. So I would love to do something and just continue creating spaces and safe places and just, yeah, just one day at a time. Okay.

Christian Solorzano [56:19]

And then just one last question. Well, just a few last questions, but given that you are a collector of vinyl, what are some of your favorite places in Chicago to go vinyl shopping?

José Rosa [56:31]

Oh, that's a great question. So number one, 606 Records on Pilsen. Yep. Shoutouts to Drew. Drew is amazing. He has a great collection. If you want jazz, if you want electro, like anything, he has a great collection. So sweet. Awesome guy. Another one is Shady Rest, also in Pilsen. They're super sweet out there too. They have a really good Latin collection as well. And then last but not least, I'm hesitant to say this because this is my little, my little, my little hidden gem.

But, we can't gatekeep. But don't play it out, y'all. Lily's Records in Humboldt Park. Yeah, that's all I'm gonna say. Lily's Records in Humboldt Park. Lily's Records has been there. So I used to come to Chicago a lot as a kid for the Puerto Rican Day Parade. So like Lily's Records has been there since I can remember as early as 2003, probably even more. But yeah, Lily's Records in Humboldt Park on Division. And then last place is Miss Yagi's Records. Yeah, those are my spots.

Christian Solorzano [57:42]

And what's your most— what's your most prized record in your collection? Like, you're like, if the, if the house is burning, this is the one that you would go— you would go save.

José Rosa [57:57]

Oh my God, I hope that never happened. Okay, so I'm really into femme vocalists.

And so for me is La Lupe, La Reina. So La Lupe is— was a Cuban singer, and she was an Afro-Cuban singer, and she practiced Santería, which my family as well, I have ties to that as well. And so she does a lot of like— in at the time she was very famous, like in the '70s and the '60s, and at the time she was this very sort of sensual— she would go into these like, I don't want to say possessions.

Christian Solorzano [58:34]

In trance?

José Rosa [58:36]

Yes, she would go into these trance and she would start talking in Yoruba when she would perform. And she performed with so much like power and so much— I love how her voice is just it's punchy. I always, Celia Cruz is like the Beyoncé, she's very like prim and proper and like very palatable. But La Lupe is kind of like the Rihanna, right? Back in that day, Rihanna was very like the bad girl. So yeah.

That record is my prize record, and it's from La Lupe, and it's called La Reina.

Christian Solorzano [59:06]

Okay, cool. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for spending the afternoon with me virtually to have this conversation. I hope to see you in person again soon. I know we keep, we keep not seeing each other, so hopefully soon both of our schedules can be in sync and we can find a time to be in the same room at the same time.

José Rosa [59:30]

So yeah, it's definitely going to happen. It's definitely going to happen. I have a question for you, if you don't mind.

Christian Solorzano [59:36]

Yeah, go ahead.

José Rosa [59:37]

I know you mentioned that you collect records. What records do you seek out? What is your prized possession?

Christian Solorzano [59:43]

Oh, man. So I am a really big fan of electronic and just ambient music. And there is a composer whose name is Daniel Lanois. And he did a really awesome album with Brian Eno and another composer named Harold Budd. And I got a chance to meet Daniel Lenoir earlier this year, and I got his— I got one of my favorite albums by him called a Pearl autographed. Oh, cool.

José Rosa [60:15]

That's really good.

Christian Solorzano [60:15]

So that's cool. And then there's also another artist named Michael Rother who did like experimental Music in the '70s out of Germany. And I also got a chance to meet him earlier this year. And I got one of my favorite records by him autographed as well. So for me, when there's like an autograph on a record that I like from the person, that, that's my thing. And I'm also just like a big collector. So I like to have an entire artist's discography.

And, yeah, sometimes I don't need, they're just sitting there because they're like so nice that I'm like, I don't want, I have the CD already. I'd rather use the CD and like just keep the vinyl like pristine, but I listen to everything that I have.

José Rosa [61:01]

That's awesome. Yeah.

Christian Solorzano [61:03]

That's good. Yeah. So cool. Maybe in the, in the distant future we do some kind of DJing thing together.

José Rosa [61:11]

Let's do it. I'm down. Listen, I'm down. Don't tempt me with a good time.

Christian Solorzano [61:18]

Cool. Well, thank you so much. I will include all of your links in the description for this episode. And everyone that is listening, I encourage you to get familiar with José's work because I feel like you're gonna, you're just gonna keep doing amazing stuff. And I hope you don't become those people that like do their thing in Chicago, then they go to New York.

José Rosa [61:39]

Yeah, I had my start in New York and I said, don't get me wrong, I love New York, but I'm like, take me back to Chicago.

Christian Solorzano [61:47]

Yeah. Awesome. Well, good luck with your DJing tonight. So thank you.

José Rosa [61:55]

Thank you. Thank you.

Christian Solorzano [61:55]

Do any of your sets ever get recorded?

José Rosa [61:57]

So I just met a guy who just came from Colombia to Chicago, and he is going to be recording. He also owns a barbershop. So he's like, hey, I have these vinyl decks. I record, I do this awesome project. So we're going to be— yeah, we're going to be doing that shortly, which I'm excited because I've been wanting to do that for so long. But yeah. Yep. Cool.

Christian Solorzano [62:23]

Awesome, man.

José Rosa [62:24]

Well, thank you so much. I appreciate you. This was really good. And please continue keeping doing this, amazing work. You really do an awesome job and all that you do is really dope. I feel like, yeah, the people that you bring together as well is the times that I went to your events or to the Chicago Design Club events have been really nice. And just like getting all the design nerds together. Please don't stop.

Christian Solorzano [62:47]

That's what it's all about. So thank you for now being in our recorded archive of Chicago voices. All right, man. Well, thank you. Recording stops here. Thank you so much for listening until the end. I appreciate the support. If you enjoyed this episode and this podcast, we appreciate you leaving us a rating wherever you listen. And to learn more about us, visit www.chicagographicdesign.club. Thank you, and we'll talk to you soon.

José Rosa [63:23]

Goodbye.