38. Giant QUIÉN MANDA Billboard

Image Courtesy of Giovanni Valderas

Artist Giovanni Valderas designed a giant billboard that reads QUIÉN MANDA against the backdrop of a piñata for, 14×48, a non-profit arts organization that posts public art in the New York City area. It was installed in June on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx at E. 149th Street.

QUIÉN MANDA, a Spanish idiom which most precisely translates to “Who rules?” poses an emboldened question of agency. Giovanni Valderas’ body of work, which began in Latinx neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, focuses on engaging with the Latinx community (many of whom are not familiar with contemporary art) through guerrilla and public installations and incorporates Spanglish idioms often used in Chicano/Latinx communities.