Hispanic Heritage Month: First Latino Olympic artist representing U.S. continues to make change in Maryland

MARYLAND ( DC News Now ) – A Maryland man is continuing to make a difference in his community after making history as the first Latino to represent the U.S. as an Olympic artist in 2006.

“Representation is very important. I always tell people that my being an artist is my gift to the world. Being Latino is my representation of the world,” said Jesse Raudales.

Raudales recognized he had a gift when he was 4 years old, but had no idea how his talent would take him.

When he was 19, he moved from North Carolina to Los Angeles to attend art school. Although a year later Raudales lost his art scholarship due to budget cuts, that did not stop him from pursuing his dreams.

“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in my art. Earlier you asked what was my nickname? It’s pride, because in art school I would always stand up and talk about my art whereas the other artists, the students, didn’t want to stand up, they were scared or they want to talk about their art,” said Raudales.

His confidence got him opportunities he never imagined. Through word of mouth, someone on the U.S. Olympic Committee learned about his work.

She quickly reached out but warned him about the chances of him being selected as an Olympian.

Months later, he got a call saying he was selected to be a part of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

“That was really an honor and a blessing,” said Raudales.

The piece he submitted was one of his simplest options.

He says he originally drew two art pieces focused on skiing, but he soon got another idea.

The theme was peace at that time because we were at war. So I said, I’m at peace when I’m with my son. So I did a quick sketch of his face and a dove as a universal symbol of peace,” he said.

The Olympics asked him to create two more, so he painted one yellow and the other red. He named it “Peace for Children of the World.”

When Raudales realized he had made history by being the Latino Olympic artist representing the U.S., he continued to incorporate his Latino culture in his artwork.

“I want to make sure that I represent, you know, other latinos. And there’s younger latinos that, you know, see that there is representation of them. We’re not just farmers and, you know, people that work out in the fields and, you know, customer service we’re also executives, we’re businessmen, we’re artists, we’re celebrities, you know, athletes,” he said.

Through his work he hopes to spark change by creating art about current events, like his painting of Hurricane Katrina,  Kamala Harris, Sonia Sotomayor, George Floyd and much more.

“I want them to tell the story and then, take them back to that moment and then move forward with change,” he said. “We need change. We don’t want to go back to how it was, and [Kamala] she’s just a big inspiration to everybody,”

Raudales isn’t just an artist, he’s an advocate for his community. He started when he returned to his hometown of North Carolina and then continued when he moved to Maryland after meeting his fiancée.

Now he works for the Community Action Agency in Anne Arundel County.

Raudales uses his executive director role to help improve the lives of Latinos in the area.

He says his love for helping others, especially those of Hispanic background, stems from watching his mother navigate the U.S. as an immigrant.

“I think about her and her journey and her walk. And without her doing it, there would not be probably the first Latino Olympic artist today,” he said. “I try to help the Latino culture in that way because we have a lot of doctors and lawyers that are from other countries. But here they need to get their GED first to even get a job that’s going to pay the minimum wage.”

Raudales also speaks to several high school students and current and aspiring artists.

He encourages them to chase their dreams.

“Back in the day for an artist, you had to pass away to be recognized. I’m living in the moment. I get to live in the moment… As long as you believe in yourself, you can do whatever it is that you want to in this world, you know because I came from nothing and here I am,” said Raudales.

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