José Villalobos is an artist whose multimedia work challenges culturally accepted ideas of toxic masculinity.
Raised in a traditional and religiously conservative family along the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, Villalobos explores the tensions between Mexican traditions, American influences, and the expectations he faced growing up. His work confronts the harmful ideals of machismo, especially within Norteño culture, by deconstructing and re-imagining objects tied to that history.
You can see his powerful pieces for yourself at the El Paso Museum of Art.
Originally Broadcast on May 3, 2025