Mingus Blanco-Norgberg:
Cholombianos
Born and raised among the mural-adorned streets of the Outer Mission in San Francisco, Mingus Blanco Norberg has found a way to create prodigious clothing masterpieces out of simple materials provided by his high school art classes. At just sixteen years old, his assigned projects reveal a greater alchemy of cultural expression, ephemeral staples of his childhood, and local youth subcultures.
All photos shot by Gino Petrucci. This interview was condensed for clarity and conducted by Miranda Santiago and Nayeli Rodriguez. Scroll below to read the interview and see his collection.
Mingus: It's an annual school project. For a grade, we're expected to do at least four pieces or four outfits. I initially got the idea to create a Cholombiano-inspired fashion collection about two years ago. I'm about to be a junior now, so freshman year I got the idea.
Miranda: Damn, bro, that's crazy. Holy shit. Sorry, excuse my language. How did you get into that kind of fashion subculture? Also, I have to ask, have you seen the movie I'm No Longer Here on Netflix?
Mingus: I actually haven't seen the whole thing, but I’ve seen parts of it on social media, and I really love the aesthetic. My aunt showed me the movie when I was younger. A year after watching it, I got the photography book, Cholombianos. I had always intended to explore the different styles I saw in the movie and the book for my collection. Initially, it was gonna be loosely based on the subculture of Cholombianos in general, but the more I went on designing everything, I feel like it became more about wanting to do these projects’ justice and matching their vibe.
Miranda: Yeah, yeah. I felt the same way about a lot of art my family had around the house growing up.
Mingus: Yeah, exactly. So, like, for example, because I saw a lot of prints in the book, I joined a screen printing class to make things just like it.
Nayeli: So, when you first started thinking about this project, did you already have a pre-formed definition in your head of what 'cholombiano' meant and what that signified in terms of your own life? Or was it more based on these media-like types of definitions?
Mingus: Yeah, I think at first it was just, “Oh, I think this looks cool. I want to do this.” But then this style evolved into a completely new idea for me. In my real life, I feel like I've learned a great deal about what goes on behind the culture.These real-life aspects were important to know what kind of details and specifics I wanted to stand out in the clothes.
Nayeli: I remember seeing the pictures from the photobook and remember the Virgencita pattern outfit and when I saw you recreated that I was so impressed. It really felt like an homage.
Mingus: Oh, yeah, the one with the overalls.
Nayeli: When I saw the photobook I remember feeling a sense of pride. I think, a lot of the time when talking about art, you often feel the need to have some big ass meaningful definition behind why you're doing something. But sometimes, it can just look good, feel good to make it, or just be. I had a moment where I was like, “Wait, people like me, or who share similar ancestors, are doing something really cool with these histories.” That’s just what immediately popped into my mind. Seeing you remaking such a familiar iconography was just sick, because you are taking it into your own hands and, quite literally, making something new by hand. That's really special.
Miranda: I was also curious about the actual design process. Did you have to make everything from scratch, or was it more that you found garments and then upcycled them?
Mingus: No, we're not allowed to do that, actually. Really, we made everything from scratch.
Mingus: Yeah, [laughs], there was a lot of pattern making and a lot of trial and error. My designs changed so much from start to finish, simply because I wanted to incorporate everything as I saw it in my head. Of course, I was also super influenced by the styles I saw around me. I remember when I was designing, maybe around August 2024, the silhouettes were less baggy than what I was used to seeing in my inspiration photos. So yeah, lots of switching up, which was tough because then I had to go back and make everything from scratch again.
Miranda: Yeah, some of your designs reminded me of the era when I was in middle school and everyone had mohawks. Very nostalgic, honestly. My brother had one and wore that sort of baggier style.
Mingus: Yeah, exactly. Also, I used a lot of leather. I don't know why I did that, but yeah. I wanted something that wasn't just, like that Dickies material, kind of what everyone else was using. And also, we had hella leather stock in my school. And I was like, well, no one's used this.
Nayeli: I mean, that’s literally what our ancestors did. The materials that nobody wanted, which were discarded, eventually found a new purpose and became something beautiful.
Miranda: I’m curious about how you started with fashion and art in general. Growing up, how did that kind of become your thing?
Mingus: Well, growing up, I was always surrounded by calligraphy and graffiti. My dad is like a big graffiti artist in the city, I think that really drew me into the entire culture overall. Then, when I got into clothes, I wanted to incorporate that same use of airbrush and screen print, and any medium like that. So yeah, a lot of muralists and people who do calligraphy and spray paint art around me growing up.
Nayeli: Yeah, you can totally see it. So I’m assuming your dad taught you how to write different scripts?
Mingus: Yeah, it all felt like it went perfectly with this project.
Miranda: You're mixing something cool to you, and also something familiar.
Nayeli: I want to ask you about SF, because, personally, as someone who grew up there the imagery is really powerful, especially in the graffiti. That's also something I noticed in your pieces in the calligraphy. I was like, 'Oh, this is SF.' I was wondering how growing up in SF has influenced your art?
Mingus: Honestly, just as you said, the imagery is where it's at. There's such a specific art style that exists in all the murals. It's very different.
Miranda: As someone not from SF, could you try to describe it? Perhaps you could both put your heads together and describe it.
Mingus: There are just so many artists that you know of, that are so well known around you. Local legends. They are also specifically concentrated in the Mission.
Nayeli: For context, the Mission is full of alleyways covered in murals and graf. Today, there is hella gentrification, but like, it's always remained very Latino. Like most of the murals showcase family and loved ones, you can just feel the love in the artwork.
Mingus: If you go anywhere outside the mission, it’s very different. Still beautiful, but different.
Miranda: Damn, I have to visit. Nayeli, take me to the mission.
Nayeli: Let's go, we’ll go soon.
Miranda: I can’t help but ruminate on the idea of familial influence, since that seems to be a big staple of the culture. I feel like something that a lot of Latin American artists have in common is that we're always, even if subconscious, drawing from everything that we know and what we make to form a path back to our family members or ancestors. It’s like there is always a constant instinct to revive. When you described your connection to your dad, I saw that as you carrying on his legacy of art making, but also adding your own twist to it and making it your own. I'm curious about how family and legacy influence your work and mindset when creating.
Mingus: One of the biggest things that I think connects my dad and me is the dance aspect of my work. Even in the movie I’m No Longer Here, the dance aspect is even bigger than the fashion aspect. My dad always tells me that he got into graffiti because hip hop culture was the big thing for him growing up. He told me that when he was in middle school, his friends used to just have dance battles in the back of the school.
Nayeli: My dad always talks about that too in his youth as a bay area kid, hip hop culture and break dancing.
Mingus: I've also grown up around Carnaval, if you know what that is. [Carnaval is a parade in the Mission District that celebrates the Latin American Diaspora. It is a parade of dancing, music, and community] There has always been some kind of movement aspect to art in my life. In my own work, the performance part was never big or something I put too much thought into. But I like how garments can be embodied , it’s not just stagnant. That’s why I had my models dance on the runway instead of walk. But also, not for any specific reason, it just looks interesting to me.
Miranda: I'm curious what it would look like if you were to turn your photographic inspirations and your designs into something of a live performance. What would that look like for you? What do you think about the live aspect of fashion?
Mingus: I think the main part of it is that the clothes, especially on the guys, are super baggy. That’s also a staple of the style. I feel like it helped them flow when they were dancing down the runway. There’s a kind of embodiment that comes from it, and they hold these signs and banners that rep their specific group, or whatever.
Nayeli: It’s the point of counterculture, yeah? The Latino youth groups who are being labeled as delinquents are literally just dancing. It's like a reclamation of that derogatory association. Especially doing it on a runway is just badass.
Mingus: And, often, the fashion show at my school is just a fashion show. Students walking down the runway in clothes, then turning around and walking back, which is fine. But I was told by a lot of people, “Yours was different, and so specific,” and that's why they liked it. For me, it just felt like a natural incorporation.
Nayeli: I love that. I would think the bagginess would make me feel like I could be doing more, have more room to move around and feel free I guess. That's really sick. A big question that we have to ask. Who were some of your influences?
Mingus: Oh man. Specifically for airbrushing, there's a guy who started the entire basic airbrush t-shirt trend in New York. His name is ‘King Phade’.
Miranda: You’re putting us on. Thank you.
Mingus: Also, of course, my dad. He actually used to run an airbrush clothing shop with his best friend. He was a calligraphy teacher as well. Oh, also, my dad's friend, who started this branch, which is also in New York, called PNB Nation. His name is ‘Zulu’. And finally, not sure if you can really see much of the inspiration in my actual clothes, but I don't know if you know the designer, Willy Chavarria.
Miranda: Ah, yes. Of course. We know him quite well.
Nayeli: I definitely see the inspiration. It all comes back to the central idea of reclaiming something that holds so much historical significance in Latino culture and history, particularly in the US.
Mingus: I just love how he mixes so many different disciplines in his work. Fashion has to be interdisciplinary. Oh, right, that’s what I was going to mention. Music! Music also has a huge influence on my work. When I actually had the show for this line, what brought it together for me was the chosen music. The point was to curate a vibe in the room that stood out from everyone else's. Most of the other stuff was Aphex Twin.
Miranda: What type of music did you play?
Mingus: I did Cumbia. I can send you guys the song if you want.
Nayeli: Dude, yes, please. Why do you think that it's so important to have all these different mediums together? Why not just focus on one?
Mingus: I feel like they can't exist without each other. I don't know. For Willy Chavarria, for example, he uses certain songs to convey a message on the runway. He’s also done performances and used specific lettering in his clothes. He's done something with a mariachi band, which was cool. I think the intersection of everything, the music, art, fashion, all of it together, makes it feel more personal for me, I guess. It feels more specific to all the moments that go into what I’m trying to create. I have a hard time putting it into words.
Miranda: No, no. We totally get it. The way I think about it is, when you make art, you're communicating something about the human condition. The human condition is so complex that it can’t be fully understood or conveyed through a single medium. You can't talk about one without talking about the other, right?
Mingus: Yeah, and especially all these big things like hip hop and calligraphy and dance, and even the Bay Area. I can taste the imagery of the languages and lifestyles. It all just feels like an intersection of me as a person. My mom immigrated from Mexico, and my dad grew up around the hip-hop graffiti movement of the '80s and '90s. Just like all of these different mediums joined together, the two of them have birthed new things in me. That’s what I feel like subculture is. It’s the perfect example of these combinations coming together.
Nayeli: Our final question concerns–DUN DUN DUN–the future. Haha. We know you're very young and have a lot of time to explore and experiment with things, but we were wondering what your future goals look like and what role art may play in them.
Mingus: The next thing that I want to do is incorporate more politics and current events for sure. I’ve been really inspired by a lot of quotes from different artists. There’s one by Nina Simone where she says “artists have a responsibility to reflect the times.” There was another quote, I can't remember where it was from, but it was like “I'm not going to show you pretty dresses on a runway when bombs are dropping.” Especially as I get older and I see so many of the people around me becoming implicated in these politics. I mean, I know of a lot of designers who choose to follow a route of politics in their work and, sometimes they don't go very far and are shunned because they're talking about something controversial. But yeah, there's a really big political aspect to it for me, and I want to represent it more.
End of interview