When I heard South Side Weekly wanted the “Best of the South Side” issue to take readers on a journey, I immediately knew I wanted to capture the homes of favorite artists and their home art collections. I truly enjoy decorating my spaces with my art and literary collections for others to peruse when in my space, and Remy Guzmán is someone in my community who lives in one of my favorite homes to visit.
Remy lives in a historical building in Pilsen that housed Decima Musa, an artistic cultural center that closed its doors years ago. Remy is an interdisciplinary artist and educator, co-founder of Marimacha Monarcha Press (M.M.P.), a queer and trans people of color collective of artists and educators, centering themes of queerness, race, language, migration, accessibility, and visual storytelling. They are also a co-founder of Santabear Productions (S.B.P.), a queer DIY production company focused on creating a diverse platform for sketch comedy and film, prioritizing equitable representation. They perform stand-up, sketch, and character work across the city.
Remy opens the door to their third floor apartment and I’m immediately transported to Mexico City. The blue kitchen walls are decorated with unique trinkets, art made by familiar artists in Chicago’s queer community, such as Jose Rosa, Melody Chang Snyder, Mony Kaos, and Cielo Saucedo. Unique clothing items and accessories are hung throughout the apartment. I ask them what their favorite piece is and they debate with themselves between a Rico Nasty x Rhymezlikedimez Collectable Figurine they purchased for $250 or zine ‘Display’ by Vivian Le, a small accordion style zine tied with a bow which they describe as the scariest zine they have ever read. The zine is one of hundreds of publications that Remy houses. Remy collects art from their friends, gathers trinkets and creates them too. You can find them vending one-of-a-kind keychains and chains as Realfreshshrimp.