Chancletazo for Your Soul Shop Space

Somebody needed a nudge. In May 2020, deep in the pandemic, Angie Cruz asked Marlène Ramírez-Cancio to do a tarot reading for someone who needed a push in the right direction. It was a gift, from one woman of color to another. Marlène joked the reading was a chancletazo for the soul. During tarot readings, Marlène found herself frequently referencing Latinx cultural icons and concepts when sharing the Major Arcana. So, for fun, she began to experiment with visual art by adding collage to the widely used 1909 Smith-Rider-Waite deck. Angie soon introduced Marlène to Aster(ix)s Managing Editor, Amanda Tien. Aster(ix) then established an Artist-in-Residence featurefor which Marlène was the inaugural resident artist. Amanda re-posted these cards on asterixjournal every few weeks as Marlène made them from Fall 2020 onwards. In Fall 2022, Amanda suggested this special all-color issue to feature Chancletazo for Your Soul from start-to-finish.