A Story of Reconnection

In Profile 006 of Where We Belong, we talked with Aarón Ángeles, a Mexican-American designer, creative director, and the founder of Arón Jaco. Born and raised in Kansas before moving to New York City, Aarón tells the story of how his upbringing drove him to reconnect with his heritage – and how reconnecting with his Mexican roots inspires his creative work.

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Jalen:
So Aarón – tell us about where you're from, and what brought you to New York.

Aarón:
I'm from Kansas, from a small rural town called Pittsburgh. So I tell people I'm from Kansas City, because nobody really knows where my hometown’s from, but I joke that the community has more cows than people. Actually, I don't think that's true, but it's a very small population. It's like 18,000. And I moved out to New York about two and a half years ago to work in fashion and art direction since I got here.

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Jalen:
You recently started Arón Jaco. Tell us more about that, what you do, and what inspires it.

Aarón:
When I create and when I design anything. It's coming from a place that's deeply rooted in my own identity, and growing up where I grew up, because it was predominantly white, I struggled a lot trying to be attached and connected to my cultural background. 

Both of my parents immigrated from Mexico to the States. Growing up in a community that wasn't really attached or very close to that community, I started working in New York, wanting to explore more of that identity and how I can express it through fashion or through my work. I realized that there was a huge disconnect, and also not a lot of opportunities or spaces for me to feel comfortable with that.

So I created around Arón Jaco. as a space for me to fall in love with the process on my own. For me to fall back in love with my own culture, reconnect with my own identity, and explore in what I would call my own safe space.

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Jalen:
What influences and what sources do you use to get in touch more with your culture and learn more about your history and heritage?

Aarón:
I find the conversation around reconnection really interesting because growing up, I didn't speak Spanish, and so I was considered what's called a “no sabo” kid. Basically that just means someone who doesn't know the language. And now the best way that I like to get reconnected is through learning Spanish, and finding those communities. Food is a great way to connect with people. I mean, I love, I love, Latin and Hispanic food and just traveling a lot too. I think the first time I traveled back to Mexico I was like 13, 14, and I've been traveling back pretty consistently since then.

For me, it’s like traveling is a huge way to reconnect. And then also just like personal research. Like, I love to just spend late hours at night researching where different textiles come from, motifs or indigenous artifacts or, you know, just artwork and where stuff comes from.

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Jalen:
What are you most proud of when it comes to being part of the Mexican diaspora?

Aarón:
A lot of the things that I think are good qualities that I'm proud to identify with are like the, you know, the work ethic and the culture of it. Noting that my parents came over to the States with, you know, not a lot of money, and they were able to work hard and provide a life for me.

But also like, you know, growing up kind of disconnected, I feel like there's a lot of things that I feel that I want to get connected back with, like in terms of the language. And I'm in this state of curiosity where I'm like, just trying to be a sponge and like, learn everything. Like I'm trying to learn traditions. I'm trying to learn the history of Mexico. Now I'm in a space of actual, like, curiosity – wanting to learn more – versus growing up, I was just kind of like, “okay, cool. Like I'm Mexican, so what?”

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To watch the full interview, visit us @dspraofficial on Instagram and TikTok. To learn more about Aarón and Arón Jaco, visit @_a.angeles_, @aron.jaco_, and aronjacoatelier.com.