Alicia Cardenas

Alicia Cardenas (March 22, 1977 – December 27, 2021) was an Indigenous Mexican American painter, muralist, educator, activist, body piercer, and community organizer. She served on the Board of Directors for the Association of Professional Piercers from 2005 to 2008 as President and 2002 to 2005 as International Liaison. She owned the Sol Tribe tattoo shop, which had been a longstanding feature of Denver. She was featured in a documentary on Chicano muralism by the Chicano Murals of Colorado Project, referred to as These Storied Walls. In her community, she was known as "Mama Matriarch." At the age of 44, she was murdered in a mass shooting, along with four other people. One of her notable works, completed in 2020, can be found in the Five Points neighborhood and is entitled "Crush Walls". She took part in the city's Babe Walls and RiNo Crush Walls events.

Cardenas was a social activist and advocate for indigenous and LGBTQ+ rights.

As an artist, Cardenas embraced the worldview of Chicanismo and interconnectedness. She had adopted as her own mantra the Lakota prayer phrases "" and "", meaning 'Gratitude to the spirit of the divine' and 'All my relatives (we are all related)'. She gave the following as her life's guiding principle: "Become in harmony with the Earth and your fellow humans. Stay humble and work hard. Push to be a role model and show up for your community."

Death and legacy In 2021, at the age of 44, Cardenas was murdered along with four other people in a mass shooting in Denver, perpetrated by Lyndon McLeod, the former owner of her shop. McLeod had self-published a trilogy of books where he mentioned murdering Cardenas, along with another of his eventual real-life victims. The Chicano Humanities and Arts Council, Museo de las Americas, Bobby LeFebre, and her family and friends mourned Cardenas' loss and paid tribute to her legacy. She was remembered for her bright personality, always taking chances, and being a wonderful mother.

She was honored by the arts and culture organisation, Return of the Corn Mothers, who inducted her as the 2022 Corn Mother. The Corn Mother honor is bestowed as part of a multi-generational and multi-cultural exhibit celebrating women in American culture and art.