Erik Camargo of Cautro Plantas
Cuatro Plantas Workshop
photos by: Jesus Indalecio Rodriguez
Erick Camargo is a Salem based artist who, under his streetwear and design brand Cautro Plantas, has hosted and organized a series of free pop-up events in Salem, Oregon through 2018 and 2019.
The events he has organized included free screen printing, live music, live mural painting, and a printing party for a local Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) rally. He has organized these events in association with local businesses and organizations such as Juan’s Board Shop, Brew Coffee & Tap House, Latinos Unidos Siempre (LUS), and the Salem Arts Association. All of these events were free and open to the public.
Poster Designed by Erik Camargo
As a skateboarder himself, Erik takes inspiration from skateboarding culture. In his formative years he was influenced and active in that community, which then was ruled by EXIT Skate Shop.
“It was community-based for sure,” said Erik. “Always having the connection of knowing everybody because of the skateboard community, and you were always out on the streets. That’s really what it was about, being out on the street skateboarding, running into people at skate spots and everybody watching the [skate] session—watching these people triumph, getting hurt, and just battling out.”
Exit Skate Shop and the community that surrounded it was where Erik felt his creativity could be expressed, it was where he meet people that he related to, a place where he could fit in surrounded by skateboarders, these were people he chose to identify with. The inspiration for Cuatro Plantas is, in part, a reflection of his experience as not only a skateboarder but as a Mexican skateboarder. He felt a sense of belonging there, but he also felt pressure to fit in and he felt it was at the expense of his traditional Mexican upbringing which was not seen as normal in early 2000’s skateboarding community in Salem, Oregon. These biases were subtle and often overlooked, he felt a sense of otherness in a subculture that was suppose to champion the outsider.
“I definitely feel like I had to whitewash myself down to fit in with people because I would come off to them as a weirdo if I was doing some super Mexican shit, and that’s something that has to do with Cuatro Plantas. You can have an identity,” said Camargo. “People can look at it and have an identity and be like, you know what, this is somewhere I fit in. I can wear this shirt, and I can be proud.”
Involvement and support for inclusion in he skateboard community is something Camargo has continued to prioritize , and in June of 2019, he collaborated with Travis Jolley, the owner of Juan’s Board Shop, to sponsor a Go Skate Day event. The goal was to create a space for people of all backgrounds to come and enjoy music, skateboarding and art.
Poster Designed by Erik Camargo & Travis Jolley
Go Skate Day was also a way Erik could connect with a younger crowd. He continues to do so with events like the one he held in November with LUS, creating posters and t-shirts for a DACA rally.
“I think that if I could reach the children a little more because... what I’ve seen from the last LUS [event] was great because they [the kids] were finding out about this,” said Erik
Erik does free live screen printing events where he would print on whatever it was people brought in. He would be screen printing for hours, giving away his designs collaborating with the public.
“When I had those screen printing events, that’s definitely for the community. It’s a free event,” said Erik. “People that can’t afford Cuatro Plantas [merchandise] can get their own Cuatro Plantas, and it’s customizable.”
Erik says he wants the art community in Salem to progress to the point where it is known as a place where creativity is valued, and the community is known for uplifting independent artists. This is why he organized previous engagement opportunities like Salem Crafters Market and the Cuatro Plantas Friends and Family event.
“I haven’t [dived] too heavily outside of the scene [in Salem.] I really have been trying to go super into the community here, just because I feel like we need [it] and I want it to become something that’s actually a thing,” said Erik.
He wants the community in Salem to progress, regardless if he’s the one leading the events. Erik reaches out to showcase local artists in the community, such as Laura Velazquez. Camargo asked her if she would like to be part of the Friends and Family event, where she showcased her film and photography zine Girl Talk. When Camargo initially approached her, Velazquez didn’t have anything prepared and she said she saw it as a challenge to pull something together within two weeks.
On the Left: Laura Velazquez at Juans Skate Shop where her and Travis Jolley met for an interview with us.
Photo by: Jesus Indalecio Rodriguez
On the right: Product Shot of Lauras Zine “Girl Talk” Photo provided by Laura Velazquez
“I’ve been taking photos for a long time, so the photos were there. I just had to figure out which ones,” said Laura. “I think it’s important to bring people together like that. It was super flattering [to be asked to join] and it was such a positive experience and like we’re doing this now...If didn’t go [to the event] or if I was just like, ‘no I’m too nervous, I’m too scared,’ and I always say no so I was like ‘I’m gonna start saying yes to cool shit.’”
Girl Talk is Laura’s first zine. The close timeline for Camargo’s event forced her to ask for help in layout and printing the zine from Travis Jolley.
Travis Jolley with Laura Valezquez in front of Juans Skate Shop the night of our interview with them.
Photos by: Jesus Indalecio Rodriguez
Travis Jolley has organized events with Erik Camargo in the past and had this to say about Erik Camrago’s Organizing
“Camargo does a really good job of like trying to engage with [his] audience as far as doing pop-ups and the free stuff for the community [with] the free screen printing,” said Jolley. “I feel like everybody in this town is kinda isolated and so to themselves that, even if you met somebody, you would never know that they were an artist. That’s what I appreciate most about what Camargo’s doing. He’s forcing us to get together, forcing us to put ourselves in awkward situations and try to engage with each other.”
Beyond the creating more engagement with local artist, Camargo’s main mission for Cuatro Plantas is still to spread his pride and he ended our interview by saying this
“If there is any sort of message behind it, although the horizons of who buys it is huge, is really to be proud to be Mexican.”
Erik Camargo in Front of his home in NE Salem, Oregon. Photos by: Jesus Indalecio Rodriguez
Check out Cuatro Plantas on Facebook and Instagram and get involved.
[Updated 2/6/20] Juan’s Board Shop at 1748 Center St NE is no longer in business due to the pandemic and our countries lack of support for small business.