Interview: Alex Guardia of ALXG.CO

By Angela Tai

How did you find your voice as a designer/Art Director & storyteller? An inflection point of your career development per se. 

Coming from a place where it’s intensely diverse, the initial move to Denver was difficult. When I took that leap of faith, it really taught me how much I missed that diversity. It was really just a point of reality, I might not have the rest of the world that looks exactly the same and speaks the same language. That doesn't necessarily mean I can't say anything and step out of my comfort zone. I dived into a completely different culture and have been evolving constantly since my move from Miami. It’s important for others to put themselves in the shoes of someone else’s story. Specifically, it’s about being in the shoes of the person who is looking at the camera, and what I can do to help shape them. Even when working for these companies, I had a moment of realization where I said - “Oh wait, I can break those barriers.” I'm not afraid to be by myself and build my own empire because if i don't do it now, who else is going to have an example of someone who's gender queer and latinx? I can set a good example.

What's the toughest part about your job?

As of recently, racial profiling has been challenging - whether it's me being Pervian or queer. Ever since I left my last job, I've been focusing on other minorities that have businesses and have been developing strategies in order to help them thrive. We must educate ourselves about people which will then enhance our understanding of one another.

So much of your work is about storytelling. What do you want your viewers to get from your work?

A lot of my work is inspired by people. Whether it's design or portraits (of my best friend), it comes from the stories that they may not be telling you out loud but they're there. I can ask them thousands and thousands of questions but you can extract so much by simply being around them to absorb everything and every aspect of it. Being in the shoes of the person that's in your camera, sensing what's behind her eyes and what they're saying. What’s their story? Somewhere in the world, someone is thinking about them. I like to tap into people and understand what those stories are and what we can do to help them tell their stories. I really enjoy being able to educate people about creativity and why it matters.

As a Peruvian from Miami. How has your heritage influenced your work? 

My work is heavily influenced by colors and I’ve realized that I should be proud of it. Especially in a place like Miami, it's not really a place where I needed to white wash myself. In my 20s, all of my work was so bright and now I'm not afraid to take a picture of myself and know that i'm fucking beautiful (laughter).

You're vocal about LGBTQIA+ rights and human rights & equality in general. Can you walk us through your personal journey living in Denver as a Peruvian in the queer community. Have you experienced discrimination? 

Yes, I have. I guess when I first came to Denver, I was asked this a lot. I was asked specifically about how it felt to represent multiple minorities. It's a weird title to hear - not because I’m not proud of it but it hits me at different points. It's also about who I am and who my ancestors are. It has nothing to do with my citizenship but how I'm being judged. I still see myself as a freaking human being who just wants to be treated like one. Coming to Denver, I realized that conversations aren’t being had. Although Denver does come across as a liberal city simply because THC is legalized, there's still a lot of racial profiling and that's happening at work places. HR systems aren't trained in it - they still choose to be uncomfortable with the conversations. It doesn't need to be defensive or taken defensively. Coming about from me, just being Peruvian is what we call miniature Cuban (aka Miami). That was one experience. Even though I had a lot of people backing me up because there were a lot of Latin people, I still worked in a corporate world and a lot of corporate conversations were still being had with white executives. A lot of necessary conversations aren't being had in the corporate world - so moving forward from that and still experiencing the same thing in Denver made me realize that no matter where I go, I'll still be exposed to these defensive barriers. It sucks but it doesn't mean I can't initiate these conversations. Even if the fight stops today, it doesn't mean the discriminiation stops today. It takes every day, constant talks and conversations. My experience was filled with a lot of letdowns. In many ways, they really just educated me in what I want to do with my life which not only entails being creative and bold, but (more importantly) a great human being. 

What do you want to see changed in the next 5 years? 

More compassion - we forget about that. We forget how to listen and talk to one another. We forget how to put our barriers down - don't find excuses. Hold yourself a second and hear what people have to say because that teaches you at the end of the day. I would like to see more leadership spots filled by those who are underrepresented. It’s not that they don't exist but it's unfortunate that companies don't showcase diversity more. There’s excuses like, “it's impossible to find diversity because of where we are.”  It's the dumbest thing - it's not impossible to find a black leader or to find a black trans leader, and it's definitely not impossible to find a Fillipino leader. I hope that it's not a conversation anymore; I’m not saying that diversity doesn't need to be talked about but I hope we don't have to talk about it anymore like it’s still a big issue in the future. I wish we would just finally realize that we're all human beings. 

What are your top 4 favorite trends?

Supporting black industry. Most importantly, trying to understand what’s going on in the world and how that will affect my career and the people I’m currently working with. Not only do I need to understand the prospect of my own story, but other people's stories. I’m really trying to understand TikTok. I’m trying to adjust the algorithm so that it supports black and indigenous content creators. I've been stepping away from trends themselves and have really been focusing more on people. I want to educate myself and remind myself that this just isn’t about me, it’s about what’s going on in the world.