Brenda Melgoza Ciardiello and Daniela Oliver de Portillo at Casa Pink

At Casa Pink in San Antonio, a group exhibition titled "The Things We Carry: Un Destino, una Vida" features works by Brenda Melgoza Ciardiello and Daniela Oliver de Portillo, co-curated by Casie Lomeli and Leslie Moody Castro. The show runs through May 30, 2026. Oliver de Portillo's piece "What Lies Ahead…Un Destino, Una Vida" depicts an orchid in cyanotype, inspired by a photo of her son Emiliano during the 2020 pandemic shutdown. Her work "Todavía No Sé Qué Siento About Being a Woman Here Anymore," originally a 2021 mural at Clamp Light Gallery responding to Texas Senate Bill 8, now addresses immigration and citizenship struggles. Ciardiello's diptych "yo quiero ser un solo ser" references a Pedro Infante song and explores her discovery that her father was not biological. Her photo montage "cafecito" superimposes a childhood picnic onto a Zócalo plaza photo. The exhibition is housed in the Ortiz-owned compound Casa Pink, which includes a studio, coffee shop, and gallery.