Abeja Mágica

“I feel like COVID is why my art has gotten out there more because the number of markets and pop-ups that are happening now [has] quadrupled since COVID,” said Isabelle Delgado.

Delgado creates art under the name “Abeja Mágica,” which translates to magic bee. Over the past months, she’s built up an online following for her political art even though she didn’t start selling her art in person until November of 2020.

According to Hannah Alley, the founder of Sidewalk Saturday. outdoor popup markets have become more popular than ever, “and that’s because with COVID, people feel more safe to be outside and to spend money locally,” said Delgado. The abundance of outdoor popup markets gives local artists a space to showcase and sell their art to the community. 

“I don’t really see myself going into a gallery or some type of indoor, like really fancy inaccessible space,” Delgado said. “What I do is really geared more towards political activism.”

According to her website,  “Abeja Mágica is about wearing, saying, and displaying what you believe and how you identify.” As a bilingual artist, she creates prints, stickers, and accessories in both english and spanish.

Delgado’s art is designed to be accessible and make a clear statement. Her “Vota” and “ACABE Con la Polica,”  designs spark important conversations about voting and police brutality. Her Doug Ducey “Pendejo” (which translates to “Stupid”) and “Defund Phoenix Police” designs appeal to both spanish and english speakers in Arizona by focusing on hot topics for the state. 

“We’ve been kind of force fed to think that equality exists and racism doesn’t but we know that’s not true,” said Delgado.  “A huge message that I have is around ending the police and ending mass incarceration.”

Before the pandemic began, Delgado was a full time elementary school music teacher. The combination of being afraid of catching COVID-19 and personal and political differences with the administration drove Delgado to quit. 

“All the music that I’m making now would never have been possible if I was teaching full time,” she said. Now that she isn’t spending 60 hours a week working as a teacher, Delgado has time to express herself through art and music. She was one of the first musicians to play when Sidewalk Saturday brought back live music. 

“My original music is more like my internal battles, and my digital and visual art is more external, or the battles I encounter,” Delgado explained. “I don’t really connect the two. They serve different purposes for me.”