Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Artist Rocky Casillas Aguirre has created a mental health universe populated by a ragtag cast of characters.

Twitch is the protagonist. He’s bright orange, with big cartoon eyes and very cute.

“He’s a little campfire flame, and he represents the kid in all of us who sees the world with curious eyes and has lots of questions,” Casillas Aguirre says.

Then there’s his best friend and mentor, Mystic Weenie, an ancient hot dog.

“He’s about 5,000 years old, has a lot of wisdom, has seen a lot of things.” 

Joining them is the easy-going Pablo. “A little Mexican snail who travels the world with his little knapsack full of snacks,” Casillas Aguirre says. “He wants to learn about different cultures, different ways of life, and his motto is, ‘Slow your roll.’”

There’s a talking brain, Dr. Lola the Axolotl and many more. They go on healing journeys together, riding a rainbow of emotions and learning mindfulness. Now, they are on view at the Northfield Arts Guild for Casilla Aguirre’s first solo show, 

“U are the Universe (Eres El Universo),” 

a bilingual all-ages immersive exhibition about mental health. 

The gallery is filled with more than 70 comics, animations and sculptures that employ both English and Spanish, including a medicine cabinet with fake prescriptions for meditation (meditación), laughter (risa), fresh air (aire fresco) and cat cuddles (abraza un gato). 

In a series of comics, Twitch advises on the different kinds of meditation (sound, breath, walking and more). A comic guide explains “How the body responds to stress/Cómo responde el cuerpo al estrés” with cartoons of a howling amygdala (amígdala) and dancing adrenal glands (glándulas suprarrenales).

The exhibition is inspired by Casillas Aguirre’s own challenges with mental health. When the pandemic hit, he began to struggle with anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia and hallucinations.

“I didn’t grow up talking about mental health at home, so I didn’t have any resources or tools that I could lean on,” he says.

He saw doctors and therapists, and started meditating and drawing.

“I took refuge in art, which is something that I’ve done all of my life, as a little kid,” Casillas Aguirre says. “Between meditating and just practicing self-care and drawing my feelings, I found a new purpose, my art found new purpose, and that was to communicate about mental health.”

Casillas Aguirre has a background in conservation biology and was the 

, a nonprofit regenerative agriculture farm outside of Northfield, but he decided to become a full-time artist.

“A lot of my art is geared towards youth, because I'm trying to create the resources that I didn't have growing up in hopes that the kids of today will grow up to be happy, healthy adults tomorrow,” Casillas Aguirre says.

He has done art sessions with students at Bridgewater Elementary and has a partnership with the Northfield Public Library, where some of his murals are on view in the children’s section. The library also has copies of his children’s book featuring Twitch and Mystic Weenie: “Where Did the Anxiety Go?”, which is also published in Spanish, Somali and Swahili.

Looking at mental health from a Latino perspective

The artist’s work is also geared towards the Latino community. Angelica Linder, the library outreach manager who does bilingual programming, says Casillas Aguirre is bringing awareness to an important issue.

“Our community, we are not taught how to express our feelings. You just tough it up and move on and then that's it,” Linder says.

She likes Casillas Aguirre’s colorful artwork because it makes mental health discussions more approachable and positive. She calls it a “combination of his heritage, the mental health aspect, bringing awareness to some strong issues in our community, and all through art without feeling sad after looking at it.”

Casillas Aguirre was born in Tijuana, Mexico, but he spent most of his life in Northfield. 

At the gallery, he stands in front of one of his posters. It features a little cartoon figure wearing an Aztec headdress surrounded by thought bubbles in English and Spanish. For the piece, Casillas Aguirre interviewed people in the local Latino communities about their anxieties and used their responses, anonymously.

“Looking at mental health from a Latino perspective, there are a lot of things that Latinos are stressed out from that the white community may or may not relate to,” he says. “I was undocumented growing up and have been a citizen for about eight years. There are a lot of these things that I can relate to.”

The thought bubbles include concerns about going to the doctor without an interpreter, running out of food, childcare, making rent payments and racism.

“There’s one that says ‘ICE immigration officials took my friend yesterday. What’s going to happen to her kids?’” Casillas Aguirre says. “That, as we know with the current administration, is happening more and more. Latinos don’t feel safe, they don’t feel welcome.”

In his experience, Casillas Aguirre says there’s still a stigma about discussing mental health in the Latino community, which has been heightened by the political climate. He hopes his art can be a catalyst.

“A lot of people suffer from anxiety, stress, etcetera, and once we start talking about it more, I really think that that can lead to individual healing and collective healing for entire communities,” Casillas Aguirre says.

He points to another poster with community responses. It’s titled “Why don’t we talk about mental health?/¿Por qué no hablamos de la salud mental?”

One thought bubble says it’s because society tells them to “keep it together,” others say it’s generational: Their parents didn’t talk about it, so they don’t either.

Casillas Aguirre points to Twitch calling out from the bottom of the poster.

“Twitch says: Friends, let’s be brave and talk about mental health more at home with our kids and within our communities,” he reads. “If we can allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be honest with ourselves, to keep our hearts open, we can find healing together. Everyone deserves happiness, including you.”

 “U are the Universe (Eres El Universo)” closes at the Northfield Arts Guild Aug. 2. In September, the show will travel to Mercado Local in Northfield. The show will then be on view April 13 through June 13, 2026 at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault.

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

Shows

All Things Considered

NewsPartners

Homepage

Minnesota Arts

North Star Journey

Alex V. Cipolle

Author

Rocky Casillas Aguirre’s bilingual art show, “U are the Universe,” uses playful cartoon characters to explore mental health in a way that’s accessible to Latino youth and families.

Cartoons, culture and care: Latino artist creates bilingual mental health universe

Go Deeper.

Like this?