Liz Flores adds Latinidad to Cubs’ ‘Cachorros’ jersey

In many ways, the basement of muralist Liz Flores’ childhood home in the Chicago suburbs was devoted to the Chicago White Sox, Marvel and DC Comics and Star Trek. There will surely be a Cubs addition soon, though.

Like a great majority of Mexican Americans living on the south side of Chicago or the suburbs south of the Windy City, Flores’ father Jaime Flores is a diehard White Sox fan. He has the mementoes to prove it.  

Liz Flores inherited her father’s White Sox fandom, but she knows enough about the iconic Chicago Cubs brand to have been receptive when the Cubs commissioned her to design the organization’s Hispanic Heritage Night jersey.

“I’m excited,” she said. “It’s been really fun to work on it. It’s been it seems like such a long process.”

Liz Flores’ murals can be found in Chicago. Her paintings are also in galleries in New York, Los Angeles and Italy. Although she’s clearly versatile, a great percentage of Flores’ work are figurative portraits. Most of those portraits feature women.

According to the 2020 census, Latinos account for almost 29.7 percent of the Chicago population. Whites represent 31.4 percent of Chicago’s population, and African Americans account for 28.7.

Proud Latina

Flores is the daughter of a Mexican American father and a Cuban mother. Her mother Lizet arrived in the United States from Cuba at 12 years old. Flores’ Latina pride oozes in her work. She counts the iconic Frida Kahlo, the late Mexican muralist, among her inspirations. She’s also a fan of Mexican artists Hilda Palafox and Ana Leovy.

“I’m very much inspired by like Latinad,” she says. “Being a Latina, just being a woman and womanhood and doing a lot of just storytelling through my paintings. 

“And so, you know, I always hope that people can see themselves in the paintings or feel some sort of connection to the story I’m trying to tell through the painting or what I’m trying to say through the painting. And yeah, I would say that’s kind of who I am in a nutshell.”

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The Cubs are the latest Chicago professional sports team to collaborate with Flores. She worked with the Chicago Bulls to design a hat last year. In December 2023, she also helped the Bulls design a new basketball court at The Miracle Center in Chicago.

The Cubs reached out to her about a year ago to ask if she’d be interested in collaborating on a Hispanic Heritage jersey. Flores accepted the offer and began working on the jersey early this year. Suddenly, her canvas was much smaller than her usual formats.

New challenge

“It’s really different,” she said. “I feel like going from designing apparel is so different than something like a flat, you know, a flat surface. … It’s like a challenge.

“And it’s good to just kind of flex also like your skills as an artist. I think going from paintings to then murals and things like that, I try not to complicate it too much in my head.”

The “Cachorros” souvenir Latino Heritage jersey and ticket package for tonight’s game at Wrigley Field already sold out. But T-shirts with Flores’ special design will be available for sale. 

Liz Flores knows her family has divided baseball loyalties. Some love the White Sox. Others love the Cubs. For one night, at least, they’ll all pull for the person in the Cubs jersey on the mound when she throws out the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field.

“I love Chicago,” she says. “And so it is such an honor to be making something for the Cubs, for Latinos who are Cubs fans.”