The 2023-24 Phoenix Suns have gotten a lot of attention around the NBA for their big three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal — and, to an extent, for the injuries that have kept them from playing together for stretches of the season.
But, the Suns this year have also gotten attention for their new City Edition uniforms — known as El Valle. And, according to Miguel Angel Godoy, they pay homage to Chicano culture — specifically lowrider culture.
Godoy is a muralist and instructor of painting and drawing at Arizona State University. He also designed the jerseys.
He pointed out the lettering of the words El Valle is influenced by the script in the logos of lowrider cars. And, he says the numbers pay tribute to the block letter style of Chicano typography.
The Show spoke with him about his work and this project, including how he describes his style of art.
MIGUEL ANGEL GODOY: It's, it's ...
BRODIE: Tough one, huh?
GODOY: That's a wild question.
BRODIE: Yeah.
GODOY: Yes. Every project kind of has its own mandate, right? And I think for me, being a designer, I've been able to kind of lean on the needs of the community, right, when I'm, you know, let's just talk about some of the community-based murals that I've done locally. It's really about the imagery that they want to see, right, and kind of being inspired by their intentions. And so with that comes all types of imagery, right, from graphic to realistic. And so my style changes. It changes from project to project, but I think one thing that's the most consistent is really color, the idea of color and the impact that it has on the community, on people.
BRODIE: Well, so what's your process then, for, I guess, taking input, like when you go to a community group or a school or a place that has commissioned a work of yours, you want to sort of represent them. You want to have their, you know, them reflected in your work. How do you try to go about learning about them and incorporating that into what you're doing?
GODOY: Right, it’s mostly through a prompt. It's, it's a, you know, I'll have prompts set up, and sometimes it's just a quick, it's a simple prompt, right? Maybe one, two or three prompts, and that starts the conversation. And then I think from there is when I start to listen, right? I take notes. I've got my clipboard out, and I'm constantly taking notes.
BRODIE: OK.
GODOY: Things that I can refer back to, but it's really about listening and hearing out their ideas and what it is that they want to see.
BRODIE: I've read in other interviews where you've talked about really sort of leaning into your background, your culture in terms of some of the artwork that you do as well. How big of a component is that?
GODOY: I think it's huge, right? Because I can't avoid it, you know, even if I tried to, right, those are my roots. I bring all these lessons with me. I bring all this aesthetic with me from all these different, different art forms and so, yeah, culturally, as a Chicano, definitely inspired by a lot of things.
First of all, the low rider culture, right? Chicano art, which I'm inspired by from my dad's drawings, then murals, right? Hip hop graffiti, and seeing the ties between those and low rider art and Chicano art, and then the Mexican muralists, right? And so I kind of bring all that with me, regardless of what intention, what design mandate there is, it's it will always be there.
BRODIE: So you mentioned your dad, and I know that you are not the only artist in your family, obviously, your dad, but your mom also was very artistic and crafty. Like, how much of this being sort of a family affair played into what you do now?
GODOY: So much, so much. I mean, you can imagine every holiday my mother really going all out and with decorations. And, I mean, we'd be pulling all nighters as a family.
BRODIE: Sounds like fun.
GODOY: It was a little crazy for them at the time, but then, you know, seeing the reward after, right? Like seeing, you know, all our hard work and, and that's been since I was real young. But it's kind of two things, right? There's this umbrella of craftsmanship. Everything falls under this idea of craftsmanship and hard work. And I think that's what I really gained from both my mother and my father, not just me, but my two brothers and my sister were all into the arts.
BRODIE: And your kids, too, right?
GODOY: And my kids as well.
BRODIE: Yes, that's amazing. So what does it mean for you, then, to have taken part in this latest project in terms of designing these El Valle jerseys and the other merchandise for the Suns?
GODOY: It's, it's, you know, first of all, I feel super honored, right? Like, that's, that's, I just, I feel I have so much gratitude for having had the opportunity to collaborate with the suns on on the El Valle uniform, and knowing that I was able to lean on my background, really lean on my chicanismo, right, like my Chicano heritage, really being able to lean on that with this design, and knowing that it was going to be representing a whole people, a whole Raza, right? So for me, that was huge. And then to know, or now know how well it has been accepted, and it's really overwhelming.
BRODIE: Yeah. Well, so in terms of working with the team and trying to figure out what you're going to do, because I would imagine that's pretty daunting, right? Like an NBA team comes to you and says, “hey, we'd like you to design a jersey for us, a uniform for us.” Like, where do you even start?
GODOY: Right. Yeah, so the, yeah, I think, I think the idea was, so there was a debrief, right? A design debrief, after which I signed on for the project and learned a little bit more about it, and then read through the debrief. The main intention was really celebrating, you know what the City Edition, with the City Edition is really celebrating kind of the community, right, the city's breath.
And so we were looking at the demographic of who was coming to the games. It was first, second and third generation Mexican Americans. So we know, and we knew that in this they knew that in this City Edition, they want to celebrate the Mexican American story. And so that was, that was this, that was the debrief. That was basically, we're talking about prompts, right? That was the prompt, OK, right?
How in an NBA uniform can we really tell the story of what it means to be bicultural, right? What it means to be there's a saying in Spanish … I'm not from here, I'm not from there, and really sharing this beautiful story of being bicultural. So that was the prompt, and it's layered, right? There's so many ways to tell this story, but what we kept coming back to was the idea of low rider culture, because that's something that is exclusively Mexican American or Chicano.
BRODIE: When I've read where you've said in the past, part of the goal here was to destigmatize low rider culture. I'm curious how you try to go about doing that in a project like this?
GODOY: Yeah, I think, I think, definitely being intentional with our work, right? Like knowing that, you know, there's some things that will have to change, and we really, and it's, we're covering many things, right? It has to be sporty. It's on an NBA jersey, right? But we also have to be authentic. We also have to tell the story of low rider culture. And so I think that in and of itself, the fact that the Phoenix Suns, the fact that there's a NBA jersey celebrating low rider culture, I think that, by itself, destigmatizes it, because it's really this huge platform that's embracing something a beautiful culture, right? And really telling the story the way it should be told.
BRODIE: I want to ask about the significance of the fact that there's Spanish on the jersey. It doesn't say the Valley. Doesn't say El Valley. Like in the past, we've seen Los Suns. This is El Valle. This is totally in Spanish.
GODOY: Yes. Yeah, that's huge, right? Representation always, and in always, and, and that's what Spanish, right? Like, why not? Why, why, why not? And I think, yeah, just that idea by itself, the fact that there is this, this NBA team that's represented through the Spanish language. El Valle, right? I think that's huge.
BRODIE: As you were thinking about designing this, how did you try to merge the team's existing logos and colors into what you were trying to create?
GODOY: I think the beauty of the city edition is that you have some flexibility, right? OK, that you can kind of steer away, not too far away, yeah, but from there, from their lexicon. And fortunately for us, here in Phoenix, we have these beautiful sunsets right, which I've been painting on my murals since I got here five years ago. And I've been actually using this color palette for a long time, even before, because I'm really drawn to color, like I was telling you. And so this is actually a gradient that I've used in several of my works.
And so, yeah, it started with that, right? It started with that. And then really this idea of these magentas and these pinks and these rich colors is something that you're going to see in paint jobs on low riders, right? They're bold colors that make a bold statement, and so it just kind of fell hand in hand, right? They just kind of worked really well.
BRODIE: Did you have a number of drafts? I'm not sure if you call them drafts in art, but like, did you have other versions that you had created that didn't seem quite right to you before you came upon this one?
GODOY: Absolutely, absolutely. There's probably, like, five or six.
BRODIE: OK, yeah. And how did you know that this was the one?
GODOY: I think, through all the listening, right? We're talking about listening, right? And so through all the listening and hearing out all the conversations, we'd have check-ins with Nike and the NBA, and I'd have my own check-ins with the Suns. And there were some things that were working, and then there were some things that weren't right, and then, but just listening and coming back to the revisions, and then knowing, having a better idea of where we were going, once we settled on the idea of representing low rider culture, Chicano culture, that that was it. I think, I think that's when I knew exactly what it was I had to do. And really the aha moment I had it. I knew I had it in the pocket. I was really confident with what I had. But I think the aha moment was when I took it to the Suns.
BRODIE: OK.
GODOY: I saw their eyes light up. And that's when I think we all knew that this is it.
BRODIE: That must have felt amazing.
GODOY: It was.
BRODIE: So I've got to ask, because one of the sun's stars, Devin Booker, is also very into low rider culture. Did you guys have any kind of conversations about, like, if he's going to be wearing these uniforms, and this is something that he's also pretty knowledgeable about, like, did he have any input? Or do you have any suggestions or feedback for you?
GODOY: Not, not on the uniform, necessarily. This was all kind of two years ago.
BRODIE: OK.
GODOY: But yeah, he's very much into lower culture. He's part Chicano, right? And so a lot of us Chicanos or Mexicanos here in the Valley, we know that. And so it's kind of like he's our guy, right?
BRODIE: Yeah.
GODOY: He's Raza. He's our guy. And so that was, that was another part. I was already a fan of Booker, and so knowing that, too, that kind of added to the whole responsibility behind, you know the design for sure.
BRODIE: Did you feel a responsibility in creating this?
GODOY: Very much. So, very much. So, yeah, definitely representing a whole culture, representing a whole city, absolutely.
BRODIE: So what does it feel like to you to watch the Phoenix Suns play in jerseys that you have designed and an arena full of fans, many of whom are wearing them themselves?
GODOY: It's, it's surreal, right? If there's one word I can say, it's surreal, and it doesn't get old. You know, I often get asked that question, does it kind of get old after I was like, no, it doesn't. It doesn't. I get excited when I see posts on Instagram. I get excited when I'm at the sports shops and they have the whole El Valle section.
It's, yeah, if I can go back to that first day, right? The first the first in season tournament game where they were actually wearing the jerseys. It was just seeing them move with the jersey. And like knowing all the thoughts that went into kind of how this plays out, right? Because there's a whole difference. It's a whole different animal, right when, when you're putting your artwork on, something that's moving, something that's going to be interpreted, and it has to be legible, it has to be quick, and it's just so different. And so seeing it in person and knowing that we got it right, I think that's that, you know, technically, like, if I can just speak technically, I think that was probably the biggest impact.
BRODIE: That’s really interesting, because, as you say you're very experienced in doing murals, which are, of course, not moving, like they stay where they are, yes. But not only are these jerseys moving, they're moving very quickly, and doing all sorts of actions that maybe, maybe you could envision, maybe you couldn't, but you still had to design with that in mind. That's a really interesting concept.
GODOY: Right. Absolutely. Yeah. And with every project, right? Whether it's a mural or design, it all takes different forms.
BRODIE: So what goes through your mind, given all the thought that went into the design and the making of this, of this jersey, of this design, like what goes through your head when you see the Sun's playing it, and you see people wearing it, especially given you know what you said about trying to destigmatize this community and sort of raise awareness and encourage inclusion like that must that must be a big deal?
GODOY: It is a huge deal. And knowing that not all, obviously not all the players are Chicanos, right, but they're still embracing this identity. They're still embracing this idea. I think that, for me, has been the most beautiful part. And not just the players, but the entire Phoenix community.
We were at a sporting goods store the other day, and there was a couple that was not, not of Mexican descent, and they were so jazzed up on the uniform. And my wife - she's, everywhere we go,he's like “he designed,” and I love her so much for that. And at that moment, I felt like I should have said something. I didn't. I felt like I should have said something, but it was just, I just kind of took a back seat, and I was really appreciating that moment where they were embracing it, you know? And so, yeah, when we speak about inclusion, it's there.
BRODIE: That seems like it would be very validating, not only to see your product in stores and, you know, on the court, but also to see people who maybe otherwise would have no reason to embrace it, embrace it.
GODOY: Absolutely. Yeah, that's huge.
BRODIE: So let's go through the jersey a little bit, because we talked about the El Valle at the top, and you talked about the color palette as well. The side panels are really interesting. And in, in hearing you talk about this in the past, that seems to be sort of where you really try to embrace what, what these low riders, what these cars actually look like.
GODOY: Yes, right. Yeah that, that side panel is really the celebration. If you look at, you know, these beautiful paint jobs on these low riders, you know, they go down the side, right? So I got the schematic from the suns on the uniform, and I flipped it on its side, and it almost looks like a car. I even drew two tires on it. And I said, this is the car. This is the side panel. And so it helped me reframe the way I was thinking about this jersey. And we almost started to look at it as if it were a low rider. And so we knew that we had to celebrate this beautiful paint job on this side panel.
