This year, for the Luminaria Contemporary Art Festival, I teamed up with my sibling Mel Tierra under the group name “Los Tierras.”

For our installation, we crafted a large paper mache sculpture made mostly from recycled materials.

The sculpture reflects a legend from ancient Mesoamerica about the opossum. According to the story, the opossum was a figure who took fire from the gods and shared it with humanity out of empathy, even though it was perceived as a thief. This story highlights themes of empowerment, generosity, rebellion, and compassion, which I find very inspiring to our community and worth nurturing.

A special thanks goes out to Rudy Herrera (aka CholoTears) for welcoming us into the studio.

I want to give a special thank you Peter Curry, @deathtocontent @wormtoe_
@avocado.mariposa @zooeylynnn without their contributions, time, and support, this sculpture couldn’t have happened.