This project established a collaboration with Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos. Within the resistance movements in Puerto Rico, Casa Julia, is the first women's shelter in Puerto Rico and Latin America, which provides services to women survivors of domestic violence through different programs.

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This mural pays tribute to Casa Julia's founders, Mercedes Rodríguez López and Mary Anne Maldonado. In addition, the project incorporated its participants through art therapy workshops facilitated by Urania Dominguez, and community art workshops facilitated by members of the collective. Together with participants from Casa Julia, the construction of a visual imaginary was articulated.  The conceptualization process was informed from the background of the organization and the experiences of the survivors.

 

The mural's highlights include the monarch butterfly, a symbol of transformation and freedom; the Harrisia portoricensis cactus, which blooms in the midst of adverse conditions and represents inner strength; and the tree, an image present in the poem Yo misma fui mi ruta by Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos, whose life and work inspired the creation of the Casa Julia as an organization. The tree represented in the mural is the Guayacán Centenario, endemic to Puerto Rico, which survives in the arid climate of the Guánica Dry Forest.

 

We are forever grateful to Casa Julia for the collaboration of this beautiful project and to the Municipality of Ponce for their support. The mural is located at the Terminal de Carros Públicos at Ponce, Puerto Rico.