"Trenzadas: Una cadena de saberes y vivencias"
"Braided: A chain of wisdom and experiences" is a series of Illustrations based on the ideas conceptualized in our Tallereo comunitario, a series of online workshops in which participants explore the creative process. We worked with our creativity and learned to conceptualize in collectivity.
The second concept drafted from these workshops centered on acts of care amongst women. The participants chose braiding as an example of an act of care amongst women that showed the knowledge we carry and pass on through such actions. Colectivo Moriviví brought these ideas to the visual language.
"Saberes trenzados"
"Braided wisdom"
Illustration by s.alguien
Latinamerican communities have particular histories: the distinctions of their culture, their tongues, and their accents; while at the same time being part of the "Latinamerican Reality". Latin America is united: by an entangled history, because of her food and fruits, by geography, because of a collision among races and miscegenation.
"Saberes Trenzadas" pays homage to the relations among women, and to the racial diversity that is part of our identity. It celebrates corn, rice, and cassava. And pays reverence to the blood that soaked and continues to soak the land.
The "Tallereo Comunitario" taught us that the encounters with our Latin American siblings quickly transform into spaces of creation and care. Between us, there is an affinity, and when we are brought together we begin to nourish each other in an organized manner.
"In the middle of crisis, we build proposals to relate with each other, love each other"
-Alejandra Laprea (Venezuelan Activist & Workshop participant)
"Entre-trenzada"
"Intertwined, Braided"
Illustration by s.alguien
"Entre-trenzada" pays homage to our indigenous roots, whose legacy we carry in our skin, our hair, our food, our relations of care, and our storytelling tradition. It pays tribute to corn, one of the foods that to this day keeps transcending cultures and borders.
"Trenzando mapas"
"Braiding Maps"
Illustration by Raysa Raquel
"In our hair, we carry the history and legacy of our mothers. That mess is where suffering, struggle, and resistance converge.
Braiding is a symbol of resistance. In each braiding, women meet, care for, and protect each other. I learned that our ancestors wove escape routes into their heads and kept seeds in them so they could survive the moment they could escape. Reflecting on this, I tried to represent in "Trenzando Mapas" the fabric that exists in the Caribbean and Latin America.
In the tallereo comunitario I was able to connect and share with women from Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, and other countries. As we talked, we realized that we suffer from the same problems and we share the same wishes of our communities. Despite the fact that bodies of water and trenches separate us, in the struggle we find each other.
I am honored and grateful to have been able to share and learn so much from these wise and powerful women. This approach not only allows me to reflect on what I have learned but also to know and connect even more with my Afro-ancestry and Afro-Caribbean people. With this illustration, I pay tribute to the women of our past, those who with blood fought tirelessly for our freedom."
"Entre surcos de oro"
"Between Furrows of Gold"
Illustration by Raysa Raquel
This braiding carries the history of survival of our African ancestors. In their braiding, they traced escape routes, saved seeds to grow where they could establish, and even kept gold.
Nowadays, we live in a world where afro-descendant culture has more media representation, but it also consumes it without honoring its meaning. Braiding is meaningful, precious, and so much more than a trend. We have the responsibility to honor it. With these images, we reclaim a space to pay that tribute.