Ave de Nuria

In Ave de Nuria, I used photographs of my mother’s birthday in Ciudad Juarez showing her hitting a piñata as a metaphor for a larger fight for citizenship. The title Ave de Nuria plays on my mother's name, Nuria, and the Spanish hail Mary by the same name. At its core, the work explores the ongoing struggle with immigration and the persistence needed to navigate hierarchical systems of power. The repetitive imagery of hitting the piñata, along with the chant “Dale, dale, no pierdas el tiro” (“Come on, hit it, don’t miss your shot”) also emphasizes that persistence. I also think of the pressures on women to conform and back down, yet they exist as my most enduring role models, their very existence subverting and challenging hierarchies. The comically large bat against the piñata briefly gives agency to my mother (perhaps me) to eventually topple everything down.