I am deeply grateful to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Yeiry Guevara, Public Programs Manager at MFAH, for the opportunity to create this wonderful Anaconda sculpture.
I am also sincerely thankful to Pamela Anne Quiroz, Director of the Center for Mexican American and Latino/Studies (CMALS), for supporting the creation of the powerful video that beautifully captures the spirit of this piece.
The Festival: A Celebration of Myths and Memory
On November 10, 2024, MFAH hosted its third annual Fall Family Festival, themed “Myths and Leyendas.” The event blended public art, music, storytelling, and community to honor legends and folklore across the Americas.
I was one of six Latinx artists in Houston invited to create a temporary large-scale sculpture for the event. My contribution was a sculptural Anaconda rooted in memory, myth, and my personal connection to the Amazon.
The Story Behind the Sculpture
The Boa-Anaconda is a central mythological figure in Chiribiquete, a sacred park in Colombia. She is the Milky Way descending from the sky to become the Amazon River, the source of all life. She is also the jaguar’s sister, a powerful spirit who binds the elements together—sky, water, and earth.
Growing up, I heard stories of how she struck not with venom or teeth but with her tail, leaving deep bruises and an altered walk. Her embrace was feared, respected, and remembered. I learned to move cautiously through the forest, swim without touching the muddy riverbed, and be aware she might be near.
The Anaconda as Sculpture: A Space to Enter
From these stories emerged my sculpture:
A Boa that embraces you as you step inside.
Her body rolled up envelopes, creating a cocoon of sound, shadow, and sensation. Inside, the jungle comes alive—whispers, echoes, textures.
In contrast to the fear she may evoke, the body of my Anaconda becomes the Amazon River itself. Along her surface, I painted the creatures who inhabit its waters, bringing together myth and ecology in one flowing form.
She is not just something to look at.
She is a myth you can physically enter.
That’s the beauty of myth: it lives on when we step into it.
And art makes that possible.
This sculpture honored the stories that shaped me and invited others into a space where fear and beauty coexist, where the river becomes a body, and the body tells a story.
The Festival Atmosphere
Thanks to the generous support of H-E-B, the festival was free and open to all. Families played lotería using MFAH artworks, explored the sculpture garden, and enjoyed performances from Mariachi Nuevo Imperio, DJ Rosez, Quetzal Grupo Folklórico, and many more.
Food vendors like Cochinita & Co., Casita Coffee Co., Elotes HTX, Flor y Miel, and Sweets by Belen added flavor and comfort to the celebration.
The festival was organized in partnership with ALMAAHH (Advocates of a Latino Museum of Cultural and Visual Arts & Archive Complex in Houston), whose mission is to preserve and elevate Latino stories in public space.
My sculpture remained on view through November 17, allowing visitors to return and bring others into the story.