“Que Dios te acompañe” is a Spanish term that means God be with you. A phrase that I wanted to use as the title to represent what many migrating people receive from loved ones as a blessing before they leave on their journey crossing the border to the United States.
A key component in cyanotype printing involves the sun exposing the image onto a flat surface, connecting the sun with symbolic references of both Mexica and Catholic religions. The graffiti rendition of Quetzalcóatl on the border, who is known as the “Second Sun” in the Mexica creation myth, parallels with a photo of Tepeyac Hill located in the suburbs of Mexico City. This holy site is believed to be where the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe appeared to an Indigenous Nahua man, Juan Diego, in 1531, among other Indigenous peoples who later converted to Christianity during the 16th century. Her image contains rays of sunlight being emitted behind her to show she is more powerful than the Mexica sun gods.
The Aztlán migration, an event where the Mexica civilization traveled south toward the valleys of Mexico and settled to become the Mexica Empire, is reminiscent of the current migrations of their descendants heading to the United States. By using photos that I took of the border—one including a graffiti drawing of a parent traveling with their child and a landscape that includes the border—I wanted to visually describe the terrain and the sacrificial decisions parents make to bring their children alongside them, paving the way for new generations to have better outcomes. Finally, the rosary that surrounds each of my images is an item many Catholics use for prayer but also for divine protection, often carried by those who cross, providing a sense of security throughout a venture full of unpredictable scenarios.