NEW! “Suenos de San Juan Diego” ©2021
Head 14”x8.5”x7”
Hands & Paño 16”x x16.5”x3.5”
hand carved and painted wood
$8,500
Available at Arthur Lopez Studio
for info call 505-986-9540
or Email: artplopez@aol.com
“Sueños de Juan Diego” (Dreams of Juan Diego)
On December 9, 1531 Our Lady of Guadalupe first appeared to the peasant Juan Diego on the outskirts of Mexico City. Our Lady told Diego to have the local bishop build a church at this site, when the local Spanish bishop demanded proof of the apparition, it was on Juan Diego’s cloak that the Virgin of Guadalupe miraculously imprinted her image.
I depicted San Juan Diego as a cholo holding a prison paño (handkerchief,) imprinted with images of Guadalupe and immigrant symbolism. Paño’s were first created by chicano prisoners in the 1930’s as a way to communicate messages. The paño incorporates images of Our Lady of Guadalupe also referred to as “Mother without borders” by migrant people because Our Lady of Guadalupe is a symbol of Mexican identity, faith, motherhood, feminism and social justice. By choosing to appear to the peasant Juan Diego she has always been looked to by the people the rest of the world rejects, such as the immigrants who are viewed by many as illegal criminals and subjecting them to imprisonment.
She is invoked for safe travels, love, compassion and human dignity for all. The images on the paño show the hard traveled path taken for the dream of a better life. A descanso (grave marker) show the lengths migrants are willing to take for that dream.
- Arthur Lopez
