Las Nueve Demandas is a mixed-media installation that uses hand-sewn layers of oil-painted canvases, and screen-printed images to delve into the story of United Fruit Company workers in Colombia in 1928. Visitors can move through the installation’s nine hanging sections, which represent the nine demands made by the banana plantation workers to improve their working conditions during a strike that led to their massacre by the Colombian Army. For the artist, their demands represent the ongoing fight of the working class for fundamental human rights and against the damaging effects of imperialism. This installation aims to create a bridge between the past and present by presenting this history of labor abuse in the absence of unions.

Public programming

As part of the public programming for the Open Call at The Shed, I organized a panel discussion with labor activist, academic, and journalist Dan La Botz to examine how U.S. imperialism has shaped migration patterns from Latin America, a conversation aimed at contextualizing the installation within broader geopolitical frameworks.

I also conducted formal and informal presentations to engage the community and share more about the installation and its inspiration.