Banana Rana

The Latin American “Banana Wars” were a culmination of corporate intervention, overreach and colonialism at its finest that have left lasting scars on the region. Despite our land being rich and fertile, our people remain poor. Frogs are a key symbol of transformation, luck, and abundance in both my home countries of Puerto Rico and Panama, and nightly frog choirs are as sure as the setting sun. In my work I explore reclamation with my frogs as a symbol of transformation, turning symbols of corporate profiteering such as the golden banana into a teaming swarm of frogs. They represent the dream of millions of Central Americans, to reclaim agency and control of their own future. I use a combination of textiles and ceramics for these pieces for a multitude of reasons, including the juxtaposition of the soft and approachable fabric banana and the solid rigidity of the ceramic frogs. The hand and labor play an important role in these representations.