La Lucha Continua, from the portfolio "Guariquen: Images and Words Rican/Structured"
Juan Sanchez American
Printer Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop
Publisher Exit Art/The First World
Not on view
Here, Sánchez juxtaposes Catholic imagery, family photographs, symbols of tropical lands, and barbed wire. A holy card showing San Martin de Porres is placed above a black-and-white photograph of a young girl in a white lace dress against which falls a silver cross. The nostalgic quality of the image is reinforced by a caption that identifies it as of a girl at her first communion. In addition to symbols of religious devotion are allusions to the Caribbean—as seen in the three crossed-out palm trees—and political oppression. Beneath the barbed wire on the right is a text written in both English and Spanish about "democracy’s prisons," a reference to political prisoners (such as those who fought for Puerto Rican independence), while statements translating to "the fight continues" and "fire and spirit" connote resistance and resilience.