“A Letter to the Spanish/
Una Carta a los Españoles/
Jump’éel túuxtaj t’aan ti Espanyolo’ob”
dry point engraving on archival paper
2023
print : 16×22″ (40x55cm)
framed:
$350
The engraved work “Una Carta a los Españoles/Jump’éel túuxtaj t’aan ti Espanyolo’ob (A Letter to the Spanish)” encapsulates the emotional and historical tension of reconciliation, reflecting on Spain’s historical atrocities and calling for accountability. Created using the dry-point technique, the work juxtaposes upright Mayan and inverted Castilian texts to create a disorienting effect, urging Spanish viewers to confront their historical role. The letter expresses the duality of my heritage as both colonizer and colonized, symbolized in the line, “My people were killed by the other part of my people.” It explores this internal conflict, stemming from both my Spanish great-grandfather’s severed ties and the lasting erasure of Mayan culture through colonization. The act of hand-engraving each letter mirrored my yearning to connect with my ancestral roots and reflected on the scars and enduring wounds of colonization, inviting reflection on complex identities shaped by history.
Robert Castillo 