Sylvia Carrasco
Pastel

One thousand seven hundred years ago on a small island near the coast of the current Mexican state of Campeche, Mayans built a ceremonial center called HANAL (house of water). The land was barren so the Maya transported material from the mainland to construct buildings and temples. Centuries later, after the arrival of the Spanish conquerors in 1519 the area's name was changed to JAINA, by which it is still known today.

Numerous pre-Hispanic tombs have been discovered in Jaina. In keeping with Mayan tradition, they were filled with various utensils and ceremonial objects like bone picks, vases, stone tools and, above all, small clay statuettes, The latter are the objects that have given Jaina its fame, for they depict the people of the island with such fidelity, it as if they had been returned from dead.

Sylvia Carrasco has been inspired by this story, and as a result, she painted one of the high priests, since it bears one of the ornaments typical of this caste.