Why Animals

Animals became the mirror through which I finally learned to understand my own story.

The answer is rooted in loss. When life demanded that I be complex and strong, it was they — especially Niño — who taught me the brutal, honest simplicity of existence. Animals are the language of purity. Because they don't use words, they're direct symbols of the strength, tenderness, and resilience that adult life trains us to hide.

They helped me take off the armor and find the truth my own story couldn't articulate. So my art is not about them — it's through them. They are the interpreters of the soul, the channel that lets me heal and pass some of that light on to others. They became the guide that brought me back to peace.

For a moment I had doubts: would animals offer enough material for a long-term project?

Then I remembered that my country, Colombia, is considered the third most biodiverse country in the world for living species and the fourth overall, with more than 67,000 recorded species of fauna and flora. It ranks first in birds and amphibians, and is one of the 12 megadiverse countries on the planet (Instituto Humboldt).

So yes — a long-term project built around animals is more than possible. Each animal is its own universe, capable of offering lessons and symbols. That's how I ended up with a list of more than 20 different themes to work through: qualities, myths and legends, stories, real accounts… but curiously, poems weren't on it. I didn't know then that they would end up becoming one of the most essential parts of this space.