¡Ay Ay Ay! 2020-2021

Film + Collaboration: Stefany Turrado

¡Ay Ay Ay!, an interchangeable exclamation for both pleasure and pain, is a musing on Brown community, love, labor, survival, comfort, pain and family; a tribute. 

¡Ay Ay Ay! es una reflexión sobre la comunidad, el amor, el labor, la sobrevivencia, la comodidad, el dolor y la familia en la cultura Latina; un tributo

Performed over the course of 12 hours in Red Hook, NY.

Video Installations:

  • North - Raspado (Abolish ICE/Abolir ICE)

For the duration of 210 minutes, using a raspador, a tool used to make Mexican style snow cones called raspados, I scrape away at a 50lb block of ice. This is my literal translation of abolishing ICE, the system that has affected many Latino communities. This piece was done as a response to the inhumane actions Immigration and Customs Enforcement has carried out on people, especially children. 

 

  • West - Nopales (Nutrir/Nourish)

Within a 60 minute period, I clean and remove the spines of nopales (cactus pads), a common ingredient in Mexican cuisine known to have bountiful nourishing qualities. They are prepared for consumption by removing the thorns, or spines. I clean and remove the spines as a symbolic ritual to clear the Latino community of its pain and traumas, in the hope that the river water will wash them away where they can propagate and flourish freely; the pain and trauma transitioning into healing and growth.

 

  • South - Conchitas (Pavimentar el Camino/Pave the Way)

Over the course of 120 minutes, using conchitas, a type of Mexican sweet bread, and tile laying tools, I lay an emblematic path through the California desert. This path made of sweet, soft and bright bread is symbolic of the path our fathers and mothers have paved by immigrating to the U.S. across the Southern borders, in order to give us a sweet, soft and bright future. This is dedicated to those who have come before to pave the way for those of us who are here and those of us to come.

 

  • East - Naranjas (Los Frutos de Nuestro Labor/The Fruits of Our Labor)

During a 90 minute period, I use a Mexican hand juicer to juice a mound of oranges to signify the richness and abundance of family, joy, love and creativity in Latino culture. It is a nod to street vendors and their relentless hard work that provides for their families.

 

Video Installation Work - Film: Stefany Turrado, Editing: Annabel Turrado

Live Performance Footage - Film & Editing: Sierra Hendrix

©2023