“Todos Somos Mariposas” integrates the images that stuck out to me throughout our trip to the Dominican Republic. The clay bowl that the woman is balancing on the top of her head is representative of the woman we saw walking the beach with bowls and baskets of the items they were selling balancing on their heads. The face of the woman is loosely based off of a portrait of Maria Teresa Mirabal; a nod to one of my favorite moments of the trip, La Casa Museo Hermanas Mirabal. The nudity was simply an opportunity for me to paint the female form, a shape I am infinitely mesmerized by. The long billowing skirt is covered in flowers embroidered to imitate the flowered tiles on the ground of the dining area at Rancho Ecológico El Campeche.” —MariVi Madiedo

“Todos Somos Mariposas” was inspired by the Americas Scholars’ 2019 trip to the Dominican Republic.