Protean Beings, 2023

Protean Beings is a performance art piece that grieves the plight of migrants and the environmental destruction of the borderlands with a hope of transmuting their pain into power. Dressed in a mourning cloak and embodying the energy of Coatlicue, the Aztec goddess of life and death, the artist performs a grieving ritual to honor the souls and the land that have suffered at the hands of the U.S. government.

The performance spotlights sites along migrant pathways throughout San Diego County and Imperial Valley:

New River, Calexico, CA: The New River flows from Mexicali and into Calexico. Migrants often swim through it to reach U.S. soil. It is the most polluted river of its size in North America.

Cemetery of Unidentified Migrants, Holtville, CA: In an unmarked dirt lot behind Terrace Park Cemetery lie the remains of hundreds of unidentified migrants. Their simple headstones are marked “John Doe” and “Jane Doe.”

30-Foot Walls, Calexico-Mexicali and San Diego-Tijuana Border: Migrants are facing a huge spike in life-altering injuries and death in their attempts to scale 30-foot walls. Border Patrol uses the third-space between primary and secondary walls as an open-air prison to detain migrants without shelter, food, and medicine during influxes.

Black’s Beach, La Jolla, CA: The risk of climbing walls leads migrants to take other dangerous measures to reach U.S. soil. In March at least ocho migrants died after a pair of human smuggling boats flipped in the waters off Black’s Beach. According to reports, it’s one of the deadliest migrant maritime incidents in U.S. history.

Friendship Park, Playas de Tijuana, B.C.: 30-foot walls are presently being constructed through this sacred park. The Tijuana River Valley and the ocean near it is deeply impacted by sewage, tire waste, and plastic pollution.

Performance by natalia ventura

Costume by natalia ventura and Antonia Davis

Song written and performed by natalia ventura

Filmed and edited by Angel Esparza