“La memoria de la avispa”

As Wayuu women we are conscious about the responsibility concerning the continuity of our Wayuu lineage. We have accepted the traditional confinement through which we are initiated and which brings us closer to the traditions connected to our fundamental roles in our culture. This confinement signals our transition from childhood to adolescence as it takes place when we get our first menstrual period. It is increasingly different for every new generation of Wayuu women but its purpose remains the same: to honour life and preserve our culture.

During these three weeks of residency I would like to make a documentary short film about my great aunt Zoilita as she faces self-isolation following Coronavirus regulations. The current situation forces her to be away from her home territory and from the rest of her relatives, turning her art of daily weaving into an act of resistance and survival that anchors her to the memory of every confinement she has had to undertake.