El Viaje de Ida
(Outward Journey)

Grandmother’s metal birdcage wrapped
and pulp painted with abaca pulp, stained with indigo
13.75in w x 21.5” h x 12.5” d
2019

My grandmother, Tita Melida, was an integral member of our family. She lived close most of my life. A couple of years ago, at age 91, my grandmother’s health began to deteriorate pretty quickly. As an immigrant living in the United States, Tita never felt she was home. As her years of life dwindled, she decided that it was time to return to Honduras. I flew with her back to Tegucigalpa, our hometown. It had been ten years since I had seen that place embedded with all of my beautiful childhood memories. Just like my grandmother’s physical body was slowing fading away, my house was also withering away. I knew that in a year or two, my grandmother and my Honduran house, would no longer be my home. I sat on my grandmother’s patio, looking at all of the textures that showed passage of time, and noticed my grandmother’s oxidized bird cage. I grew up listening to many canaries sing songs from that cage. Although they were full of life, those birds longed for freedom, just like my grandmother. Tita’s caged body was ready to let go and on August 18, 2019 she flew and found her freedom. With a deep sense of loss, I mourn my homes.

As I think of the journey to freedom that many of us embark on, I reflect on an excerpt from Maya Angelou’s poem, Caged Bird: