MAYA MONUMENTS 50
Quote “adolescents live in an ethnically mixed environment, and they have the
opportunity to develop strong ethnic identities.” (Turner, 1986) Exposing students to Mayan Art
helps expand multicultural ethnic views on identity. The schools in Fresno can benefit teaching
historic arts to students, and Fresno State graduate students want to help. Artist in Residencies
sends Artist into the classroom to help teachers and create artworks. I develop programming to
help teachers build art cultural activities and bilingual publications before. I like to help Fresno
State Humanities and Arts Departments by donating my sculpture to raise funds for Day of
Giving to hire Graduates to go into the schools, AIE coordinated by Fresno Unified School
District Visual Arts.
Master’s in art Graduate students run out of Financial Aid help, in their last year to
Graduation, when they are most in need of Funds. That is when they are finishing their Art 298
Project, they need support, and what better way than to send them to schools to work with kids?
And get paid. My sculptures could be
in Auctions or raffles to raise funds for
alternative programs. I want to learn
more about demographics and
education data in Fresno.
Figure 33 Catharine L. Aujero, Visual and Performing Arts, Fresno I need to get a Leadership in
Unified School District, Gallery 25, Tape-‐on Mural, Arthop. Dec. 2019. Education Pd. D. so I can procure
informed art grants to sponsor
P hoto programs that benefit this community.
We can create relationships between
Fresno State Art students, School
District, and Fresno Arts Council.
That way, when we have Graduate
Shows, there are funds to help students
who need it. Fresno Unified School
District can benefit multisystem youth,
which is the youth in trouble, and the
MAYA MONUMENTS 51
general student population, engaging them in visual and performing arts projects.
“Transformation denotes change, moving from one perspective to another, and change most
often takes place in communities where people interact with and inspire one another.”30
Figure 33a,b, c and d Granted Murals Schools Kansas City Missouri Arts Commission Grants
30 Rodriguez, F. (2018). Children in Crisis: Maya Identity in Guatemalan Children’s Drawings. Studies in Art
Education, https://doi-org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.1080/00393541.2018.1509262
MAYA MONUMENTS 52
Figure 34a Monzon A. Black People Mural, 2002 Figure 34a Monzon A. Yellow People Mural, 2002
Figure 34b Red People Mural by Elementary kids Figure 34c White people Mural by Elementary kids
Artist in Residencies Sponsored by
Figure 34e Seattle Arts Commission SAC in Seattle Figures 34e Municipal Arts Commission in Kansas City
MAYA MONUMENTS 53
INFLUENCES
The primary influence in my life is the Creator,
Sole God Hunab Ku. Then my son. The
representation of Hunab Ku, the vinyl in the center
of the statues circle in my Mayan Monuments
Show, represents my son. It is his influence on my
art. Lino Peña Martinez, 31 influenced me by
tattooing the Hunab Ku sign on his front side, to
remind himself with this sign to become
independent and rely on God, right before my show.
I left his piece of ceramic in the middle of a smaller
wheel of medicine with my Mayan Archangels in
my studio, so he could get a job to help multisystem
youth in foster care. Lino's presence was manifested
in Master Show by this sign. He is a Santa Barbara
Figure 35, Ixchel Martinez, Portrait, 2019 Figure 34 LINO Martinez, 2019
Graduate who works in the House of
Representatives, WA DC
Ixchel is my daughter and I share the same
dreams since she was small; we have a powerful
shaman connection. She is a photographer who
took the only videos of the Show I had to share in
social media. She traveled from Los Angeles to be
part of my Show and bring flowers for the dining
room. Her endurance, determination, and tenacity
motivate me always. She is a UC Davis
Psychology BS in human development, BA in
psychology, and an MSW from Universities of
Davis and USC. She works as a family therapist in
31 https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/analysis/child-welfare-ideas-from-the-experts-9-federal-attention-on-crossover-
youth/36748?fbclid=IwAR3RKbrNsWZiU1Y22YU2aZmidzxKpGB8j5NW7FOy4QFPLqE16zLvOlroEIE
MAYA MONUMENTS 54
LA, California. Ixchel always believed in me and
nurture me through the hard times, guiding me with
inspiration and hope for the future. She and I suffered
the worst hardships when we separated from her
father. She is the one that insisted I come from Seattle
to California. As a little girl, she was my strength until
I found revival. I could not have made it without her.
My other significant influence is my firstborn child,
Uxmal’s Consultant Mahishi Peña Marroquin. She
has enriched the life of one million kids with
Educational Film Festivals that promote ethical
values and stop child abuse. She oversaw logistics for
the visibility of the Second. Cooperative Conference
between the European Union and Guatemala for the
Process of Peace. Now, she has her own business Figure 35, Mahishi Marroquin. Photo Marroquin,2019
‘Uxmal Consultant and is doing leather burnings.
She did a portrait of Ixchel, her sister, and
she made a medallion of the four directions on her
neck, and the four colors of the Mayan wheel are on
her eye. We live by these concepts; the four of us
influence each other because each one of us has the
directions of the Cardinal Cross in our blood. Lino is
North, Mahishi is South, Ixchel is West, and I am
East, according to our elements by zodiac, and our
temperament.
The closest medicine wheel around me is my
family. In our family genealogical tree, this is the
Figure 36, Ixchel, Leather burning by Mahishi.
Photo. Marroquin
MAYA MONUMENTS 55
first time all family members are went to College. My parents only had a high school degree.
Historically we can say Mayan culture is hegemonic; because of their frequent use of
masks. In many predominant societies, the influence of a dominant class is reflected by rules that
establish the normative values in the culture. The symbols of communication construct an elitist
identity.
Figure 37 Monzon A. Foundry with Edward Gillum. Photo Niclaus Cook, 2019.
Art styles depict social structure. The nobles determine society’s rules, not the
commoners. Only the elite can afford to travel to ceremonial sites, where power dispenses
through vision dreams. The lowest class of workers do not get any power allocated to them,
because they cannot afford to travel there. In the California basin, as well as Pueblos Quadrant
and Mesoamerica,32 these celebration gatherings take place inaugural occasions. Peregrination to
32 Gaines, J. H. (2007). An Indelible Imprint of Literacy: The Olmec and African Presence in Pre-Columbian America.
International Journal of Learning, 14(4), 1–83 https://doi-org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.18848/1447-
9494/CGP/v14i04/58603
MAYA MONUMENTS 56
these holy caves and pyramids defines structures of power. Women have an equal place in
Mayan society, they are noted to participate in economic, governmental and rituals activities.
Lineage determines the position in society, not warfare. “I am reminded of an axiom
attributed to the ancient Athenian philosopher Plato, who once remarked, and I’ll paraphrase the
eloquent refrain,”(Von, 1992) “we can forgive a child who is afraid of the dark, but it is another
thing for men to be afraid of the light” (Wuthenau , 1992).33 The worship of the Light (thunders)
in Mayan Mythology made them powerful contestants for all other tribes afraid of the Light
(that discharges from the sky.) The ruler kings ordained the state. Cultural symbols not set by
arbitrary emotion, but they follow an established myth.
Feminism is another movement influencing my Art. I did two ceramics pieces, signifying
the equity of sexual power in society. I recreated balance between powerful open sexual forms,
male and female. When they looked too obvious, I concealed them, following the norm of taboo
sexual repression in western formative society (where I learned my values). In Africa and
primitive cultures, sexuality is freer, because the body is less covered. Sexual freedom today is
partially described as polyamorous (consensual non-monogamy). Mayan Culture represent
women uncovered breasts without malice because nudity is considered natural.
In art rhetoric, the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan is my most important
influence. His statement is "the organic inner self feels lost because it has learned language and
culture from outside self, from society, and it feels without its language, borrowing signs for
communication" (Lacan, 1960)."
But Lacan was also actively engaged with the arts and the leading artists of his time, referring to
the surrealism of André Breton and Salvador Dali as the 'new relay station' for his work"
(Roudinesco,1990). I interpret the meanings of subconscious signs that help fill the empty ness
within us, by expressing Art the void within; that is why Lacan saw this art movement of
surrealism like a relay station.
To express new ideas, we can use old signs, or we can bring forth old ideas with new symbols.
We can develop our way of communication. The Lacanian theory influenced me the most
33 https://doi-org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.18848/1447-9494/CGP/v14i04/58603
MAYA MONUMENTS 57
because since I was a child, I interpret forms. As a young baby, I have clear memories of
observing objects-symbols coming out of people's mouths when they spoke, rather than words. I
was always interested in symbols. Words that are forms instead of letters seem more familiar to
me. I was born with the aptitude to think symbolically. Lacan influences me because I use my
unconscious to manifest form. Salvador Dali and André Breton always influenced my art
because they were into the exploration of the psyche. To find one's path is necessary to find one's
meaning. I believe it resides in our unconscious because, in that world, time measure is different.
Figure 39 Monzon A. Tinaja, Photo Monzon, 2017 Figure 40 Monzon A. A Lord of surrealism. Photo Monzon 2019.
Structuralism recommends, “meaning is imperative, for oneself to direct one’s destiny.
Instead of being vicariously embedded to social pressure, that dictates and exemplifies canons of
conduct imposed to annihilate individuality — structuralism” 34 (Strauss,1977).
To create artistic expression is to have hope. To direct one’s destiny is necessary to share
oneself through creative expertise. The freedom to interpret creativity allows the viewer to
34 Lumbrecht, W. (1976). Levi-Strauss (Book Review). Library Journal, 101(22), 2589.
MAYA MONUMENTS 58
develop subjectivity. “The signified can be conceptualized differently according to languages
and culture, rendering the sign as arbitrary in its totality” (Strauss,1976).
Subsequently, I have the freedom to change the signification or meaning of signs. In
short, your sublime could be my horrendous, and your atrocious could be your aesthetic. The
way to develop subjectivity is to be objective first. Everyone chooses or reacts in a visceral or
mental kind of way, to what they see, “and the mind twists because of attachment to Physicality
(Martinez, 2018). Attachment, in other words, blinds our views.
Tonight, I discovered that we could, and will respond to action symbols, as well as static
graphic symbols. What I mean is we react to people’s behavior signs or gestures. We live
nowadays following the carpenter world hypotheses, those raised in an environment shaped by
carpenters or rectangular forms come up with more square conceptions (like square buildings.)
Primitive culture forms are more organic; the structures they build are circular. They see
in nature the shape of the sun, the moon, and their body organs, which are not squared. The
arrangements of symbols have a hierarchy in Mayan poles. The significant place for a symbol is
on top, and the bottom means bad (low). The value of a logo (emblem) can alter if we turn it
around. Graphic representation is relative to placing of the form. If we elongate a square, it
becomes a diamond. A cross places in the four directions of a diamond, which is inside the circle
Figure 31 Monzon A. Contemporary Paintind, Photo Monzon 2013.
of Medicine. I mean Graphic illustration representation is guided by placement of forms. You
add an idea here, as a layer, move another one there, as a sublayer, and come up with a new
composition, a thought, or idea-form. The Cross of the four Cardinal directions is inside the
MAYA MONUMENTS 59
Figure 42 Monzon A. Guerra. Photo Monzon, 2019 Figure 43 Monzon A. Elefante. Photo Monzon 2019
Native Wheel. In other words, a symbol can
change meaning by adding forms or changing placement, the same as the Mayan language does.
Graphic three-dimensional representation illustrates how ideas evolve. You add an idea here,
move another one there, and come up with a new thought, a new idea-form. If you change
beliefs, you arrive at different conclusions, ideas have at different premises. If we alter the order,
we change the reasoning. Time and place also change order.
There are no absolute values in the relative world of nature. Everything changes through
time and space (Yogananda, 1948). Lino Martinez, my role model, always says “ambiguity is my
best friend because in saying maybe I say yes, and I say no” Values and ethics are also
embedded as a pattern of logic. But beyond order is feeling. The set of precept premises
MAYA MONUMENTS 60
determines axioms of Universal truth principles(a theme of Mayan Art). 35 The Mayan had
ideation that the gods were benevolent, and they wanted good things for their creation.
I know Mayan words to be square glyphs ideograms. These words have a beginning,
middle, and end glyph syllables. If you change the beginning and ending blocks, the word
assumes a different meaning.
That is why I compare the Mayan Language to Logic because they have both three parts,
two premises, and a conclusion. Languages are like diagrams made up of words, and they define
styles.
When one style dies, also, another technique is born. The University of Texas Journal
states, "Symbolic appreciations of Art and Poetry remains fresh." (Carvin,1983). Despite bounds
about critical demise and methods of expression, "some persist, and some pass away or
deteriorate, the new stay news" (Caws, 1983). Correct creative styles and forms do not become
old. They stay new. Like Mayan art, it never loses its vitality.
I see parallelism of form between symbols in Mayan Art, Language, and thought because
words that express ideas in an alphabet are the same as forms that show a Language by symbols
of phonetic order. Poetry symbols can be spontaneous or rigid. Symbolic languages transcend
time and space; some symbols never die. The symbols that stand the passage of time become
Icons. The surrealistic impression is a relative symbol. It is the language of the subconscious
mind, expressed by automatic writing or drawing. An author says, "it is not linked to clock time,
Figure 43a Monzon A MAA Brochure, Reciprocity changes order and meaning. Photo Monzon 2016
35 Spitz, Ellen Handler. Art and Psyche: A study in psychoanalysis and aesthetics. Yale University Press, 1985.
MAYA MONUMENTS 61
events happen in another dimension of time, psychological time.” (Tedlock,1975.)
Figure 44 Martinez L. Candles Burning, Photo Martinez L. 2019
Tedlock lived in Quiche and learned from the Mayan Shamans, one of them initiated him,
tricking him into becoming a shaman himself without telling him. The Quiche people that wrote
Popol Vuh have a trickster spirit, and they conserve it until now. They like to misbehave. He
goes on to say, "But we later heard that two weeks after our visit to the mountain called nine
Tohil's Place, the man died... Whatever one says at a shrine, so long as incense is still smoking,
or candles are still burning, goes on the record with that mountain and with the Holy
World"(Tedlock,1995.)
Authentic culture encompasses Universal truths. Respect to the elements in nature never
changes. All over the place and in every epoch, men respect fire. Since prehistory, the light
protects men living in caves, and from being eaten by wild animals; it keeps them warm in cold
climate. The Sacred Fire produced smoke. When the smoke blows out, it looks like a fog
descending on the meadows, so Native Americans started using smoke signals to communicate,
smoke signals were their Language. The Wind carries the smoke signals and produces them. The
MAYA MONUMENTS 62
Wind the Wind is air, represents the vital spirit breath of life. Communication between tribes was
as fluid like air, not static as words on an alphabet; later on, Language became symbols. “Post
Structuralism declares Language cannot express ideas of inner organic Self. “The subjectivity of
self has no symbolic representation that can be socially constructed by the Language of another.”
Thus, an individual need to develop his visual or performing symbology to represent his social
identity. On the other hand, Langer affirms that Language allows us to conceive the intangible,
incorporable things or ideas that constitute our real identity. Art describes our feelings. The
artistic Form is congruent with our perceptions.
Figure 44a Google Earth, My mural on West side Kansas City Figure 44b my folk birds Mural in Public Library
Funded by Greater Kansas City Hispanic Arts Council Missouri Funded by City Municipal Arts Commission KCMO
My solution to the chaos in culture is teaching people to read and understand symbols
better so they can have rightful meaning and purposeful ideation, to be able to make the world a
better place, where cultures share Universal Light as truth.
Art is a venue to express their emotions and create art or performances to help troubled
rites of passage in the inner city. As noted earlier, engulfment of an existing structure to enlarge
a construction was a common architectural technique throughout Mesoamerica (Mastache and
Cobean 1989.)
Art engulfs jails of obstruction built in the past, eradicating lack of work. The art of the
Valley brings plants of achievement to heal the homeless, the addict, and the dependent creating
symbolic bridges of fruitful communication.
MAYA MONUMENTS 63
Figure 44c Monzon A, Itzamna leaving its home M street Figure 44d Monzon a., adding clay to Huracan’s knees
Figure 44e Monzon A. Day of opening Maya Monuments Figure 44f Monzon A. Studio 2 at Graduate Studios,.2018
MAYA MONUMENTS 64
Figure 45a Leather burnings in studio. 2019 Figure 45a Leather burnings in studio. 2019
The structure to a feeling is to manifests in words and actions. There is a structure to Art
that reveals in our work. There is a structure we make for ourselves in our lives that should agree
with the Universal structure decreed by destiny and not follow a predetermined norms of others.
Figur45 Monzon A. Pyrographic leather Burnings, Photo Monzon A. 2019
MAYA MONUMENTS 65
The mountain is sacred, so that makes the word holy, for the Aphuai Indians, the
smoke is sacred, so it makes the hunt holy. In this sense, each culture defines how holiness is
achieved, in some Indian cultures it comes from smudging with fire smoke.
Holy experiences take the traveler beyond the familiar world. "I am out of habitual senses
of being and a particular type of mythic thinking had begun to seem plausible” (Rhode, 2008)
The texture of my sculptures is like rock finish. It acknowledges the petroglyph
caves in this area of California. Rock art finish is a regional property of this area, which is very
important to our local pride. Like, the Chumash Indian cave paintings in Santa Ynez mountains
near Santa Barbara in California Park. I went to elementary school in Saint Ynez Catholic
Private School in my country, (then later on in Saint Joseph’s College in North Bay, Ontario,
Canada). There is another allegory of hidden meaning. I was attracted to that particular cave’s
ancestral drawings when I started investigating my sculptures’ meaning.
The way of life of a tribe destroys, when the images they create are lost, also when the
image meanings disappear. But as long as the Sacred Fire is burning, the tribe’s purpose is alive.
That is why I do leather burnings, to be close to the sacred fire, the holy smoke brings me
purification, like an ancestral feeling of belonging. It is the same with firing clay, standing by hot
kiln on a cold night. It gives me meanings from a high dimension, where I get inspiration.
Figure 45a Monzon A. Leather Portrait of Papa Mike. Photo Figure 45b Monzon A. Leather Portrait of Papa Mike.Photo
Monzon, 2017 Monzon, 2017
I speak with assertion because my culture taught me sacred fire signification, that is all.
MAYA MONUMENTS 66
Figure 46a Founder Papa Mike, Poverello Family Dining Figure 46b Monzon A. Me at Holy Cross Center. Photos
Room with me and my Logo I made him. Fresno, 2006. McGarvin Papa Mike, 2006
Papa Mike from Poverello and Village of Hope Director Paul Stack helped me through hard
times, same as Holy Cross Center for Women36, and I volunteer to teach arts and crafts .
Figure 46c Monzon A. Wounded Spirit Show Artist at Holy Cross, 2008
I taught arts to Homeless women . I did art for Saint Agnes Cancer month for Sister Mary.
36 https://www.samc.com/location/saint-agnes-holy-cross-center-for-women
MAYA MONUMENTS 67
Gathering around with other people was a magical experience. Everyone looking at the
fire around a barrel, in cold nights.
I also went to the Rainbow Gathering, where thousands of people met in National parks
and they also had many campfires with songs and dance in the mountains. I treasure those
memories like happy times of sharing, playing guitar, like we did back in lake Atitlan, before I
left, ith American travelers. There is nothing like it. It is an incredible experience. I first
experience gathering around a fire by Poverello,37 Papa Mike, Women at Holy Cross Center,
show cased Wounded Spirit Show at Margaret Hudson with Photographer Collaborator Cynthia
Manuzack. I donated this painting to Holy Cross and it depicts some of the people around .
Figure 46d Monzon A. Homeless Picture of Area, 2015
These Gatherings fed my identity and artistic nature.
When I built sculpture here at Fresno State I discovered new goals,. I found my meaning! I learn
to listen in Graduate Seminars and found my symbols of communication. When I became
humble I received new ideation. I am no longer stubborn I learned how to communicate by
creating objects in three-dimensional clay.
I received tools to comprehend many ideas, relevant meanings in my studies at Fresno
State Arts Department. I describe my art as an embrace between the past and the new. The
antique and the Contemporary. The local and the Universal, a dream of duality like Creation.
Darkness brings me Light, always. I had many years of preparation to come to understand the
importance of community. I participated in leadership events that showed me the relevance of
gathering with other groups. I was a member of the heritage Performance Tour ensemble once,
37 https://poverellohouse.org/
MAYA MONUMENTS 68
but it was not until after my accident that I realized my vulnerability in life and it helped me
grow. Many people are there to help me and I understood the importance of having other people
that care in your cohort seminar experiences I worked with my group and in Leadership
sessions.
Figure 47 Monzon A Gathering Heritage Week, Performing Art Tour, Me singing, West side KCMO.
Figure 47a Monzon A. Lino Martinez and me throwing cups. Photo Monzon2017
Cultures that trust each other produce art expressions that matter because they change groups of
people and help students. The children should receive art instruction in their schools and homes..
Cultures that do not trust one another produce chaotic celebrations that create confusion.
Clarity of symbolic meaning builds trust (I learned from the Aphuai Indians,we study in
English class,) but double meanings in symbols generate social confusion in culture. (like Fiesta
MAYA MONUMENTS 69
of Octavio Paz, another reading). Art creates healing environments in Daycare centers and
schools.
In the is Hispanic heritage Week celebrations I coordinated with Becky Jaramillo from
Image (Federal Government Employment Agency)and Roberto Gonzales from FEB (Kansas
City, Missouri Federal Executive Board. I received an award from Hispanic Subcommittee for
promoting Federal Executive Board Goals in Kansas City. It was very hard work building floats
but it allowed me to work with kids in OLA school And Guadalupe Center DayCare, then I
moved to work with Boys and Girls Club
Figure 47a Monzon A. Seashells, meaning 2018 Figure 47b Monzon A. Hozanec Mayan blue, 2018
Figure 47 C Monzon A, Bolontiku. Group of nine underworld gods. Photo Monzon, 2018.
MAYA MONUMENTS 70
Figure 48 Monzon A. Quetzalcoatl, Feather Serpent, Gucumatz for Maya. Photo Monzon, 2018
MAYA MONUMENTS 71
DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK
In light of considering Mayan Art traditions and Post-structuralism dialogue between the old and
the new, I noted all symbols compete with interpretations of modernism. Like questionings of
surrealism.
Symbolism deconstructs meaning, and this practice elicits resistance, suggesting the need
for new words to express old definitions since there is no meaning outside of language.
In Structuralism, words give the purpose of significance to Language, since they only
exist inside the structure of culture, from which they derive. I think both are right. “Post-
structuralism marks an emphasis on subjectivity and identity. Structuralism threatens authorship,
originality, and identity.”38 We need to understand symbols as a whole before we start pulling (
deconstructing) them apart.
For the focus on those “meaningful interpretations of human experience,” 39 which “can only
come from those persons who have thoroughly immersed themselves in the phenomenon they
wish to interpret and understand” (Denzin 1983), which “can only come from those persons who
have thoroughly immersed themselves in the phenomenon they wish to interpret and understand”
(Denzin 1983)
Maya Monuments is my Contemporary artist’s work, responding to a culturally diverse
world. I studied many different kinds of art in the bachelor’s and master’s studies, and my
interpretation of form is multifaceted. Nevertheless, my symbols remain exciting and challenging
because they reflect multicultural appeal while being anchored in Academia. The Popol Vuh is
renown historic codex
My forms are challenging and exciting because of influences from vibrant artistic expression
from students, Faculty Professors, and visiting artists at Fresno State.
Language does not limit our thinking. Ideas are not the origin of words we talk; it is the language
we practice that determines how and what we learn to reproduce. I achieved what I set to
accomplish.
38 arsi, R., Sharifabad, E. D., & Salman Al-Douri, G. S. (2014). Literary Translation through the Lens of
Poststructuralism. Journal of Language Teaching & Research, . https://doi-org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.4304/jltr.
39 Oostendorp, H. van, & Goldman, S. R. (1999). The Construction of Mental Representations During Reading. Mahwah, N.J.:
Psychology Press
MAYA MONUMENTS 72
a mountain to become a formidable tool
to help youth. I am a Mayan scribe reproducing
the traditional arts of my people through
sacrifice. My study in art history courses of
both ancient cultures, and modern art helped me
mature in interpretation to create the forms. I
found my notch in Mayan Art because it is the
historic art of my ancestors adapted to
Contemporary expression.40
walk of a healer, ascending in spirals of
mythological symbols, “I practice incursions
into cosmic tunnels between worlds” (Miller
and O’Neil, 2014.)
My hands bleed from the substances I
use and the minerals in the clay. I use plastic Figure 49 Monzon A. Gucumatz. Anabella’s Photo
gloves, but inevitably, they tear while coiling. Or Quetzalcoatl
For many months, I had cracks on my hands that were very painful. I felt the pain of the pyramid
builders, and I carried the rocks of their achievement with many trials. Artists have to learn the
art of detachment, as all real life in creation is fleeting. Spaniards built churches in Colonial
times with bull’s blood. I was not about to provide mine.
I broke the clay statues. I breathed the dust of falling clay and felt the pangs of
dissolution when I saw my best statues crumble to the ground beaten into oblivion. Under the
dissolution when I saw my best statues crumble to the ground hammered into oblivion. Under the
scorching sun of mix with lime, so when my hands bled, I took a break, but then again, Mayan
art is a sacrifice, so I come back to building too soon. I learned endurance and perseverance. My
statues were too heavy do to my lack of experience building. I believe art can change the world,
and an actual artist marches on, offering all he or she has. Builders create a community that
trusts. When you build for others, then others will create for you.
40 Saltzman, Lisa. Making memory matter: strategies of remembrance in contemporary art. Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press, 2006.
MAYA MONUMENTS 73
The exchange between the forces of darkness and light creates tension in the game in
Popol Vuh story. In my sculpture, the pressure is created by the pulling of ancient forms into
accommodation of contemporary expression. Stretching the coils, pulling the symbols, twisting
the planes.
Figure 49a Monzon A, The Statue I broke because it was 750 pounds and hard to move, 2019
Quiche has a neighboring city, Rabinal, and they had games of war between them in pre-
Colombian times. Rabinal Achi is a performance piece from Kiche and Rabinal city-states of
Guatemala. Tedlock translates iconography interpretation of the most hermetic passages of
MAYA MONUMENTS 74
Rabinal Achi41 The translation of this play is sourced, “deciphering hieroglyphics, and analysis
of language’s nuances.”(Tedlock, 2003)
Translating and interpreting the language also create a continuous resistance. It is useful
to communicate through three-dimensional art forms. I am currently creating ceramics and
sculpture into contemporary styles that address global issues. Luz Angela Crawford, who
textures contemporary ceramics modeled after techniques developed by indigenous cultures, has
influenced me. She does handmade pottery like the ancient pottery made in Guatemala. Ceramic
Instructor Una Mjurka told me to think in Contemporary terms when I applied for the master’s
program. The lady putting her tongue out is the earth that is getting sick; she has broken reactors
as breasts from Fukushima nuclear.
Figure 50 Monzon A.Gucumatz. Anabella’s Photo Figure 51 Monzon A.Gucumatz. Anabella’s Photo
41 Tedlock, Dennis. Rabinail Achi: A Mayan Drama of War and Sacrifice. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2003..
MAYA MONUMENTS 75
meltdown. I am addressing the problems with contamination of the High Seas and the melting
down of the Nuclear plant Fukushima, which poisoned the marine life for a hundred years to
come.
The ceramic piece is Ixiq,42 mother of water sources and seas in Mayan mythology. The
ceramic piece is the result of my research, and she looks very disgusted and sick. There are
hybrid forms of ideas of content in this piece. Art can influence artists' surrounding environment
plus the earth. I believe God has a plan for the future of the Universe, and he gives us life for
eternity in his light. I know this for sure. I have suffered traumatic death experience giving birth,
and I have seen the bluish glow of a thunder color tunnel open up above the sands of the beach
by the ocean, calling me with warmth…"And she is climbing the stairways to heaven," Hey!
Someone else saw it too.
Figure 51a Monzon A. Luz del Norte, Anabella’s Photo Figure 51b Monzon Luz del Norte, poor detras Anabella’s 2017
2017\ 20172016Photo
I do pre-Columbian bases, and I see myself doing murals in ceramic relief, like carved
stone Maya stelae. The intricacy of mixed colonial imagery and indigenous motifs in churches
42 Wikipedia contributors. (2019, November 21). List of Maya gods and supernatural beings. In Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:15, November 24, 2019,
MAYA MONUMENTS 76
inspired me to create interpretations of culture. The pure color of earth tonal pigments in my
leather engravings, I reproduce again, in my ceramics and sculptures. I feel safe working with
organic colors. I consider myself a Mayan dreamer, through all my experiences; I get visions
dreams, I call them visions because they are 43"dreams that change my life for the
better"(Yogananda, 1975.)
When I am making a piece of art, I get guidance through visions in dreams about the
spiritual connotations of my art. I get direction. I started drawing when I was four years old
because my father was an artist, and he used to use me as a model to draw my portrait. I was
fascinated by the faces he drew of me. I remember vividly four pictures he made of me. These
resemble likenesses of me, felt like they were four distinct phases of me; the artist, the musician,
the dancer, and the academic me.44 Every day when I was in Elementary school, in the
afternoons, I came back to take arts manual skills crafts, and my mother taught me to be excited
about my projects, she helped me and wrapped them up for presentation.
My mother was a history and language teacher, and she gave me ideas about the Popol
Vuh that became engraved in my mind as my heritage. I also went to the Public Market and saw
a lot of weavings and artisans, when I was young.
These classes and experiences impregnated my being forever with the love of art. I have taught a
lot of youth art, and I wanted to learn more techniques and Common Core from Education to
become a better teacher, so I took CI 149 and worked in a big website project with Miss Keeler.
.45 The three Professors, members of my MA Committee, did a fantastic job guiding me. The
master’s in arts program was great.
Their presence in my life will last forever.
The best Education experience and guidance I had with Martin Valencia, Edward Gillum,46
Keith Jordan, and Joan Sharma. Below is a link to Edward Gillum Foundry Class Art 155,
surprising!
43 http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/product/mans-eternal-quest-2/
44 https://sites.google.com/a/mail.fresnostate.edu/ci149-‐anabella-‐monzon/info-‐teaching-‐docs/book-‐group-‐video
45 https://sites.google.com/a/mail.fresnostate.edu/ci149-anabella-
monzon/httpswwwyoutubecomwatchvnqjcvya1ds0listplqa7n83llptxn5n39p5cxie_amq78xs4q/quest-35-bloom
46https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNmPawT7JFX7_JhVkDc7sSbA5NtSbdtgUzeWL11?key=CMStnZbKpsivNw
MAYA MONUMENTS 77
They are great artist Professors at Fresno State Humanities and Art Department. I
received the best Education experience and guidance from Design Professor Martin Valencia,
Sculpture Professor Edward Gillum, and Professor Keith Jordan. Designer Artist Professor Joan
Sharma taught me about editing books and art concepts. Professor Laura Meyer taught me
Modern Art. Master Coordinator Stephanie Ryan taught me how to face hardships. Our Dean
Honora Chapman taught me to hang in there. Provost Saul Jimenez Sandoval taugh me
accomplishment, by his example. Our Fresno State President plainly, inspired me with all his
Education and titles. The Institute for Leadership took my fears away. Fresno State was a
blessing in my life, even Financial Aid office is great! You get back what you put in. I gave it my
all, I got back All! They are great artist Professors at Fresno State Humanities and Art
Department. I recommend them to everyone; their experience and knowledge are invaluable.
Students on Campus should attend the Graduate Seminars; they are very insightful and fun.
I recommend them to everyone; their experience and knowledge are invaluable. I am sure going
to miss them all, but I will keep on coming to visit as many o ther students do.
Figure 51c Monzon A. New Symbol association Jade Mask , 2019
MAYA MONUMENTS 78
Figure 52a Monzon A. Gillum, in Foundry, 2019
Figure 52b Monzon A. Professor Keith
Jordan, 2019
Figure 52c Edward Gillum, Art 155
Figure 52d Keith Jordan Art Seminars
MAYA MONUMENTS 79
SIGNIFICANCE
My art has a stone finish to acknowledge cave paintings in petroglyphs caves in the area.
The statues take the traveler beyond the familiar or actual world. “I am out of habitual senses of
being and a certain type of mythic thinking had begun to seem plausible” (Rhode, 2008)
My art has texture rock finish to acknowledge the petroglyph caves in this area, of
California. Rock art finish is a regional property of this area, which is very important to our local
pride.
The way of life of a tribe destroys, when the images they create are lost.so are the image
meanings they created, like the Chumash Indian cave paintings in Santa Ynez mountains near
Santa Barbara in California Park
.
Again, the allegory of hidden similarities.
I went to elementary school in Saint Agnes or Santa Ines in Guatemala. My art is a
dedication to texture and detail with the fear of emptiness characterized in Spanish architecture.
Regarding the sculptures, Dean of Fresno State Art Department said: “they mesmerize
viewers in our galleries” (Chapman, 2018).
Hour Dean Honora Chapman has encouraged me substantially all through my master
studies, Research Grants, acquisition of Funds, and development of my Project Art 298 Class.
She is the one that gives me the strength to conquer all difficulties on my Academic Path
to becoming a Doctor in Education to help the artists in the Valley and Graduate Students.
I am witness to the discouragement of my fellow Graduates when they lose their
Financial Aid in the last year of culminating experience.
They leave Fresno State defeated, not happy, sad. Education should be about quality, not
quantity. I seek to alleviate this situation by procuring funds somehow.
We all need to take responsibility for helping Art and Artists, as well as students in hard
times.
MAYA MONUMENTS 80
Figure 53 Monzon A. Hunaphu, Photo Monzon 2018 Figure 53a Monzon A. Ixbalanque, PhotoMonzon2018
Figure 53 Monzon A. Hunaphu, Photo Monzon 2018 Figure 53c Monzon A. Ixbalanque
MAYA MONUMENTS 81
Figure 54 Monzon A. Altar in my studio 2, Photo Monzon, 2019
They are different from other ceramic work in Fresno; therefore, they provide authentic
engagement, free ecstatic experience of traveling to the Axis Mundo, the world above They are
also a connection to potent supernatural forces of long ago, at the time of genesis creation
genesis of Maya culture
MAYA MONUMENTS 82
“Many people make burnt offerings at religious times because they think this mountain
altar gives strong protection from evil and inauspicious things” 47 I use many different offerings
Figure 55 Monzon A. My First Mayan Mural, 2008 Figure 55a Monzon. A. My First Mayan Mural, 2008Re -‐
Re-Encuentro Chanel 9 -set Richard Herrera Encuentro Chanel 9 -‐Set Richard Herrera
of Pom. Copal Pom is atree in the jungle of Peten, it’s resin is burned in sacred ceremonies.
Mayan incense, and myrrh. Different mediums, such as clays from different mountains.
e.g.Black Mountain Clay has different spiritual vibrations that invoke different creations.
I believe that working in a single medium is restrictive to my artistic process. Each idea
manifests in its style. The formal transformations of art properties have some art historians and
critics with a structural analogy." Specific essential insights into the true nature of
representation." Significant images allude descriptive or symbolic representation provided
through inspiration.
47 . rdo rje, N. ". T. (2007). On the Way to the Mountain Altar. Skipping Stones, 19(3), 14. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=25161694&site=ehost-live
MAYA MONUMENTS 83
The history of Mayan Art is prolific, and the theme of the Popol Vuh Codex is
impressive.!48 I spent a lot of funds and effort in making my giant sculptures, and to me, they are
worth a lot. The horned or plumed serpent, a metaphor of lightning that comes out from its open
mouth to coax rain from the guardians of the sky is symbolic of electricity, rain, and water
inherently with the divine.
The Snake traveled to the North, in Casas Grandes, was the motif of ceramics, and in
Jornada, Mogollon district uses kiva paintings between 1200. Around Thirteen hundred’ is found
in Tewa,49 upper Rio Grande region, it was water, sustainer of life represented wearing a
neckband of a shell. The insights of Mayan Monuments into Mayan Cultural history lie in the
analogy or informed comparison of symbols One sculpture has neckband seashells.
The discussion of significance may be rooted in personal or communal roots of
motivation. I had a philosophical belief that I should achieve something intuitive, and I feel I
have. My sculpture comforts my heart from all the pain I experienced in this life and gave me
empathy towards other artists and students. There is a great discussion going on in my show, a
fight between good and evil, a never-ending dialogue that is eternal.
The significance is that there is a dialogue between the characters of Popol Vuh. The story
expresses social, religious, and political beliefs, as well as a history of pre-Columbian and
colonial times. I use strategies of contemporary visual art. My focus is to reveal the unity of
creation and religion in Maya culture; they worship the light. I feel a kind of achievement
representing the art of my ancestors.
I want to prove Mayans did not serve polytheistic gods. Some human sects negate
universal light as the source of creative power and claim to control life by their means. Creed
theology separates humankind into tribes, claiming freedom in dogma. I think it is significant
that we consider the angle of seeing by the viewer. It is not what I write, but what others read.
(Mahishi, 2019.) Chris thinks the viewer; how he understands the show. He made sure the person
entering a room would not be overwhelmed with a restrictive view but welcomed.
I pursue creative change; intended outcomes are growing awareness and increase giving
to Fresno State Art and Humanities Department. Raise funding for the Arts at State and City
48 Oostendorp, H. van, & Goldman, S. R. (1999). The Construction of Mental Representations During Reading. Mahwah, N.J.:
Psychology Press
49 Andrews, S. (2005). Casas Grandes and the Ceramic Art of the Ancient Southwest. Library Journal,. Retrieved from
MAYA MONUMENTS 84
levels and Public and Private Sectors participation. I seek to engage and manage significant
discussion for Art hop audience, and artists about why we lost 96% of funds to hire artists
through AIE, bring Art In Residencies back into education in
Figure 56 Monzon A. Huracan, Photo Monzon 2019 Figure 56a Monzon A. Chaac, Photo Monzon 2019
discussions for Art hop audience.
Artists about why we lost 96% of funds to hire artists through AIE, bring Art In
Residencies back into education in Schools in San Joaquin Valley.
Art will be a pact between ethnically diverse populations and educational establishments.
My Show is mediation for the community’s different programs for youth. Sculpture
original orientation can provide residencies for Fresno artists.
I see this as my highest responsibility, the imperative goal to help the community and give
back through my gift from God through art, I want to donate my art.
There is still a tendency in higher education to teach the introductory-level art from a
Eurocentric skills-based perspective that often excludes female and indigenous ways of knowing
MAYA MONUMENTS 85
(Becker, 1996; Pio, 1997; Singerman, 1999)
It is time for change now, to use art
implementation to address issues that
concern us all and affects children’s growth.
50
We can solve world dilemmas and
address issues through graphic
communication. However, local change has
to come first. If we cannot influence our
community to collaborate and work
together, how can we solve world issues
out there? [1] “Symbolic Interactionism
emphasizes collective action” (McCall
1971, and Becker 1990), “it is possible to
cooperate and interact with community
when we share the same symbolic
understanding” (Jack, 2019).
Keith Jordan lent me a drawing from
his book to illustrate the world structure of
Figure 57 Monzon A. Pueblos, Photo Monzon, 2018 The Maya Drawing after Elizabeth
Wagner’s Maya Creation Myths and
Cosmography. Being aware of the world view of the Maya helps us to understand symbols as a
whole. For the focus on those “meaningful interpretations of human experience,” which “can
only come from those persons who have thoroughly immersed themselves in the phenomenon
they wish to interpret and understand” (Denzin, 1983).
I imagine the higher, middle, and the lower world connected by tunnels, where the
mediator four Bacabs are between the upper and middle world, and the Mopans are between the
middle and lower realm.
50 McClelland Rumelhart issue. (2014). Cognitive Science, 38(6), 1023. https://doi-
org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.1111/cogs.12155 Issue Information. (2014). Cognitive Science, 38(6), i–iii. https://doi-
org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.1111/cogs.12083
MAYA MONUMENTS 86
The meaning of my symbols is sometimes esoteric or influenced by the supernatural. The
East door in Mayan Culture is the
entrance to the supernatural, the East
Door to the Underworld, where a
pantheon of deities’ dwells.
The Popol Vuh51 manuscript was
recovered in 1700 by a Colonial priest. It
had been kept a secret from Spaniards,
who burned all Mayan books. Only four
codices remain; one of them is the Popol
Vuh.52 I like to communicate with
symbols of Mayan iconography. I do not
wish to speak. There is too much
trouble caused by confusion. The lousy
interpretation of symbols causes
misunderstanding and a lack of desire to
cooperate. I believe harmony in a
community lies in knowing each other's
symbols or cultural signs.
The problem is a symbol that can Figure 57a Monzon A. Pueblos back side, Photo Monzon, 2018
be arbitrary, and its definition depends on
the value associated with it by a particular culture. Symbols change according to time and space.
The significance of my sculpture is that I am teaching how to read signs, and the future of this
world with its technology will require people to read code, signs, and symbols. Maybe history has
been preparing us to do so. Ancient civilizations are all written with symbols. That is why humanity
speaks Arabic, For example, before Egypt and Mayan Civilization, Chinese, Korean, and many
other languages
51
52 PARSONS, M., & COOK, G. (2004). Cosmogonies and Culture: Teaching Genesis and the Popol Vuh in an
Interdisciplinary Course at a Christian University. Christian Higher Education. https://doi-
org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.1080/15363750490479458
MAYA MONUMENTS 87
Intellectually it was tough to decipher the meaning of the symbols created in my sculpture
because I had to narrow the research and field of study by time. Mayan epochs, Pre-classic, Classic,
and Post Classic. Similar gods changed names, also, in space. Most different archeological centers
cities like Tula, Kaminaljuyu, Chichen Itza, Mayapan, Uxmal, Cozumel, Tulum, Tikal, Copan.
Even cultures like the Aztec, the Olmec, and the Yucatec have different names for the same deity.
Quetzalcoatl in Mexico is Gucumatz in Guatemala and Plumed serpent in Pueblos.53 The
Mesoamerican area started in Salvador and Honduras and came all the way up into Colorado,
Arizona, Utah, Nevada, the Pueblos Quadrant Å, and California.
Every time I do not know what to do next on a piece, I make coils of clay and remember
the light of the creator. I want to be an instrument of the healing art. And bring valuable meaning
or signification by faith.
To find out all the names of the sculpture pieces I made was extremely complicated. I had
to do a mental association of interpretations of symbols in deities engraved in rock or made by
ceramic by Maya civilization.
I do not plan what to do beforehand. I let the clay manifest what it wants to become. I
follow its plasticity.
My art forms are intuitive. The coils in my sculpture signify plumed serpents raining to
the seed to feed people. That is my signification, my clay coils I release, like my seed, and the ray
comes. from the creator to awaken them.
Figure 57b Monzon A. With Mandalas, Photo Monzon 2018 Figure 57b Monzon A. With Coils, Photo Monzon 2019
53 Skeen, I. (2007). Look Close, See Far: A Cultural Portrait of the Maya. Library Journal, 132(18), 66. Retrieved
from
http://search.ebscohost.com.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=27372167&site=ehos
t-live
MAYA MONUMENTS 88
Figure 57a Monzon A. Cesar Chavez Plaster, 2016 Figure 57b Publicity Above Thunder Best Seller, Cosmo 2002
Figure 57c Monzon A, Uxmal Burning, Monzon Figure 57d Monzon A. Chay Abah Burning,
MAYA MONUMENTS 89
.
Figure 58a My-‐ Land, where I am taking my Mayan Archangels, Great God! 2019
My art gives meaning and objective to my life. 54Every time I do not know what to do next on a
piece, I make coils of clay and remember the light of the creator. I want to be an instrument of the
healing art. And bring valuable meaning or signification, by faith, to whoever sees my art.
I drew inspiration from Mayan Polychrome Plates and made many burnings, including a
portrait of Dean of Humanities and Art Department Ph.D. Honora Chapman and One of
President Joseph Castro, who established Cupboard a Foodbank for the students and got us a
kiln.
54 https://anabellapenamonzon.blogspot.com/2018/06/my-objectives.html
MAYA MONUMENTS 90
The significance of anchoring my sculpture in academia is that rooting my work on art
history opens a field of opportunity. This kind of anchorage in archaeology is very significant for
me as an artist and my work. It helped me to spread the theme of Mayan Art culture im Umiyed
States.
Figure58b Monzon A. Head of Yaxchilan, Prensa Libre, 2002.
Contemporary and ancient forms were always depicted in my work. I am a Public Work
Artist for many years in Kansa City, Missouri, and Seattle, Washington55 The I 90
Tunnel between
Seattle and Mercer Island is the largest of its kind in the World. It is a Pedestrian bike tunnel. I
was Mural Painting Instructor Supervisor for the I-90 Tunnel56
55 https://maalearningcenter.wordpress.com/anabella-pena-monzon/
56 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSP2lPf2dU4
them, some areas are added between murals, probably to cover graffiti. The video underneath
gives you a quick view of a bike going through tunnel and murals.
MAYA MONUMENTS 91
Figure 58c Monzon A Mural I-‐90, I painted 10 DOT Seattle Figure 58d Monzon A Mural I-‐90, I painted 10 Parks and
Youth Training Partnership Recreation, Seattle
I was Instructor Supervisor I-90 Pedestrian Tunnel in Seattle. The students were from
First Job for Youth training Partnership. They were fifty ethnically diverse students. One could
hear them coming down trotting to the trailer Department of Transportation installed in the
entranceway to the tunnel. The whole project was an odyssey. The tunnel was more than a mile
long57.We had to carry the paints back and forth; needless to say, coming back out for a break
was out of the question. I posted a link to a video of the murals and tunnel walk, below. Anyone
who watches will realize the amount of walking involved to paint all the paintings. I had half the
Murals another Instructor had the other half, I worked on those too because I finished mine first,
I had to bring drawings up to scale and paint them together with the youth. I could not
paint my Art because I got hired by the City, and it was a conflict of interest.
I got a small drawing and brought them to scale. We only had the summer, so it was a
very ambitious project. I am the Programing Director for MAA (Multicultural Art Alternatives)
for many years. I promote Art, Artists, and Programs.58
57https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP9UV9A5w90
58 https://maalearningcenter.wordpress.com/
MAYA MONUMENTS 92
Figure 59and 59a Monzon My Mother Luz Monzon Castro Conde, Directora del Inca, 2002
My mother was an Angel of Mercy, a teacher, and a Principal, she was loved by
thousands of people. She helped me become who I am more than any other human being alive.
Luz Monzon was an exemplary person devoted to prayer and Education.
Principal at an Elementary school in San Jose Pinula after retirement from Inca Institute
National of Central America.She was not a great artist, but she was the one who taught me to
love the arts. She taught Language and History for fifty years. I try to make her proud. I feel she
is with me; she taught me to have an altar and pray for my ancestors. My Last names are Castro
Conde, Peña? (rocky mountain) de la Cruz (of the Cross) from my Grandparents. All three,
President of Fresno State, Graduate Studios Founders, and I are Castro. Destiny, Fate or allegory.
My first sculpture I made was Cesar Chaves, my first banner in California was for the Fresno
Unified Department of Education, Cesar Chavez parade for Chis Correa’s (of Holy Cross) sister.
Then I did Mahatma Gandhi for a contest I won and I made Candhi’s Portrait for Ahimsa,
Non Violance Week celebration upstairs and k
Later I participated in a dual show with California Native American basketry artists guild.
All these events documented ahead.
MAYA MONUMENTS 93
Figure 59b Monzon A Cesar Chavez sculpture in Kriss Kessy’s class, Beginning Sculpture, Photo Monzon, 2016.
Figure 59c Fresno Unified Department of Education Cesar Chavez March Banner, 2019
MAYA MONUMENTS 94
Figure 59c Monzon A.My studio number two, the second year 2018
Figure
59d
Monzon
Anabella Built
and
Fired
In
pieces.
20196
Figure 59e Monzon A reinforcing base of sculpture with cement after Show, 2019
MAYA MONUMENTS 95
This codex is a significant mythological tale, recorded and translated by an unknown
Dominican missionary in the 1550s. The text, the Popol Vuh or Council Book, is now the most
detailed source material we have concerning the Mayan civilization.59
Figure 61 Monzon A. Ceramic Plate. 2019 Craig
Figure 60, Monzon A. Reinforcing the base of last piece, Polanaski Collection.
Wood straightens Cement, Monzon 2019.
Quiche is an area close to Quetzaltenango, midwestern highlands of Guatemala, where my
family has lived for centuries, and my mother was born. It is crucial to have a personal
significance relationship with the subject of my work. It is essential.
My mother used to tell me stories from Popol Vuh Mayan Codex 60since I was a child,
and she used Mayan Myth names to call our pets. She contributed to form my ideas. She was a
high school Language Teacher and she taught me to have a Lexical Memory as well as get
equivalences for high school in Guatemala when I came back from going to school in Canada for
53 Woodruff, J. M. (2011). Ma(R)King Popol Vuh. Romance Notes,
60 Nelson, R. (2011). Vigilance, expectancy, and noise: Attention in second language lexical learning and memory. Second
Language Research, https://doi-org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.1177/0267658310385757
MAYA MONUMENTS 96
three years, without her help I could not have continued to go to school. She was the Principal of
the Largest Public School in Central America and dearly loved.
I grew up in the mountains, and the sky seems to be closer in the tropics and has many
stars, it feels like you can touch the heavens. The rain lasts six months in the tropical jungle, and
thunder is not a straight line of light, but many myriad lights come out of the main snake-like
thunder. At night thunder look like birds of electricity embroidered by a loom in the sky of a
native Indian’s attire. In the nights,
I saw the Feathered Serpents61 thunders when I sat on the pyramids. I visited the ball
courts in Teotihuacan and sat in the stepped pyramids caressing with my naked feet the stones. I
danced by the pyramids in my costume nearby.
A crowd stopped and got out from their cars, and people came uphill running; while I was
tumbling down in circles trying to gain footing on the steep floor.
They thought we were filming a movie, and I felt the fear of being trampled. It was
significant because that is when I got saved from being a dancer and became an artist instead. It
felt like I was a sacrificial maid among the huts, and I trembled with ancient passions.
I
was standing on the foothills with the red veil dress that whirl winded around me as a
crazy butterfly. I was full of dreams that one day would go up, not like trails of smoke, but like
trails of coils. Coils also signify Quetzal bird feathers, which are very long; they can be longer
than six feet and are narrow. Quetzal is the National freedom emblem of my country and our
currency.
My meaning is the caracole seashell, and my art forms are organic.
Chay Abah is the Temple of the Serpent Priest. Is a story I wrote to be published, my first effort
to illustrate a book. Jorge Ramirez Valenzuela from Yoga Temple zone 8 used my art to cover of
booklets they were published with his messages.
61 Tedlock, Dennis. Rabinail Achi: A Mayan Drama of War and Sacrifice. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2003.
MAYA MONUMENTS 97
Figure 62a Monzon A. Chay Abah, Sacred Stone, Photo Monzon, 2019
Figure 63a Monzon A. Monjas Blanca, I had to break Figure 63b Monzon A. Tohil, Lord of Air and Sun, Photo
Monzon, 2019
this one, Photo Monzon, 2019.
MAYA MONUMENTS 98
PROCESS
The coils in my sculpture provide me with a sense of lights’ joy. They are living
thoughts, help, and guidance from above, each loop brings communion with hermetic silence
I do not like to see blood spilled. Mayan in my blood, so I experienced the need to build bigger
and bigger to request a stop to war sacrifices and Volcano Eruptions.
Every time I do not know what to do next on a clay piece, I make coils and remember
the light of the creator shines from above as I make them. The description of the work involves a
lot of faces. They look irregular in bone structure, like face deformation is typical in Mayan art,
and later, typical of torture experienced in the hands of Spaniard conquerors and priests. In
Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala children 62these deformities of mind caused by trauma because they
are survivors of government-led systemic violence against the Maya Tzutujil community.63 In my
creations, odd faces represent mind deformations in culture, like masks.
The discussion may address the social implications of cultural beliefs, for example, the practice of
communicating with ancestors how it
influences the look and feel of my work.
There are grand celebrations that
commemorate the dead, like Fiesta, in Octavio
Paz. People release their daily roles, and
everyone can be what they want to be. Blow
out the steam of repression and poverty caused
by Colonialism. People do not have a voice;
they put their views to messages from beyond,
to ancestors, so they can say what they want
and not be held accountable and punished for
their own opinions. Octavio explains his view
Figure 64 Monzon A. Bronze rabbit, Edward Gillum helped
with wax mold. Photo Monzon, 2019
62 R odriguez, F. (2018). Children in Crisis: Maya Identity in Guatemalan Children’s Drawings. Studies in Art Education, 59(4),
311–327. https://doi-org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.1080/00393541.2018.1509262
MAYA MONUMENTS 99
in the review book "the Bow and the Lyre" poetic revelation.64
Poetry is also a symbolic representation; words have two meanings "language when one
word plays a double role (suggesting two meanings
at the same time); we call it a pun." These
philosophical qualities, of double meanings or
double roles, played in Fiesta, are studied since the
Greeks. Philosophy began in a particular category of
"polar doublets": "paradoxical doublets."
Those exciting features of Socrates'
personality so often noted by his contemporaries,
who described him as "an enigmatic juxtaposition of
contrary elements: sober although drinking freely."
(Sharon, 2018)"A vision is finally provided for an
escape from the unsatisfactory status of human
separateness," a unity is perceived in the duality
principle of creation.
Art forms fill hallow empty spaces, but they
are not considered a duality of two separate objects
Figure64 Monzon A Imix application Hardener resins. but a unity. A vision of integration is required to
2019 ignore the ambivalence of inequality. Recent
violence in Guatemala due to lack of justice, caused mass graves because natives were asking for
ownership papers to their lands. It is through a higher united quest for independence; we find social
freedom aptitudes to achieve the autonomy of Social justice. I am talking about human ethical
pursuit is not only expressed, but awakened by the arts, by symbols of art, performing arts, music,
and poetry, 65
This subliminal quest can be expressed best by music, not words.
64 e Valis, N. (2000). The Moral Voice of Octavio Paz. Modern Age, 42(1), 49. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=2963209&site=ehost-live8
Londré, F. H. (2004).
65 The Bow and the Lyre: The Poem, The Poetic Revelation, Poetry, and History (Book). (1990). Library Journal, Retrieved from
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