About EsenPR
Mother Earth
About the Sculptor
Xemí Sculptures
- Atabey represents the Earth Spirit and the Spirit of the waters. She is known also as Atabex or Atabeira in the islands where Taínos lived: Borikén (Puerto Rico), Hispaniola (Dominican Republic), Jamaica and Cuba.
- Atabey represents all that is tangible or material and has special manifestations. She is the nurturing maternal figure calle
- Atabey represents the Earth Spirit and the Spirit of the waters. She is known also as Atabex or Atabeira in the islands where Taínos lived: Borikén (Puerto Rico), Hispaniola (Dominican Republic), Jamaica and Cuba.
- Atabey represents all that is tangible or material and has special manifestations. She is the nurturing maternal figure called upon by Taínas when giving birth. Another facet is Caguana (cag wanna), the spirit of love. As Guabancex (gua ban ceh) she is the wild, violent mother of volcanoes, storms, and earthquakes.
Xemí Sculptures
About the Sculptor
Xemí Sculptures
- The Xemí sculptures are inspired by carvings of stone and wood the Taínos called cemí to represent deities, ancestral spirits, and the spirit of nature, Atabey.
- The Taínos lived in Boriken (Puerto Rico) and other Caribbean Islands at the time of the Encounter. They were close to the earth and understood that we are all intertwined.
- These
- The Xemí sculptures are inspired by carvings of stone and wood the Taínos called cemí to represent deities, ancestral spirits, and the spirit of nature, Atabey.
- The Taínos lived in Boriken (Puerto Rico) and other Caribbean Islands at the time of the Encounter. They were close to the earth and understood that we are all intertwined.
- These are not replicas but are inspired by the Taíno cemí sculptures. I chose to spell it with an X to represent the crossroads between cultures. Taínos did not have a written language, so the names we have are Spanish phonetic spellings.
MATERIALS USED
- I began to make the Xemís in hypertufa, but halted the project when I became aware that the peat moss in traditional hypertufa is not sustainable.
- Coconut coir was suggested as a more sustainable replacement for the peat moss. Although I have coconut palms, I found it too labor intense.
- After much trial and error, I developed a hypertufa-style mix using ground sargasso, which is plentiful and sustainable.
- I would like to think that my Taíno ancestors guided me to use sargasso although I never heard any voices as such! They used it to nourish their plants and it is still widely used by our Maya cousins for fertilizer.
About the Sculptor
About the Sculptor
About the Sculptor
- I was born in New York but my parents moved the family back to Puerto Rico when I was five.
- I spent summers in my mother's hometown, Naguabo, at the southern foothills of the rainforest, climbing trees, swinging on the hammock, eating guavas and tamarind. High atop the tamarind tree was my favorite spot where I could see hills and sky fo
- I was born in New York but my parents moved the family back to Puerto Rico when I was five.
- I spent summers in my mother's hometown, Naguabo, at the southern foothills of the rainforest, climbing trees, swinging on the hammock, eating guavas and tamarind. High atop the tamarind tree was my favorite spot where I could see hills and sky forever.
- My dad passed away when I was ten and we returned to New York where my mother found work as a seamstress and pattern maker.
- I studied art and sculpture at the High School of Music and Art. I went to college and married my childhood sweetheart, Hector Camacho. We have three amazing children and nine grandchildren.
- When Hector and I retired to Puerto Rico, my grandmother was long gone, and the house had been sold. I went to look for my wonderful, idyllic place. I could not believe what I saw when I finally found it. The huge pasture and creek were replaced by a shopping mall. I was devastated. I cried.
Perfect as home or office décor or a focal point in the
The Xemí collection
The Xemí remind us to honor and respect Atabey in her three elements:
air, earth, and water.
AIR: Xemí Iguaca, the Puerto Rican parrot, represents the air.
EARTH: Xemí Coquí represents earth.
WATER: Xemí Manatí represents water.