Alejandro Santiago

Painter and sculptor Alejandro Santiago is a native of Oaxaca, Mexico, one of the cultural hearts of Mexico, and home to 14 distinct indigenous ethnic groups. 

Santiago’s most recent project, 2501 MIGRANTES, is a homage to the vast number of people who have disappeared from his village, and many other villages like it, in recent years. Due to a lack of economic opportunity at home, many residents, especially men, have made the treacherous journey across the border into the United States in order to find more lucrative work and provide for their families.

The story that these figures tell is an important one for Mexicans, Americans, and all migrant individuals. It is a story of loneliness and the heartbreak of families divided. But it is also a story of great hope and inspiration. The migration of people from one culture to another is what makes societies strong and yet present-day policies and prejudices have converted this practice into a tragedy.

Santiago’s 2501 MIGRANTES calls out to each one of us to recognize the suffering of the migrant so that we may respond with compassion, empathy, and a strong sense of justice for those who are forced to leave in search of a better life. The figures also remind us that those who are left behind do not forget, and that their misery is just as great as those who are gone. Santiago believes that through “uniting forces”, those on both sides of the border may arrive at a common solution that will finally bring an end to this ongoing cycle of needless suffering.

2501 Migrantes is currently being exhibited at the Oaxaca Museum of Contemporary Art in Oaxaca City http://www.museomaco.com.
The exhibit consists of over 400 life-sized, ceramic figures representing the men, women and children who are now gone. It is the artist’s commitment to continue producing these figures until all 2,501 are completed.

We invite you to join us in our efforts to bring this exhibit to the Mexico-USA border in order to form a symbolic wall in homage to the migrants. We also wish to bring this important work to the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas. By exposing our communities to this vision, we will be opening a space for constructive dialogue on the issue of migration and how we, as individuals and as a community, are responding.

For more information, please visit http://www.bonsorte.com/bds/web-content/pages/santiago.html or email us at santiago@bonsorte.com.