Contemporary artist and educator Jackie Amézquita presents her exhibition Huellas que germinan in Guatemala in October 2026, anchoring her work in Guatemalan soil that mirrors her physical migration from Central America to Los Angeles. Agencia Ocote reported on her artistic practice, which fuses organic materials such as corn masa, salt, and rainwater to explore physical endurance, borders, and regional identity.
The featured installation centers on a slab of earth constructed from Guatemalan soil, water, rain, and masa, functioning as a physical anchor for a twenty-minute timelapse projection of her 2018 performance walk.
Tracing the 2018 Border Performance
In 2018, Amézquita executed a grueling seven-day performance walk starting from the border at Tijuana San Isidro in Mexico and terminating in Los Angeles, California. During the trek, she wove her body against the grain of her journey, establishing a grassroots community network that helped her secure lodging across neighborhoods connecting San Diego and Los Angeles.
The performance aimed to reclaim dignity for the traveler while highlighting the artificial division of a landscape situated less than two hundred miles from the international boundary. But there is a deeper resonance to the physical toll.
Amézquita reflected on the endurance required for such journeys, questioning where people are going—to work or to home—and noting that she thinks about the endurance of the body and what is endured, not only physically but also emotionally.
That physical and emotional resilience forms the backbone of her sculptures, paintings, and drawings.
| Performance / Exhibition | Year | Key Location | Core Materials |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huellas que germinan (Walk) | 2018 | Tijuana to Los Angeles | Human body, community lodging network |
| Huellas que germinan (Exhibition) | 2026 | Guatemala | Guatemalan soil, salt, rainwater, corn masa |
From Quetzaltenango to Los Angeles
Amézquita’s artistic vocabulary is deeply rooted in her personal biography. She migrated to the United States in 2003 at the age of seventeen to reunite with her mother, who had moved north in 1987. That family separation and eventual reunion mirrored patterns visible across her community in Quetzaltenango.
Adapting to life in Southern California required navigating systemic barriers. She spent six or seven years learning English, attended community college over a span of thirteen years, and worked a succession of jobs ranging from McDonald’s and door-to-door sales to construction before finding her path in art and education.
Rather than discarding these experiences, she channels them into organic sculptures. Her palette incorporates traditional Mesoamerican and Guatemalan culinary elements such as achiote and cacao.
Maize remains central to her artistic identity. It serves as a cultural marker that extends far beyond modern geopolitical borders into deep indigenous history.
The Geography of Return
The 2026 exhibition in Guatemala arrives at a moment of significant political tension regarding regional migration, voluntary departures, and formal deportations. For Amézquita, the installation acts as a tangible welcome.
Regarding the exhibition, she described using Guatemalan soil as the earth that sustains, noting it is the earth that watched her grow, watched her walk, and welcomes her back again, which she likened to the hug someone gives you.
She emphasizes that migration is frequently mischaracterized through the singular lens of poverty. Human movement involves diverse timelines, complex motivations, and varied destinations that stretch well beyond the borders of the United States.
By bringing her work back to the soil of her origin, Amézquita uses art to mimic reality, confronting the stigma of undocumented status and asserting that human beings remain residents of a shared world regardless of political paperwork.
