LA POLLERA CHINA

Mypiece, “La Pollera China,” explores the nuanced blending of cultures and what it means to be mixed race in Latin America. Through my artwork, I aim to demonstrate an intersection of identities, both visually and conceptually. In Panamanian culture, a pollera is a traditional dress worn during festivals, symbolizing a woman’s strength and heritage. A pollera is embroidered with intricate images, such as flowers or birds, representing the virtues of the woman and her family history. Usually a family heirloom passed down from mother to daughter through generations, polleras are highly regarded articles of clothing. I am lucky to be the recipient of my family’s pollera.

My family’s pollera represents our unique ethnic history, commissioned for my Panamanian grandmother and her future daughters by my Chinese grandfather decades ago. The Chinese dragon motif, known for its strength and power, is intricately woven into the cream-colored fabric of the pollera, creating a beautiful balance with the soft red and orange hues of the dragons.

Thisharmony of colors and symbols serves as a metaphor for the intersection of ethnicities and culture in Latin America. I have found, as a mixed race woman living in Latin America, that our diverse backgrounds and experiences are something to be celebrated, rather than a reason to be ostracized or dismissed. By showcasing the beauty of blending cultures through my artwork, I hope to inspire others to embrace their own identities. Ethnicity is not a set of boxes to be filled out— it’s a non-linear spectrum to celebrate.

- MADDY MEGAL ’25

Corazón comprimido

En la hora más oscura de mi poesía, cuando mis demonios me jalan hacia el alma y me conducen a la extinción humana, cuando las partículas de mi cadaver se evaporan o se trituran entre puntiagudas paredes, cuando los límites mundanos me incitan un vacío y las puertas no me llevan a ningún lado, cuando solo un sueño profundo me puede salvarpuede salvarme, o una ducha caliente de lágrimas, que es lo mismo, cuando mi existencia se pone en duda y mi pasado pierde sus dimensiones,

Otro cielo

El cielo era mi portal al mundo, la trama de mis mitos, la expansión infinita del universo y de mi vida,

Pero hoy, Ignorando que hay un cielo arriba mío, es el manto de mis problemas, el recordatorio de mi muerte, la avalancha de mi inquietitud.

Solipsismo optimista

En el espejo somos los dos, cuerpo y alma. En mis recuerdos solo estás tú, y yo no estoy, sino que soy ese recuerdo así como soy tú, así como soy él y ellos,

Falsas ilusiones

Un corazón desilusionado aún se siente en batalla, Pero el tiempo sabe que ya perdió y perdió más de lo que imagina. Pero el corazón ensangrentado, en el abismo de la muerte, recibe una señal de resurrección, un presentimiento sobrenatural entre el delirio y la razón. El corazón desilusionado nunca muere, Simplemente no deja de morir.

Compressed Heart

In the darkest hours of my poetry, when my demons pull me in, towards the soul and drive me toward human extinction, when the last particles of my skeleton evaporate or are crushed between walls covered in thorns, when human limits bring me to a void and no door is an entrance, when only deep sleep can save me, or tears in a hot shower, which is the same, when my existence is in doubt and my past loses dimension,

Another Sky

The sky was my portal to the world, the way to my myths, the infinite expansion of the universe of my life,

But today, Ignoring that there is a sky above mine, that is the blanket of my problems, that is the reminder of my death, an avalanche of discomfort.

Optimistic Solipsism

In the mirror, it’s just the two of us, body and soul. In my memories, it’s just you, without me, rather I am that memory as I am you, as I am him and them,

False Illusions

A disillusioned heart still feels in battle, But time knows it already lost and lost more than what can be imagined. But the bloody heart, in death’s abyss, receives a sign of resurrection, a supernatural premonition between delirium and reason. The disillusioned heart never dies, It simply never stops dying.