The Baroque stylings of the European image arrived on the shores of the Americas in the 16th century and soon began its transformation into a colonial-mestizo variant, which utilized the outward appearance of the European source, while incorporating the subdued and even subversive translations of the indigenous and creole artists trained to rework it in the studios and workshops of the Spanish colonies.

It is at the point of introduction and divergence that I have begun an exploration of the convergence of two distinct cultures whose confrontational relationship continues to define the present moment.

The dualistic aspects of this relationship defy the dialectic argument for synthesis, as the historical construct of Latino identity continues to be fragmented by issues of place, language, class and race; it is more apt to be a Borgesian quandry, a labyrinth of the dead ends of historical fact, where the paths of understanding lead into a tangle of myth and fiction.

My vehicle for the exploration of this labyrinth is the very same Mestizo-Baroque contrivance that gave form to the initial moment when the one (Euro-Spanish), was faced with other (pre-Columbian indigenous). It is a moment that continues to resonate into the present, and as such, I have sought to (re)present it as an ongoing story, based as it is, in imposition, translation, identity, dislocation, conflict and transformation. Within its text lies the heart of memory (recuerdo), the story recalled; as it is my belief that in recalling this past, I can more fully understand this "indefinite" present, in the hope of giving some definition to an uncertain future.