While candles, images of saints, and other idols are common in households in Puerto Rico, the meanings owners ascribe to them can be unexpected.

Sebastián Meltz-Collazo
Sebastián Meltz-Collazo is a writer, visual artist, and musician working towards new experiences through the intersection of narratives. Connecting personal with collective histories, he explores iterations of visual culture and representation, raising questions around identity and its various manifestations. He is a graduate of Image Text Ithaca and is based in New York and Puerto Rico.
The Tropical Is Political
A group exhibition at the Americas Society investigates ideas of paradise, approaching the Caribbean region as a product of the visitor economy regime.
Sun-Kissed Memories of Ipanema Beach
When I recently came across Sandra Cattaneo Adorno’s photo book Águas de Ouro, I could hear the waves and boomboxes, and even taste the salt on my lips.