Family Urges Help for Venezuelan Artist Trapped Under Earthquake Rubble
Onai Quiñonez is among the thousands reported missing after two back-to-back earthquakes devastated the nation.
Family members of the Venezuelan artist Onai Quiñonez have issued an urgent call for help as they say the painter remains trapped following the collapse of a residential building in the coastal town of Caraballeda in La Guaira. He is one of the tens of thousands of people reported missing after two back-to-back earthquakes devastated the nation on Wednesday, June 24.
Quiñonez’s sister-in-law, Mariela Roa, told Hyperallergic via WhatsApp messages in Spanish that he was in the Yurre Beach residence in the hard-hit seaside city when the quake hit, and that official rescue teams have not yet reached the site.
“We need to give visibility to Onai’s situation,” Roa said. “He is alive, he is fighting, he's been under the rubble for 41 hours.” Hyperallergic could not independently verify Quiñonez’s condition, but hundreds are estimated to be trapped beneath the wreckage of collapsed buildings in La Guaira.
The two earthquakes hit a minute apart on Wednesday night, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively; the second quake was the strongest recorded in Venezuela in over a century, experts say. At least 589 people have been killed in the disaster, according to Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez, and over 3,000 injured.
Quiñonez, originally from Mérida in northwestern Venezuela, is known for his vibrant, expressionistic, and highly dynamic paintings. He was in the building with his wife, the artist Laura Silva, who had stepped out to walk their dog, Petra, when the first quake hit.
“She saw the building collapse, with my brother in it,” said Quiñonez’s sister, Nahiara, in a Spanish audio message to Hyperallergic.
Over the last two days, her father and Silva have gathered groups of friends and family at the site to help clear debris, but specialized assistance is needed, Nahiara said. The family has shared Zelle and PayPal accounts for donations.
“The infrastructure is very weakened, so they need to work with special machines that are difficult to access right now,” Nahiara continued. “There are also electricity issues and difficulties accessing the area, and telecommunications are failing.”
Quiñonez’s circumstances are horrific, yet sadly far from exceptional. Also in La Guaira, textile artist Siul Rasse and photographer Azalia Licón posted on Instagram about their search for missing family members.
Creative communities both locally and in the diaspora have mobilized quickly in response to the crisis, with the gallery GBG Arts in Caracas issuing a public call for artworks for a fundraiser. New York-based illustrator Andrea Cáceres has been sharing resources, including donation pages for direct relief efforts and local drop-off points for supplies.
Internationally, organizations such as the I Love Venezuela Foundation and the Global Empowerment Mission are raising funds to deliver food, water, and medical aid to those affected.
The earthquakes come in the wake of Trump's dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a decision experts say is significantly slowing down humanitarian relief efforts in the region. The South American nation was already reeling from state neglect, crippling economic sanctions, and chaos following Trump's abduction and arrest of then-President Nicolás Maduro in a January operation estimated to cost over $200 million.
