Ombligo

Inspired by a Guatemalan belief that we always long to return to the place where our umbilical cord was buried, this illustration explores the connection between home, identity, and belonging. Traditionally, mothers would bury their newborns’ umbilical cords in the courtyards of their homes, symbolically planting roots and creating a lifelong bond with their land and community, a connection believed to guide them home, wherever life might take them. Created for migrants living far from their homeland, this piece reflects the longing to reconnect with their roots and the places that shaped them.