Correspondencia: Rufino Loya y la Casa de Azúcar, 2020​

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In 2019, I happened upon a beautiful house, and on a whim, wrote a letter to the address to express my admiration. The owner, Rufino Loya Rivas, wrote back, including photos he's taken of the exterior, upon which these collages honoring his creation are based. He dreamed of becoming an architect as a boy, but never had the means to. The sculptures surrounding the home were built over the course of 24 years as a gesture of love for his wife, Celia. He spent every afternoon, Saturday, and holiday building them.  At the time of correspondence, he and Celia had been married 56 years. Rufino passed away in 2022. 

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Rufino's detailed monuments are an homage to the city of El Paso, and during the quarter century of their construction, he drew inspiration directly from his personal history and that of the borderland. The result is a candid collection of icons, phrases, and sentiments; concrete transformed by love into a sacred scene on the otherwise unremarkable access road to highway 54.

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The third image is of his Monument to Love. The front reads, "Yes, faith moves mountains, but love moves the universe."