Rosa Elvira, the Sweet Vendor. Martyr

Photo credits: Martha Lucía Villafañe
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Martha Lucía Villafañe

2017
Drawing on bent and rusted iron plate. Sweets and a glass heart. Synthetic palm of martyrdom
1,10 x 0,82 x 0,10 m.

This work represents Rosa Elvira Cely, a woman violently murdered and impaled on 24 May 2012 in Bogotá’s National Park. The artist recalls her life, her body, her colourful sweet box—her means of livelihood—and portrays her as a martyr with two attributes typical of religious iconography: a green palm and an exposed red heart. The piece reflects on the dignification and vindication of femicide victims, reminding us of the mobilisation that led to Law 1761 of 2015, which recognises femicide as an autonomous crime and fights against societal and institutional indifference toward these atrocious acts.