Partera di Anaku: Tráelo al mundo junto a tus ancestros
(The Birth of Anaku: Bring him to the world together with your ancestors)
Copyright 2023, Tenaz (William Alvaro Cordova). All Rights reserved.

In this large street mural, Ecuadorian artist Tenaz (William Alvaro Cordova) creates a beautiful birth scene. Located on the streets of Cotacachi, Ecaudor, the mural shows a woman giving birth, attended by a midwife or aid who wears the traditional white blouse and deep blue skirt of the Otavaleños, a peoples indigenous to Ecuador.

The words on the mural, “Tráelo al mundo junto a tus ancestros” translates as “Bring him to the world together with your ancestors.” In the larger mural, we see a floating newborn, umbilical cord reaching out to two figures who seem to rest beyond in the blue swirl of a galaxy.

For women who are preparing for labor and birth, this image is both soothing and empowering. With her head raised up and eyes clothes, the birthing woman releases her child into the world, supported by a birth attendant who catches her baby upon delivery. The pink, purple and deep blue colors of the mural are womb-like, and the green growths upon which the birthing woman leans back ground her with the natural world. A crescent moon rests in the sky, mirroring the woman’s birthing frame.

Connecting the child to its mother and its ancestors, this mural reminds the viewer that birth is part of a cycle of life that reaches back to the past. Sometimes, a pregnant, laboring, or birthing woman may feel alone. But an image such as Tenaz’s mural reminds her that she is connected to a long lineage of birth, with many women before her going through the process. In this lineage, she is not alone and is connected to all who have given birth before her (for other such images related to the power of a lineage of birth when preparing for labor, see Visualizing Birth’s previous posts, such as Temple Image of Birth from Ancient Egypt  and Sacred Lineage of Birth in Mara Berendt Friedman’s “Trinity,”)

Tenaz (William Alvaro Cordova) is an Ecuadorian muralist actively involved in multiple projects. More of his beautiful work may be viewed through his Instagram account.