Palma Sola con Son del Sol (Solitary Palm with the Sun's Son/Sound) is a large scale painting translation of Caribbean solitude under the syncretic influence of Son Cubano music in Miami with its Castas system legacy blending indigenous Caribbean, African and Spanish sounds. Sun bursts of cast tropical palms scintillate across a textured gold Queen sized bedsheet, hovering within a glowing aura installation of desert light. Aquatic tints and vibrant sunset tones undulate along the surface of the textile, while glitter pools in the frond's shadows to encase the foliage before desiccated remains of the paint, its habitat and vulnerability encroach upon its man made materiality. The title draws from Cuban activist, journalist's Nicolás Guillen's El Son Entero (The Whole Son) 1947 book of poems including Palma Sola (Solitary Palm).

Flora Aura cast landscape paintings considers fertility culture across reproductive health and climate crisis in the Americas: a complicated historical, political, and geographic context wherein conquering the tropical landscape and diasporic women’s bodies stem from a colonial Eurocentric legacy.

Exhibited at the Southern Survey Biennial Project Row Houses Houston, TX October 12 2024 - February 9 2025 curated by Dr Kimberli Gant with support by Cydney Pickens

Palma Sola de Nicolás Guillén 1947 del libro El Son Entero

La palma que está en el patio
nació sola;
creció sin que yo la viera,
creció sola;
bajo la luna y el sol,
vive sola.

Con su largo cuerpo fijo,
palma sola;
sola en el patio sellado,
siempre sola,
guardián del atardecer,
sueña sola.

La palma sola soñando,
palma sola,
que va libre por el viento,
libre y sola,
suelta de raíz y tierra,
suelta y sola,
cazadora de las nubes,
palma sola,
palma sola,
palma.