MARFA — For many people who live in and love the Big Bend region, the idea of a steel border wall through some of the country’s most remote and wild landscapes has been a difficult pill to swallow. Almost a year into the saga, the issue has trickled down through social media posts and newspaper articles and lawsuit filings into one of the region’s primary exports –– fine art.
For Presidio-based artist Yosdy Valdivia, her strong emotions over the wall took shape as Mother of the Desert II, an oil on masonite painting of nature embodied as a weeping woman, whose tears become the Rio Grande. When Valdivia opened the doors to Galeria Raíces in 2024, she never expected that her small business would one day become a campaign stop for Gina Hinojosa, the Democrat running against Gov. Greg Abbott –– the first gubernatorial candidate ever to visit the sleepy border city.
