Juan Camilo Alfonso

Magdalena

Germany - Colombia - Mexico
2021 - ongoing

Magdalena is a macro-flag woven and painted collectively by Colombian migrants in Berlin as a symbol of solidarity and indictment against the disappearance of protesters from the 2021 national strike in Colombia and the subsequent appearance of their bodies in the country's rivers. It seeks to summon and connect the voices and stories of different rivers and territories through performative actions.

It was first used in May 2021 in an action in the Landwehr Canal in Berlin.

In July 2021, the flag was hung on the Riecito Bridge over the Guayas River in Caquetá, Colombia. This bridge was bombed in 2002 by the FARC guerrilla - the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

In May 2023, it was used again on the Sangoyaco and Pepino rivers in Putumayo, Colombia, to memorialise the 2017 mudslide tragedy in Mocoa and the state's related negligence.

In March 2024, Magdalena was hung at Puente Negro, on the border between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, at the infamous 'Wall' that divides Mexico and the USA. The action was carried out on the 1st anniversary of a deadly fire at a migratory station.

In each location, these actions were organised in collaboration with local collectives that campaign for human rights in their regions through various cultural activities.