“Habitar a memoria” (Inhabiting Memory)

Yolanda Ríos Coello (Moaña, 1979) is a researcher and visual artist. Her work addresses the concepts of private and public space. Her sculptural language is based on architecture, sometimes working with materials used in models (paper, cardboard), and in other cases, with construction elements (cement, bricks, metal). Her installation “Habitar la memoria” [Inhabiting Memory] was one of the winning projects of VEGAP (Visual Entity for the Management of Plastic Artists) and was exhibited at the Sala Sur of the Conde Duque Center (C. del Conde Duque 11, Madrid) between November 2024 and February 2025.

The Installation

“Habitar la memoria” is based on the idea of home and identity that Galician migrants built in New York and New Jersey since the late 19th century. These two States were the preferred destinations for most of the Galicians who emigrated to the United States, and some of these individuals left a record of the trauma caused by their condition as migrants, especially in literary works, which reflect this complex condition of estrangement, uprooting, or “morriña” (homesickness).

After the research carried out during this work, it has been observed that the construction of identity by the migrated Galicians was carried out through the gatherings they held in associations such as the Casa de Galicia in New York. In these meetings, traditional dances, the organization of meals and dinners took place, and at the same time, they also offered a support network to new Galician migrants, as well as sending remittances for various social or educational causes. On the other hand, the migrants maintained strong ties with Galicia, mainly because they left behind family members to whom they sent money, objects, or clothes from the U.S.

This installation aims to show the relationship of correspondence between one place and another, between Galicia and New York and New Jersey. A table, an object around which meetings, gatherings, and meals took place, serves as the base where various ceramic pieces are placed. The pieces on the table are reproductions of traditional Galician pottery shapes, including a jug used as a chestnut roaster, a pot, and a “trampa” jug, over which structures or buildings representative of New York grow. Under the table are the “remates,” ceramic structures placed on the roofs of some Galician houses, whose shapes vary according to the potter and the region. Five different shapes have been chosen, which interact with the pieces on the table.

The Research

A great deal of interesting information on the subject was gathered from the website https://newyork.gal/. The author of the website, David Miranda Barreiro, is a researcher and lecturer at Bangor University with whom I have been in contact. I also had a meeting via Teams with María Seijo Richard, a lecturer at the University of Leeds, who told me how many people from her hometown, Bergondo in A Coruña, migrated to New York. She also provided information about correspondence cinema, a film genre developed in Galicia. These films exchanged recordings from both sides of the Atlantic, filming everyday scenes, landscapes, popular festivals, etc., in Galicia, commissioned by the migrant community from America. Additionally, films were made to show in the emigrants’ country of origin the associative activities of the emigrants in the Americas. Most of these films were made in South America, Argentina, Cuba, and Uruguay. Finally, I also exchanged emails with Antonio Porto, one of the people who contributed to the newyork.gal website, sharing his family’s story in relation to New York.

Books such as A muller loba by Claudio Rodríguez Fer and Sempre en Galiza by Castelao were also used as sources. The book Actas del Congreso Internacional O exilio galego, held in 2021, and the annual “Memorias” of the Casa Galicia of NY were also consulted. With this information, which served as inspiration, I began developing the first sketches, leading to the final idea.