Branch of Leaves

Castillo’s trees of life enchant while shedding light on the troubling world around us

The “tree of life” is an inclusive symbol, used in cultures around the world, of the connectivity between all living things. Verónica Castillo has worked with the form all her life. She grew up in Izúcar de Matamoros, a small town south of Mexico City, and likes to say she was introduced to working with clay while still in the womb. She grew up watching her father expand the traditional form of religious themes into broader, visual storytelling. Her own works are created in a vivid narrative style that often gives voice to the struggles she observes in the world, incorporating themes of social, environmental, and economic justice.

Varita de Hojas (“Branch of Leaves”), which Castillo donated to the Center (pictured above), reflects what she calls the ancient precursor to the tree of life form—a natural tree or branch—that families exchanged with each other to establish enduring connections in ancient times. It is similar to the first sculpture she made when she was just eight years old. In presenting it to curator Marjorie Hunt, she noted that the birds and other hanging ornaments were hard to make as a child. Thus, she said, “Although it is small, it is meaningful for me,” because it reminds her of how she learned from her father. Below her signature is a family symbol that represents both her parents’ entwined initials within the letter “C”.

Although Castillo only participated in the 2017 Folklife Festival for two days, she seemed to be everywhere—painting and discussing her sculptures, witnessing a naturalization ceremony for youth, selling her wares in the Marketplace, and participating in the “Girlhood on the Move” Story Circle. That session was billed as “an intergenerational conversation about the intersection of gender, migration, and cultural heritage” and provided a glimpse into the social activism that infuses her life and work.

On her last day, Castillo presented the specially commissioned Smithsonian Tree of Life to Richard Kurin, the long-time director of the Folklife Festival and now the Smithsonian’s distinguished scholar and ambassador-at-large. It is a personal gift to him that commemorates fifty years of the Festival and key milestones from Kurin’s decades-long Smithsonian career. The inscription on the back loosely translates to: “If you have good friends, you are protected.”