Introduction
The name of the series is a reference to how European invaders classified Mayan and other indigenous deities upon their arrival in Mesoamerica. Seen as sacrilege and blasphemy by the Catholic Church and other religious authorities in Europe, these deities were often erased from public memory, with those who continued to worship them being punished. Many were successfully destroyed, only existing in modern day as images and obscure references in text. Others became absorbed into Catholic practices to help convert natives to Catholicism. Gutierrez's title is in and of itself a political statement, a reclamation of that which has been taken from her people. Her ancestors experienced traumas because of their race and religion, traumas similar to those she has experienced as a transgender woman. In one fell swoop, she tells the stories of both her ancestors and herself through a series of portraits that, though inspired by the divine, are vulnerable and candid.