Papel Memoria

Papel Memoria is a memorial archive by Alessandra Gutierrez honoring individuals affected by immigration enforcement, detention, and systemic violence through papel picado portraits that preserve their stories and are free to download for vigils and community gatherings.

I translate real photographs of immigration enforcement and loss into papel picado designs that anyone can download.

Black papel picado artwork of Christopher Rodriguez at a South Bronx demonstration for his father Javier Rodriguez, surrounded by family and community members.

Red papel picado artwork of Christopher Rodriguez at a South Bronx immigration protest calling for the return of his father Javier Rodriguez.

Source photograph of Christopher Rodriguez with family and community members at a South Bronx demonstration for his father Javier Rodriguez, used for Papel Memoria.

Use them to make something of your own. Hang them in your home, wear them on a t-shirt, or share them with others.

Source photograph of a woman being restrained by immigration officers in an indoor hallway, used to create the Distress Papel Memoria artwork.

Black papel picado artwork titled Distress depicting immigration officers restraining a woman in a hallway, from the Papel Memoria archive.

Unfortunately, this project will continue to grow as ICE, police, and detention centers continue to kill, torture, and dehumanize people in this country.

Detail of Renee Nicole Good’s Papel Memoria portrait showing a Minnesota lake, evergreen forest and native wildflowers with shadow of the portrait on the wall..

Source photo portrait of a Renee Good with curly red hair smiling at the camera near the ocean at the water's edge.

This project grew from a personal response to the horrors seen across the country.

I turned to art as a way to respond, to connect, and to support others in making something beautiful together.

Source photograph of Liam “Conejo” Ramos wearing a blue winter hat, plaid coat and backpack beside a vehicle in the snow.

Black papel picado portrait of Liam “Conejo” Ramos in his winter hat and coat, created for the Papel Memoria immigration archive.

I grew up watching my grandmother and her friends make things together; crocheting, sewing, figuring out how to mend the world around them.

Making was how they supported each other and made sense of the world. This project comes from that same place.

Green papel picado portrait of Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal wearing a shirt reading Freedom, surrounded by floral cut paper details.

Papel picado is fragile by nature, it is also communal. It is meant to be hung, to move with air, to be seen strung together.

In this form, these images shift from something consumed in passing into something to pause and hold.

Reference photograph of Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal wearing a Freedom T shirt outdoors, used to create his Papel Memoria portrait.

Reference photograph of Senator Andy Kim near Delaney Hall in Newark during a protest against immigration detention, used for his Papel Memoria artwork.

Blue papel picado artwork of Senator Andy Kim at Delaney Hall in Newark, with his hands raised amid federal agents and vehicles.

The medium has long marked celebration and grief, hanging overhead to unite people during gatherings.

By placing contemporary immigration imagery within this visual language, I connect present day realities to a form historically used to mark a shared experience.

Its fragility and repetition reflect the vulnerability and persistence present in migrant lives.

Papel picado is a living Mexican folk tradition rooted in ceremony, memory, and collective expression. I approach it as cultural dialogue, honoring its use of symmetry, repetition, and negative space.

Colorful papel picado portraits from Papel Memoria by Alessandra Gutierrez, displayed together as a memorial installation.

If there is someone who should be remembered, or if you know the family of someone represented here, please send a message using the “Get in touch” form on the homepage with the subject “Papel memoria- Contribution”.

When you create something, share it using #PapelMemoria so it can become part of this growing collective memorial.

This is a project about making, remembering, and holding space for what remains.

— Alessandra

The Papel Memoria templates are FREE to download and use for personal and community projects, including classrooms, religious groups, and shared spaces.

Be part of Papel Memoria. Your donation makes it possible for me to continue creating and sustaining these memorials.

Support the Work

The Memorial Archive

Each Papel Memoria portrait honors an individual life through a hand created papel picado design. Select a portrait to read their story, learn about the imagery, and access the free community use templates.

Interested in exhibiting Papel Memoria?

I am currently seeking museums, galleries, cultural institutions, and community spaces interested in exhibiting the Papel Memoria memorial archive. The portraits can be installed individually or as a larger collective memorial, bringing these lives and stories into public view.

If you are interested in hosting the work, please reach out.