empty storefront windows at 477 Broadway in lower Manhattan, blocks away from the New York Stock Exchange. Created by activist and artist Paola Mendoza, these installations, entitled Immigrants Are Essential, constitute a memorial to the lives of undocumented immigrants who died while working in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their names are Mario, Guadalupe, Ofelia, Yimel, Fedelina, Juan, and Moisés. It is difficult not to be drawn to the beaming face of Mario Hernandez Enríquez, in his black jacket and tie (Fig. 2). A halo and bold rays emanate from his head. His shoulders and torso are outlined in orange against a blue background imbued with geometric patterns that recall complex Mesoamerican designs. A Spanish proverb wraps around the halo: “We have sworn to love each other unto death. And if the dead love, after death, we will love each other more.” Fig 2. Mendoza, Paola. Immigrants Are Essential. 22 Apr. 2021, essential-immigrants.com. Above his portrait and each of the others, Mendoza has emblazoned the title of her installation in large blue letters: Immigrants are Essential. As will be shown, the title is a verbal riposte to politically weaponized anti-immigrant rhetoric in the years leading up to the pandemic. However, this article is primarily interested in the iconography of religion, indigeneity, and labor that Mendoza draws together to build a visual response to dehumanizing ideas about the undocumented. 10
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