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Favio Arosemena is a Guna cultural artist, community conservationist, and co-founder of the “Art, Culture, and Ecology”, project known as Yar Burba in Armila, Guna Yala, Panama. His work integrates ancestral knowledge, environmental protection, music, and cultural storytelling.

Desy Martínez Castro is a Guna cultural artist, community conservationist, and co-founder of the “Art, Culture, and Ecology”, project known as Yar Burba in Armila, Guna Yala, Panama. From a young age, she learned the ancestral art of mola weaving, passed down by women in her community. Trained by biologists, Desy has 15 years of working as a dedicated leader in turtle conservation.

Arte Molas

MOLAS: Art, Culture, and Ecology: At the heart of our Guna culture, each mola is much more than a piece of fabric: it is a living language, an ancestral memory, and a profound expression of our people’s soul. Each design is born from a unique inspiration—from nature, dreams, spirits, and daily life—and that is why no two molas are alike. Each one tells a different story, conveys a message, and holds a meaning that has been passed down from generation to generation. Molas are not simply crafts. They are manifestations of identity, resilience, and wisdom. In every stitch, the knowledge of our ancestors is interwoven, ancestors who understood that everything in the universe is connected: the sea, the jungle, animals, human beings, and the spiritual world.

Conservación

En Yar Burba, la conservación es el corazón de nuestra experiencia. Aquí protegemos la naturaleza como parte de nuestra vida diaria, cuidando los bosques, el agua y las especies que nos rodean, especialmente la tortuga baula. Cada visitante se une a un viaje de respeto y aprendizaje, donde la cultura Guna y la ecología se encuentran para preservar lo que somos y lo que tenemos para las futuras generaciones.

The Leatherback Turtle: What My Grandparents Taught Me. This work is born from the memory of my grandparents. They taught me that Armila beach is not just sand and sea. It is an open book where nature writes its story every year. When I was a child, they told me that before seeing the leatherback turtle, you must first listen to it. The sound of the sea changed. The wind spoke differently. The night grew deeper. The leatherback doesn’t arrive alone. It arrives accompanied by the memory of the ocean. (Desy)