El Podenca

This is a tribute to Mariposa—the podenca who stole my heart. I had the honour of caring for her for 3 months in Tenerife, and though our time was short, she changed me forever. Mariposa was graceful, funny, alert, stubborn, wild, and incredibly kind.

She brought peace into every room she walked into. I still remember her gentle nose nudging my hands to go pee in the early morning light—soft, polite, always present. If I could have adopted her, I would have in a heartbeat. Her body struggled, her back leg made running impossible. But in these patterns, she runs. She is healed. She is free.

This collection celebrates her spirit—and the island that shaped her: the dusty paths of Tenerife, the sacred Teide, the cacti and madroño trees, the ochre walls, the lizards, the whisper of silbo through the valleys.