Decolonial visual resistance as a public health strategy in post-María Puerto Rico | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Journal of Visual Political Communication
  4. Volume 8, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 8, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2633-3732
  • E-ISSN: 2633-3740

Abstract

In this article, we explore the use of the image as a strategy to understand how natural disasters and coloniality impact the health of marginalized communities. We focus on the aftermath of Hurricane María in Puerto Rico and aim to describe how local people used the image as a strategy to challenge the invisibility fostered by coloniality and advocate for a more humane, equitable and effective public health response. We implemented a mixed methods research design including: (1) ethnographic observations, (2) qualitative in-depth interviews with 67 representatives of the health care system, (3) photographs they had taken as part of their experiences during and after the hurricane and (4) images from local newspapers and social media. In light of the findings we argue that Puerto Ricans engaged in decolonial visual resistance to manage the aftermath of the hurricane. Thus, while surviving the natural disaster, they challenged the traditional use of the image in public health endeavours.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • National Institute of Aging of the National Institutes of Health (Award 5R21AG063453)
© (2020) 2022 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jvpc_00011_1
2020-05-01
2024-04-30
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Abbasi, J.. ( 2018;), ‘ Hurricane María and Puerto Rico: A physician looks back at the storm. ’, JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 320:7, pp. 629–30, https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.8244. Accessed 1 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Aladro-Vico, E.,, Jivkova-Semova, D., and Bailey, O.. ( 2018;), ‘ Artivismo: Un nuevo lenguaje educativo para la acción social transformadora. ’, Comunicar, 57, pp. 9–18.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bomey, N.. ( 2017;), ‘ FDA warns “critical” drug shortages possible after Hurricane María battered Puerto Rico. ’, USA Today, 26 September, https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/09/26/fda-drug-shortages-hurricane-maria-puerto-rico/703071001/. Accessed 1 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Cummins, E.. ( 2017;), ‘ In Puerto Rico, surgery by flashlight is just the beginning. ’, Slate, 23 October, https://slate.com/technology/2017/10/puerto-rico-is-still-in-crisis.html. Accessed 1 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Delano, J.. ( 1990), Puerto Rico Mío: Cuatro Décadas de Cambio, Washington, DC:: Smithsonian Books;.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Dussel, E.. ( 2020), Siete Ensayos de Filosofía de la Liberación: Hacia una Fundamentación del Giro Decolonial, Madrid:: Editorial Trotta;.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Fanon, F.. ( 1967), Black Skin: White Masks, New York:: Grove Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Fernández Campbell, A.. ( 2017;), ‘ Nurses returning from Puerto Rico accuse the federal government of leaving people to die. ’, Vox, 26 October, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/26/16553748/puerto-rico-nurses-fema. Accessed 5 July 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Garcia-Retamero, R., and Cokely, E. T.. ( 2013;), ‘ Communicating health risks with visual aids. ’, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22:5, pp. 192–399, https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721413491570. Accessed 1 July 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Garcia-Retamero, R., and Galesic, M.. ( 2010;), ‘ How to reduce the effect of framing on messages about health. ’, Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25:12, pp. 1323–29, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-010-1484-9. Accessed 10 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Gay, H. A.,, Santiago, R.,, Gil, B.,, Remedios, C.,, Montes, P.,, López-Araujo, J.,, Chévere, C. M.,, Imbert, W. S.,, White, J.,, Arthur, D. W.,, Horton, J. K.,, Jagsi, R.,, Rabinovich, R.,, Beriwal, S.,, Viswanathan, A.,, Erickson, B. A.,, Rengan, R.,, Palma, D.,, Loo, B. W.,, Kavanaugh, J. A.,, Bradley, J.,, Yom, S. S.,, Harari, P. M., and Lee Burnett, O.. ( 2019;), ‘ Lessons learned from Hurricane María in Puerto Rico: Practical measures to mitigate the impact of a catastrophic natural disaster on radiation oncology patients. ’, Practical Radiation Oncology, 9:5, pp. 305–21, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prro.2019.03.007. Accessed 20 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Goldenberg, T.,, Finneran, C.,, Andes, K. L., and Stephenson, R.. ( 2016;), ‘ Using participant-empowered visual relationship timelines in a qualitative study of sexual behaviour. ’, Global Public Health, 11:5&6, pp. 699–718, https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1170869. Accessed 20 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Helfand, W. H.. ( 2010;), ‘ Some one sole unique advertisement: Public health posters in the twentieth century. ’, in D. Serlin. (ed.), Imagining Illness: Public Health and Visual Culture, Minneapolis, MN:: University of Minnesota Press;, pp. 126–42.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Holman, E. S.,, Harbour, C. K.,, Azevedo Said, R. V., and Figueroa, M. E.. ( 2016;), ‘ Regarding realities: Using photo-based projective techniques to elicit normative and alternative discourses on gender, relationships, and sexuality in Mozambique. ’, Global Public Health, 11:5&6, pp. 719–41, https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1170870. Accessed 1 April 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Ingraham, C.. ( 2018;), ‘ Hurricane María was one of the deadliest natural disasters in US history, according to a new estimate. ’, Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/02/hurricane-maria-was-one-of-the-deadliest-natural-disasters-in-u-s-history-according-to-a-new-estimate/. Accessed 3 August 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Johnston, G.. ( 2016;), ‘ Champions for social change: Photovoice ethics in practice and “false hopes” for policy and social change. ’, Global Public Health, 11:5&6, pp. 799–811, https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1170176. Accessed 15 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Kishore, N.,, Marqués, D.,, Mahmud, A.,, Kiang, M. V.,, Rodriguez, I.,, Fuller, A.,, Ebner, P.,, Sorensen, C.,, Racy, F.,, Lemery, J.,, Maas, L.,, Leaning, J.,, Irizarry, R. A.,, Balsari, S., and Buckee, C. O.. ( 2018;), ‘ Mortality in Puerto Rico after Hurricane María. ’, New England Journal of Medicine, 379:2, pp. 162–70, https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa1803972. Accessed 5 August 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Laholt, H.,, Guillemin, M.,, Mcleod, K.,, Olsen, R. E., and Lorem, G. F.. ( 2017;), ‘ Visual methods in health dialogues: A qualitative study of public health nurse practice in schools. ’, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73:12, pp. 3070–78, https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13371. Accessed 24 August 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Lander, E.. ( 2000), La Colonialidad del Saber: Eurocentrismo y Ciencias Sociales – Perspectivas Latinoamericanas, Buenos Aires:: CLACSO;.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. de Leeuw, S.. ( 2016;), ‘ Tender grounds: Intimate visceral violence and British Columbia’s colonial geographies. ’, Political Geography, 52, pp. 14–23, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2015.11.010. Accessed 25 November 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Mattei, J.,, Tamez, M.,, Ríos-Bedoya, C. F.,, Xiao, R. S.,, Tucker, K. L., and Rodríguez-Orengo, J. F.. ( 2018;), ‘ Health conditions and lifestyle risk factors of adults living in Puerto Rico: A cross-sectional study. ’, BMC Public Health, 18:1, pp. 1–12, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5359-z. Accessed 19 August 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Mellgard, G.,, Abramson, D.,, Okamura, C., and Weerahandi, H.. ( 2019;), ‘ Hurricanes and healthcare: A case report on the influences of Hurricane María and managed Medicare in treating a Puerto Rican resident. ’, BMC Health Services Research, 19:1, pp. 1–5, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4630-z. Accessed 5 March 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Meyer, R.. ( 2017;), ‘ What’s happening with the relief effort in Puerto Rico? A timeline of the unprecedented catastrophe of Hurricane María. ’, The Atlantic, 4 October, https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/10/what-happened-in-puerto-rico-a-timeline-of-hurricane-maria/541956/. Accessed 4 August 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Michaud, J., and Kates, J.. ( 2017;), ‘ Public health in Puerto Rico after Hurricane María. ’, Kaiser Family Foundation, 11: November, pp. 1–11.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Mignolo, W.. ( 2014;), ‘ Aiesthesis decolonial. ’, in P. P. Gómez,, W. Mignolo,, A. Albán Achinte, and M. Tlostanova. (eds), Arte y Estética en la Encrucijada Descolonial II, Buenos Aires:: Ediciones del Signo;, pp. 31–54.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Minemyer, P.. ( 2017;), ‘ Damage from Hurricane María pushes medical services in Puerto Rico to the brink. ’, Fierce Healthcare, 25 September, https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/population-health/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-medical-services-natural-disaster-harvey-irma. Accessed 8 August 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Mirzoeff, N.. ( 2011), The Right to Look: A Counterhistory of Visuality, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Mirzoeff, N.. ( 2015), How to See the World, New York:: Basic Books;.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Mitchell, C. M., and Sommer, M.. ( 2016;), ‘ Participatory visual methodologies in global public health. ’, Global Public Health, 11:5&6, pp. 521–27, https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1170184. Accessed 1 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Morales, E.. ( 2019), Fantasy Island: Colonialism, Exploitation, and the betrayal of Puerto Rico, New York:: Bold Types Books;.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Negrón-Muntaner, F.. ( 2017;), ‘ The look of sovereignty: Style and politics in the Young Lords. ’, in F. Negrón-Muntaner. (ed.), Sovereign Acts: Contesting Colonialism Across Indigenous Nations & Latinx America, Tucson, AZ:: University of Arizona Press;, pp. 254–84.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Nossel, S.. ( 2016;), ‘ Introduction: On “artivism”, or art’s utility in activism. ’, Social Research, 83:1, pp. 103–05, https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/620871. Accessed 1 January 2022.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Office of Inspector General ( 2020), FEMA Mismanaged the Commodity Distribution Process in Response to Hurricanes Irma and María, Washington, DC:: Department of Homeland Security;.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Padilla, M. B.,, Rodríguez Madera, S.,, Varas-Díaz, N., and Ramos Pibernus, S.. ( 2016;), ‘ Trans-migrations: Border-crossing and the politics of body modification among Puerto Rican transgender women. ’, International Journal of Sexual Health, 28:4, https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2016.1223256. Accessed 6 September 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Padilla, M.,, Matiz-Reyes, A.,, Colón-Burgos, J.,, Varas-Díaz, N., and Vertovec, J.. ( 2018;), ‘ Adaptation of PhotoVoice methodology to promote policy dialog among street-based drug users in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. ’, Arts and Health, 11:2, pp. 147–62, https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2018.1444647. Accessed 1 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Peters, R. M. H.,, Zweekhorst, M. B. M.,, van Brakel, W. H.,, Bunders, J. F. G., and Irwanto. ( 2016;), ‘ “People like me don’t make things like that”: Participatory video as a method for reducing leprosy-related stigma. ’, Global Public Health, 11:5&6, pp. 666–82, https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1153122. Accessed 7 April 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Povinelli, E.. ( 2016), Geontologies: A Requiem to Late Liberalism, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Pullen, L. C.. ( 2018;), ‘ Puerto Rico after Hurricane María. ’, American Journal of Transplantation, 18:2, pp. 283–84, https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.14647. Accessed 7 August 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Quijano, A.. ( 2010;), ‘ Coloniality and modernity/rationality. ’, in W. Mignolo, and A. Escobar. (eds), Globalization and the Decolonial Option, New York:: Routledge;, pp. 22–32.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Raheja, M.. ( 2010), Reservation Reelism: Redfacing, Visual Sovereignty, and Representation of Native Americans in Film, Lincoln, NE:: University of Nebraska Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Ritterbusch, A. E.. ( 2016;), ‘ Exploring social inclusion strategies for public health research and practice: The use of participatory visual methods to counter stigmas surrounding street-based substance abuse in Colombia. ’, Global Public Health, 11:5&6, pp. 600–17, https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1141971. Accessed 18 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Rivera Cusicanqui, S.. ( 2015), Sociología de la Imagen: Miradas ch’ixi desde la Historia Andina, Buenos Aires:: Tinta Limón;.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Rodríguez-Díaz, C. E.. ( 2018;), ‘ María in Puerto Rico: Natural disaster in a colonial archipelago. ’, American Journal of Public Health, 108:1, pp. 30–32, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304198. Accessed 10 July 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Rodríguez-Madera, S. L.,, Padilla, M.,, Varas-Díaz, N.,, Neilands, T.,, Vasques Guzzi, A. C.,, Florenciani, E. J., and Ramos-Pibernus, A.. ( 2016;), ‘ Experiences of violence among transgender women in Puerto Rico: An underestimated problem. ’, Journal of Homosexuality, 64:2, pp. 9–217, https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2016.1174026. Accessed 17 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Rodriguez-Madera, S., and Toro-Alfonso, J.. ( 2003;), ‘ La comunidad de la cual no hablamos. ’, Revista Psicología de la salud, 15:1&2, pp. 111–34.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Roman, J.. ( 2015;), ‘ The Puerto Rico healthcare crisis. ’, Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 12:12, pp. 1760–63, https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201508-531PS. Accessed 8 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Roman, J.. ( 2018;), ‘ Hurricane María: A preventable humanitarian and health care crisis unveiling the Puerto Rican dilemma. ’, Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 15:3, pp. 293–95, https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201710-792OI. Accessed 16 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Santos, B. d. S.. ( 2018), The End of the Cognitive Empire: The Coming of Age of Epistemologies of the South, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Santos, B. d. S.. ( 2020;), ‘ Toward and aesthetics of the epistemologies of the South: Manifesto in twenty-two theses. ’, in B. de Sousa Santos, and M. P. Meneses. (eds), Epistemologies of the South: Knowledges Born in the Struggle: Constructing the Epistemologies of the Global South, New York:: Routledge;, pp. 117–25.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Schmidt, S., and Achenbach, J.. ( 2017;), ‘ Hot, isolated, and running out of supplies, parts of Puerto Rico near desperation. ’, Washington Post, 24 September, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/hot-isolated-and-running-out-of-supplies-parts-of-puerto-rico-near-desperation/2017/09/24/7f3bcc78-a139-11e7-b14f-f41773cd5a14_story.html. Accessed 15 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Serlin, D.. ( 2010;), ‘ Introduction: Toward a visual culture of public health. ’, in D. Serlin. (ed.), Imagining Illness: Public Health and Visual Culture, Minneapolis, MN:: University of Minneapolis;, pp. xi–xxxvii.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Sontag, S.. ( 2003), Regarding the Pain of Others, New York:: Picador;.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Thomas, K., and Kaplan, S.. ( 2017;), ‘ Hurricane damage in Puerto Rico leads to fears of drug shortages nationwide. ’, New York Times, 4 October, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/04/health/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-pharmaceutical-manufacturers.html. Accessed 15 July 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Varas-Díaz, N.,, Rodríguez-Madera, S.,, Padilla, M., and Grove, K.. ( 2019), Collapse, USA:: Black Chango Film and Florida International University;.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Vera Rodríguez, H.. ( 2015;), ‘ La crisis económica y gubernamental en Puerto Rico y la necesidad de un cambio de paradigma. ’, XX Congreso Internacional del CLAD sobre la Reforma del Estado y de la Administración Pública, Lima, Perú.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Vindrola-Padros, C.,, Martins, A.,, Coyne, I.,, Bryan, G., and Gibson, F.. ( 2016;), ‘ From informed consent to dissemination: Using participatory visual methods with young people with long-term conditions at different stages of research. ’, Global Public Health, 11:5&6, pp. 636–50, https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1165718. Accessed 8 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  57. Witkowski, K.,, Valerio, R.,, Samad, A.,, Matiz-Reyes, A., and Padilla, M.. ( 2020;), ‘ Aging and thriving with HIV: a photovoice project with long-term HIV survivors in Miami, Florida. ’, Arts and Health, 13:3, pp. 239–346, https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2020.1821386. Accessed 7 May 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Zebracki, M.. ( 2020;), ‘ Public artivism: Queering geographies of migration and social inclusivity. ’, Citizenship Studies, 24:2, pp. 131–53, https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2019.1706447. Accessed 17 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Varas-Díaz, Nelson,, Padilla, Mark,, Rodríguez Madera, Sheilla,, Grove, Kevin,, Contreras Ramírez, Violeta,, Rivera Rodríguez, Sergio,, Vargas-Molina, Ricardo L.,, Marzán, Melissa,, River-Bustelo, Kariela, and Santiago, Jeffrey Wilmer Ramos. ( [2020] 2022;), ‘ Decolonial visual resistance as a public health strategy in post-María Puerto Rico. ’, Journal of Visual Political Communication, 8:1, pp. 29–65, https://doi.org/10.1386/jvpc_00011_1
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/jvpc_00011_1
Loading
Decolonial visual resistance as a public health strategy in post-María Puerto Rico
Journal of Visual Political Communication 8, 29 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1386/jvpc_00011_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jvpc_00011_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jvpc_00011_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): coloniality; decoloniality; Hurricane María; natural disasters; Puerto Rico; visual resistance

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error