El Gran Conjunto del Fin del Mundo

Traditional images of the Apocalypse offer a symbolic vision of the future, when forces of good and evil face off in the final period of world history.  But the angels and devils in Ralfka Gonzalez's is high-spirited version cavort gleefully, to the accompaniment of musical instruments.  This “great get-together at the end of the world" seems more like a Texas swing dance than a mortal combat. 

Gonzalez, a San Antonio-born Mexican American, emphasizes that the "diablitos" (little devils) have their roots in mischief-making figures of pre-Columbian Mexico.  Such figures also play a part in Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations.  Although not formally educated in art, Gonzalez acknowledges a host of artistic influences, including Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.

Commissioned by the Pennsylvania Convention Center