Universidad de Puerto Rico

Design and production for Cüiruba: Libro de las Afrodivinidades, a publication authored by Yolanda Arroyo-Pizarro and Regner Ramos. The text functions as a work of divine fiction, reimagining spirituality from an Afro-queer perspective. Weaving together prayers, hymns, and praises inspired by the work of eighteen Black and queer artists, the book archives and celebrates visual representations of the divine that exist outside the traditional Christian canon.

The project was initiated to counter the historical whitening of spiritual practices in Puerto Rico. By documenting and reimagining spaces of congregation for the LGBTQIA+ and Afro-descendant communities, the publication challenges imposed colonial religious structures. Rather than functioning as a standard art catalog, it is structured as an alternate sacred text. It acts as a tool to legitimize, protect, and disseminate the marginalized histories, identities, and spiritualities of the archipelago.

The physical format of the book directly references traditional religious pocket bibles. It is constructed with a Swiss binding that exposes the spine when opened, ensuring the compact volume lays completely flat. The cover utilizes Gmund Metallic 63, a deep purple paper stock selected for its reflective, three-dimensional surface, paired with gold foil stamping across the front, back, and spine to evoke the materiality of a sacred artifact.

Inside, the publication is printed entirely in two inks: purple and gold. This constraint optimizes production costs while establishing a cohesive visual language that aligns with the book’s divine theme. The typography relies exclusively on Signifier by Kris Sowersby. The sharp, incisive serif functions effectively at both micro-level reading scales and larger display sizes. The text layout appropriates historic cues from traditional biblical typesetting, reinterpreting these structures to accommodate and elevate the book's dissident narratives.