Wampís Resistance: Defending Life is an editorial illustration by Peruvian illustrator and designer Diandra Rodríguez Armas, also known as Didicolores. The work depicts the Wampís people defending their ancestral territory along the Santiago and Morona rivers in the Peruvian Amazon.
At the centre of the composition, a spear formed by flowing water rises from a canoe navigating the river. Entwined with vegetation and spiritual symbols, the image brings together key elements of Wampís cosmology and daily life. The forest, the river, and ancestral presence are not depicted as background scenery but as active participants in the community’s resistance.
The illustration highlights the Wampís Nation’s ongoing struggle to protect their territory from environmental threats, particularly mining and extractive industries. It foregrounds their creative resistance and deep connection to land and water, emphasising autonomy, collective heritage, and the defence of life.
The project was developed collaboratively through conversations with Wampís community members and cultural advisors. Each symbolic element, from the canoe to the spiritual motifs, was shaped through research, dialogue, and iterative feedback to ensure cultural accuracy and respect. The final piece combines symbolic storytelling with an editorial illustration approach, honouring both tradition and contemporary struggle.
Diandra reflects on the process: “Creating this illustration was a journey into the Wampís’ world—where the river, forest, and ancestors guide their resistance. Every detail reflects their strength, pride, and deep connection to life.”
The Wampís voice within the project reinforces this message:“Our resistance is creative and alive. The land, the river, and the forest are part of our fight, just as we are part of them.”
Rather than presenting resistance as confrontation alone, the work positions it as something rooted in care, spirituality, and continuity. The river becomes both pathway and weapon, memory and future. The forest is not only territory but a living relative.
Diandra Rodríguez Armas is a freelance illustrator and designer from Perú specialising in human rights and environmental issues. Her practice is grounded in research, listening, and empathy, using art as a tool for expression and collective learning. Through projects like Wampís Resistance: Defending Life, she demonstrates how illustration can serve as both documentation and advocacy.
More of her work can be found at:
https://didicolores.myportfolio.com/work
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/didicolores/
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