Tactile Resistance: Josefina Larrain

Life in the Yucatán is both daunting and exhilarating, never for the faint of heart. With origins as diverse as their talents, these five women are harnessing their creative vision to shift perceptions and strengthen the communities where they live and work.

JOSEFINA LARRAIN

Imagine you are walking deep into the Black Forest, surrounded by trees that have grown so tall you cannot see the sky. You have been walking for miles, absorbing the energy around you with every calm and quiet breath. The deer and foxes watch you pass by, but you are not afraid. You can feel your strength, you can feel your power.

Now imagine that you are nine years old.

Josefina Larrain was born an explorer, following in her parent’s footsteps through Chile and Greece, to Switzerland and Germany. It was here in the Black Forest where, at a very young age, she escaped into books. Hemingway, Kafka, and Dostoevsky became her companions in a world she felt entirely disconnected from. She carried her sense of wonder to Freiberg where, once again, she felt like a marlin out of the sea. “Germany was very hard for me”, Josefina recalled. “I hated going to high school, and one day, I decided instead to take myself to Italy. I knew my mother would not worry when I didn’t appear. After arriving to Venice, I found coins in the fountains that I used to call home.”

A soul untethered, Josefina’s rich life as a painter, sculptor, restorer, designer and ‘paisajista’ were like the points of a star; always in opposition but connected to a universe much larger than herself. Entirely self-taught, Josefina’s creative life began in New York City, evolved in Miami, and flourished in the Yucatan. The resurrection of one broken down hacienda as a sculpture studio, led to a passion for agriculture, where she learned everything there was to know about coconut plantations, among other things. “All my life, I’ve loved to learn”, said Josefina. “I don’t look back, only ahead, and when something captures my imagination, I give it 100%.”

One day, while travelling to the plantation, Josefina had a very bad car accident that left her with a broken pelvis and time to examine her life. She crossed the axis to a new point on her star, and began designing landscapes and interiors for people she knew. It was here that her journey converged with architect Salvador Reyes Rios. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Twenty-five years later, Josefina is having a Kafkaesque moment. “The world seems in chaos”, she said. “I feel I don’t understand what is going on around me anymore; and that the soul of the city I love may be slipping away.” Socrates believed that the virtue of a city depends on the virtue of its citizens, much like the health of a body depends on the well-being of its parts. Josefina has aligned herself with kindred spirits; anthropologists, archeologists, botanists, and experts in sustainable urban planning who are driven, like Josefina, to do more for the city than plant trees.

“I guess I’ve always been a philosopher at heart”, said Josefina. “Perhaps I’ve found another point on my star.”

_{Tactile Resistance was published in the Hacienda Issue of Yucatan Magazine in November 2025. Many thanks to Creative Director and Photographer Patricia Robert and Lee Steele, Editorial Director, for the challenge to capture these five amazing women in under 500 words! Much gratitude to (l to r) Marcela Diaz, Josefina Larrain, Marjorie Skouras, Angela Damman, and Elena Martínez Bolio – for giving me your time and trust. I encourage readers to find out more about these talented humans via their websites.}