El Caporal

Location: Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas

Year: 2016

In 2016, Guerra installed a life-sized sculpture entitled El Caporal in the sculpture garden of The Briscoe Western Art Museum. The commissioned work features an early Spanish settler as he drives two Longhorn cows yoked together with a rope. Guerra’s research revealed the specific way in which ropes with wooden bobbins were used as a yoking mechanism to secure wild cattle as they were driven between destinations. The cattle were further deterred from escape by braiding their tails together, as depicted in this early Texas ranch scene.