On the first anniversary of Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo established the Hurricane Maria Memorial Commission to solicit designs for a memorial honoring the victims and to stand as an international symbol of the resilience of the Puerto Rican community. CDR’s entry was inspired by an existing public art piece located in San Juan: Tótem Telúrico, constructed in 1992 by Puerto Rican artist/architect Jaime Suárez, the exterior of which is made from earth and clay of the Americas in remembrance of history lost.