A long (a Chinese dragon) wades through the Ipala volcano lagoon, in Guatemala. This mythical being appears swimming there, in the cold water. It’s a common occurrence, what dragons do. They appear and disappear. We should remember dragons are lonely beings, and being in the universe since time immemorial they have learned the cycles of life and of time. They can also be quite temperamental, perhaps because they are able to melt at will into any natural agent, able to live on land, metal, water, wind, wood and fire. “Apparition,” 2017, was filmed while I tried to swim in the Ipala Lagoon, in Chiquimula, Guatemala, disguised as a dragon. This volcano is part of the Ipala territory, and of the landscape of the surrounding villages. Ipala is the village where my great-grandfather, Porfirio Lam Ley, settled and started part of the small community of Chinese immigrants that lives in the Eastern part of the country. He died there, but before that he had a granddaughter who would later have me as her son. For ancient Chinese culture the dragon is a powerful,

magnanimous creature, and thus an imperial symbol. In my case, dressing up does not leave out the vulnerability of my body, and in that sense, my limitations as a human being.