This maquette depicts an Aztec warrior, Popocatepetl, mourning his lover, Iztaccihuatl, after returning from battle. Native Americans in the valley of Mexico believed that the gods felt sympathy for the two lovers and transformed them into two volcanoes located outside Mexico City. Jimenez continues his recurring theme of reinterpreting classic symbols with a Hispanic twist – the pose in which his subject holds his lover and the title are directly reminiscent of Michaelangelo’s Madonna della Pietà, which depicts Mary holding Jesus’s body after his crucifixion. Once again using imagery of rattlesnakes, cacti and eagles, Jimenez blends Hispanic symbolism into his work to represent the multitude of cultures in the Southwest United States.