Sign in

Rafael Mena Illustration

@rafaelmenai.bsky.social
1.3K followers 158 following 493 posts

Mexican Archaeologist and Illustrator focused on Mesoamerica *Not American* rafaelmena432@gmail.com www.patreon.com/Rafaelmena

PostsRepliesMedia
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Doing some crazy Trench Crusader based artwork and it reminds me how fun and easy it is to paint metal. I don't often get to work on high quantities of metal for obvious reasons.
050
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Isaac Levitan @isaaclevitan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Golden autumn, village www.wikiart.org/en/isaac-levitan/go…
Golden autumn, village
083
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Isaac Samuel @rhaplord.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The Union soldier Nicholas Said c. 1836–1882, comparing his experience as a free man in the US (and other "enlightened Christian countries") to when he was a slave in Tripoli: “There seems to have been no prejudice among the Turks on account of complexion” www.patreon.com/isaacsamuel6...
193
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Reminder that I have a patreon through which you can support, to see lots more of those illustrations that yall who follow me, like so much. Made a fair bit of updates, plan on doing a bunch more, and have a few paintings on the way
092
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Isaac Samuel @rhaplord.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Street scene, Kano, Nigeria. mid-20th cent. #archivesxt
0134
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
BREAKING: Human rights and anti-war organizations are launching a campaign to demand the top Biden officials who promoted or lied about the Gaza genocide be boxed out from future Democratic administrations and other liberal spaces. Rashida Tlaib & Chris Rabb signed on. More expected to join.
zeteo.com
EXCLUSIVE: Biden’s Genocide Accomplices Targeted by New Accountability Campaign
#DroptheGenocide20 demands Biden admin aides who enabled the Gaza genocide not be given roles in liberal spaces – like the role it turns out JD Vance pursued in 2016, when he ‘hated’ Trump.
501707384
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 14/09/2026
Glad folks are appalled by photos of the "phone booth" cage under an awning, but pls understand: This IG report is likely part of a cover-up. Amnesty Int'l interviewed detainees EIGHT MONTHS AGO who said the cage was half this size (couldn't stand up), had no awning, w feet chained to the bottom.
2546802222
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
New: Macklemore says Robert Kraft — who owns Gillette Stadium, where Macklemore & Ed Sheeran were to perform later this month — called Sheeran. Kraft rallied other owners together behind an ultimatum for Sheeran: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you won't be allowed in our venues.

I'm not sure how to start this. So I'm going to speak from the heart and share the truth. Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.
But before I get into it, I want to say something that should be obvious. In this moment I think it matters. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.

The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don't lose sight of that.

Ed is my friend. I've known him for 13 years. We've shared late nights, studio sessions and stages. He has this infectious magic about him that I've grown to love. I consider him a brother. And because of that, we've had some difficult conversations this past week. The type of talks rooted in love and respect for one another that still end in a place of fundamental disagreement. Nothing I'm writing here is out of spite or because I want to tear down his character. But as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can't change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.

Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other
stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.

Ed was in …What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now? Because now I'm sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America. At a certain level of exposure, "Free Palestine" becomes too much of a risk. If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that's why this time it became so important to silence me.

And one of the most effective ways to enforce that silence has been to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism. Antisemitism is real. And that is exactly why the word matters too much to be used as a shield against criticism of the Israeli state. When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying "Free Palestine" gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn't protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.

I hope this isn't the end of my relationship with Ed.
Thirteen years of friendship doesn't disappear because of one painful disagreement. I hope we both continue listening, studying what is happening in Palestine and wrestling with what neutrality means in a moment like this. My door will always be open to continuing that conversation.

When my brother Omar was doing the subtitles for the video I posted from MetLife, I thanked him. He told me there's a phrase in Arabic:
لا شكر على واجب
"La shukra ala wajeb." There is no thanks for a duty.
That stayed with me. Because that's what this has become for me and millions of others around the world. A duty. Not something deserving of praise or gratitude. Not brave. Human.

Who is winning the internet, who is getting canceled, who gets to play the stadium and who doesn't, all of it becomes so small when held against what we are actually witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank. An entire people be…
31570522537
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
yaoi gagarin @mel.bzky.team · 13/09/2026
retracting my previous comment about how its impossible to do a genghis khan style unification of the steppe with subsequent conquest of the settled peoples these days. i would like to apologize for having underestimated the power of the fierce and noble toyota hilux
1250387
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Watching one of Tribunate's videos regarding the Crisis of the 3rd Century, I recall he lamented the erosion of political imagination in the roman public that by 238 CE, a popular revolt led by the senate with the support of the people couldn't aspire to more than electing a preteen as emperor.
172
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 12/09/2026
This is a tax guy. His advice could be the difference between someone having their assets seized & maybe going to jail, or not. Now imagine having to worry about racist shit in every interaction you have with any person in authority. Every doctor & nurse, every cop, every lawyer & judge, every boss
2234811350
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Caræsten 🇵🇸 @cara.city · 11/09/2026
worth remembering that today is also the anniversary of the US backed coup in Chile that overthrew democratically elected socialist Salvador Allende and replaced him with the brutal dictator Augusto Pinochet, who murdered thousands of communists and leftists and jailed tens of thousands
1647228
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Bastrod @bastrod.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Chorotega temple scene #art #artist #illust #illustration #history #mesoamerica #costarica #nicoya #nicaragua #chorotega #manguean #mankeme
12910
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Isaac Samuel @rhaplord.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Politics is dirty business When a prominent critic openly accused the Emperor of Songhay of being a tyrant, the latter didn’t execute him but appointed him to the exact government office he despised.
African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa, by Michael A. Gomez
1328
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Traces of cacao have been found in ceramic vessels within 10th century Etowah, pretty much confirming the importation of material goods from Mesoamerica to the Mississippi. Vindicated! phys.org/news/2026-08...
29429
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Aya @melangell.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
A U.S. bomb hitting a house full of Iranian women and children preparing for a wedding should be an enormous political story. Why has this not produced a major, coordinated response from the American progressive bloc?
1248
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Taylor Noakes @taylornoakes.com · 03/09/2026
The Canadian govt: “Hey America! Knock it off with these annexation threats and tariff war! We’re your loyal friend!” Also the Canadian govt: “We have no opinion about American govt policy towards Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Greenland, Mexico, Panama…” #cdnpoli
13313
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Bolivia and Iran are doing more to save Latin America by accident, than latinamericans are doing to save themselves lol.
020
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Traces of cacao have been found in ceramic vessels within 10th century Etowah, pretty much confirming the importation of material goods from Mesoamerica to the Mississippi. Vindicated! phys.org/news/2026-08...
29429
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Christina Holland @mortalwombat.info · 23/08/2026
I think the thing the racist prof defenders imply but don't like to admit is there's no benefit to hiring/debating a guy who says mushrooms are created by fae because it's obviously silly but they do think it's worth your time to debate a race science guy because they think he's partially correct
262456522
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I recognize a certain "famed" paleoartist above Steven Pinker there.
050
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
roterote @roterote.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
There are dozens of academics signing this open letter to defend the American Eugenicist Nathan Cofnas from the consequences of his own actions. They are calling him a “whistleblower”
johnarmstrongmaths.com
As academics, we are concerned that Ghent University's disciplinary proceedings against Dr Cofnas appear to constitute retaliation, at least in part, for publicizing academic misconduct that occurred in British universities.
48526172
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
roterote @roterote.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
This network has been running for many years now and has big American money behind it. Cofnas is just one of their guys and they are all over the world.
theguardian.com
Revealed: International ‘race science’ network secretly funded by US tech boss
Group promoting ‘dangerous’ scientific racism ideology teamed up with rightwing extremist, recordings reveal
61117343
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
I Scare You Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 23/08/2026
Rolling out “academic freedom” as a rallying cry now, after the CRT panic led to a bunch of Black scholars and theory to be literally banned from classrooms, shit is too rich lol
313268679
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Hegseth's incompetence is one of the few redeeming qualities of the Trump administration.
151
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Coloured sketch of Vtuber Cosmic Chaaya, Goddess of Black Holes and recorder of history, past, present and future. Presumably also the deity of streaming.
24917
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Bastrod @bastrod.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Mayan Lady #art #artist #illust #illustration #painting #digitalart #mexico #maya #mesoamerica #mayan #history
35613
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Noé Leyva ✍️ @noeleyva.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Here's the MC of my Mesoamerican-fantasy personal project, along with some armor design concept art. The original idea was for this character to be in an ARPG/Metroidvania, and the armor is loot gained by defeating certain enemies.
Character concept art for a Mesoamerican-inspired fantasy personal project. 
set of 3 character designs for the main character of a mesoamerican fantasy personal project. They are based on the tlacochcalcatl, Cuextecatl soldier, and the Coyote warrior. 
Set of 3 armor designs.  1st is based on an eagle warrior, second on Tlaloc, and the third on a jaguar warrior
06832
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Hegseth's incompetence is one of the few redeeming qualities of the Trump administration.
151
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Hey guys, my girlfriend is a very skilled illustrator with lots of work experience, and is currently looking for work, be it commissioned projects or editorial in nature. If you're interested or know someone who might be, please share, comment or send me a dm! We'd really appreciate it!
0177
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
🐈‍⬛🌙 @lune.monster · 13/08/2026
Stole this from the comments because this shit shouldn't be behind a paywall.
Crucially, the GLOVE has limitations, chief among them that for the device to work effectively and deliver its restraining pain shock, it must come into contact with the subject's bare skin. According to Compliant Technologies, the gloves won't work through dry clothing or thick hair. The gloves will work, however, if the subject is wearing thin, wet clothing, such as soaked T-shirts or blouses. The GLOVE also does not like being dunked in water and will likely be rendered inoperable if this happens.
13489025790
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
play by post @playbypost.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Big Bend hosts some of the oldest still standing native American buildings in America, many almost completely untouched and people occasionally just stumble on new ones. It is one of the most beautiful places in America and genuinely dear to my heart. This fucking sucks.
1206
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Jordan aka Jirdan @slclunk.com · 13/08/2026
There seems to be this mental block for libs and anti-Trump Republicans that don’t see the difference in democratically controlling industry through the state, and elite power colluding with industry to enrich themselves at the expense of democracy, the citizenry, and the state
Rick Wilson
@TheRickWilson
X.com
Comrade Trump seizes the means of production! x.com/scottlincicome...
Scott Lincicome
@scottlincicome• 1d
The Trump administration has now taken (or plans to take) ownership stakes in 31 private companies.
In a new YouGov poll, Americans overwhelmingly think this is a bad idea. ...
512220
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Isaac Samuel @rhaplord.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
The enigmatic "silent trade" in gold mentioned by Herodotus (c. 425 BC), which was conducted between Carthaginian traders and Africans somewhere along the Atlantic coast of Morocco, may not have been so silent after all, according to the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax (c. 330 BC)
Itineraria Phoenicia by Edward Lipiński
1185
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 12/08/2026
Israel deliberately starting wildfires in southern Lebanon, firefighters say
theguardian.com
Israel deliberately starting wildfires in southern Lebanon, firefighters say
First responders, residents and environmental groups say military dropping flares to destroy forests and crops Firefighters and residents of south Lebanon have accused the Israeli military of lighting wildfires in the region, as forested areas burned down in blazes sparked by Israeli bombing. Environmental groups said the fires in recent weeks were part of a longstanding Israeli practice of targeting Lebanon’s natural environment. Continue reading...
35449372
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
DoktorNo - now on Patreon @doktorno.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
QRP w your most popular post on bsky #art
Assorted Aztec swords
311027
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
jessamyn @librarian.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful
An aircraft passenger oxygen mask: a drop down passenger mask with air bag and yellow plastic mouth and nose cover, oxygen tube has been cut; Demonstration model used by flight attendant crew for passenger instruction. Has text on the side indicating that it's non-functional.
193126067999
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
QRP with your most popular piece on bsky ~
02811
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Your Internet Friend Tom Tomorrow @tomtomorrow.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
stephen miller killed this couple, as surely as if he'd pulled the trigger himself
2538611294
Rafael Mena Illustration @rafaelmenai.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
If you are american you should vote for the dsa whenever you can.
061
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
👇🏽🤷🏼
332167914697
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Natee (they/them) @himmapaan.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
I haven't had quite enough of pale blue-violet flowers yet, it seems.
Detail from the same work in progress as in the quoted post, with the flowering wisteria beginning to be painted in.
530641
Reposted by Rafael Mena Illustration
Bastrod @bastrod.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Maldives coral-stone mosque #art #artist #illust #illustration #maldives #history
0297