Suns and Flowers

The protagonists of this story embark on a journey that confronts them with various aspects of life, including its hardest and most hopeful moments. Its poetic message emphasizes that the pain encountered along the way can be healed when others reach out a hand and invite us to believe in the beauty of life. It reinforces the values of solidarity among peers and the transformative power of art and music.

Yael Frankel brought her own unique interpretation to the poetry of this song, which León Gieco composed in honor of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo—icons of human and social rights struggles in Argentina and around the world. In writing the song, León highlighted how the Mothers painted suns and flowers on the cold walls of the ESMA, the largest detention, torture, and death center in Argentina, as a symbol of the transformation they achieved—turning that place into a warm space for memory, education, and art.

Yael embraced those values of resistance, perseverance, solidarity, and love to tell a story with characters drawn in a way that is both simple and profound, allowing readers of all ages to see themselves reflected in them. Through her work, she brings us the “Suns and Flowers” we can paint into everyday life and share with others—even in the most difficult circumstances.

Key points

• An original and poetic project that brings generations together through music and literature.
• It stems from the collaboration between two internationally renowned artists: León Gieco, an icon of socially committed Latin American music, and Yael Frankel, an award-winning illustrator and author.
• Frankel’s illustrations add depth to the song recorded by Gieco alongside Mexican artist Lila Downs, featured on the album El hombrecito y el mar.
• The book edition includes a QR code that links to an exclusive video in which Gieco shares the story behind the song and performs it himself.
• This title launches a collection that will continue with other songs by Gieco, such as Solo le pido a Dios and Cuando los ángeles viajan, illustrated by different artists, and will expand to include works by other singer-songwriters adapted into picture books.
• In Argentina, the book was selected for school distribution in recognition of its artistic value and the meaningful messages it conveys.