Andres Estrada reflects on Tanya Aguiñiga’s early use of cochineal, considering the layered meanings embedded in the material. He discusses its ancestral and colonial histories, as well as its biological origins, noting how the harvesting of the cochineal insect introduces feminist and queer perspectives. Estrada connects these ideas to broader themes of extraction, including parallels with violence toward women, and situates the work within a lineage of fiber-based practices, highlighting how such work has historically been positioned outside dominant artistic canons.