Guided by the collaborative spirit of artists and enterprise, El Nopal Press is distinguished by its focus on the work of artists who explore border issues and the complex cultural relationships between Mexico and the United States. The ideas brought forward through the studio’s work have more to do with a conversation concerning the idea of the border rather than its physical manifestation as a cartographic phenomenon, economic and social barrier, or penetrable boundary.

As participants in an alternative dialogue that extends beyond the creative mainstream, the artists of El Nopal have come to vivify and expand the complex intercultural exchange between these two countries. The images produced by El Nopal are key elements in this discourse, and are numbered among its signifiers, those representations that speak through pictures instead of words.