'Vivir es Todo Sacrificio’ demonstrates Centurión’s appropriation of materials traditionally associated with the feminine and domestic to create new meanings. The work is minimal in its execution with Centurión’s embroidered words being the only addition to the blanket. But the junction of the textile, with its symbolic power and the embroidered aphorism - catholic in its undertones - creates a work laden with experience, power and beauty. Created during the last year of the artist’s life the red embroidery cannot but speak to the pain and suffering of HIV/AIDS. Whilst the work’s titular aphorism is a demonstration of the calm acceptance with which Centurión approached his mortality, the domestic context of the blanket suggests a desire for warmth, protection and for suffering to be soothed.

The Catholic Church has had a sustained impact on sexual and gender politics in Latin America for hundreds of years. In the context of the AIDS epidemic, it is necessary to mention the Church’s historical, doctrinal opposition to sexual education, contraception and homosexuality. There is a potency in Centurión’s embrace of faith in spite of the anti-progressive teachings espoused by some members. His work represented a conscious decision to extract the positive elements of Catholicism and to seek solace towards the end of his life.