“CO-JONES” is a typographic wordplay that condenses, in one fragmented word, two realities: an expression of resistance, demand, and discontent of the Puerto Rican people (cojones) in the face of the impositions of the U.S. government, while simultaneously and precisely representing the Jones Act (Jones Act) of 1920 as a protectionist system of oppression based on the exploitation of territories/colonies.

In the composition, the first two letters—“CO”—appear in navy blue, alluding to the blue rectangle on the United States flag that usually contains the stars. The rest—“JONES”—is stretched in red over a white block in allusion to the flag’s stripes.

The original version was created (26 October 2017) out of the frustration and powerlessness we faced after Hurricane María (16 September 2017). The piece denounces how the Jones Act made access to fuel, medicines, and food more expensive, worsening the humanitarian catastrophe. By superimposing the popular slang (“¡qué cojones!”), the poster aims to underscore how well-being, health, and the economy are relegated to second place even in times of crisis.

“CO-JONES” is protest, but also a call to question the power structures that profit from Caribbean vulnerability and to recognize the dignity—the “cojones”—of those who resist within the U.S. colonial system.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/27/16373484/jones-act-puerto-rico