archival inkjet prints, 8”x10” and 12"x16"

Having lived in the United States since I was fourteen years old, the way I perceive my homeland has been affected by different factors; hurricane Maria, my grandmother’s passing, and the spreading displacement and gentrification across the island. As a result, the memories I have feel distant, cloudy, and affected by loss and degradation. I heavily fixate on places I frequented, streets we drove through, and views I took for granted as a child and now treasure. I also crave for the warmth I used to feel in domestic spaces that now feel empty following my grandmother’s passing.

I use images taken in my grandmother’s house and its surrounding neighborhood as a way to represent the often romanticized view Diasporicans, myself included, have of the island, sometimes ignorant of its plight, but also tainted by beauty and nostalgia. I prize these photographs and see them as a way to recapture ownership, a claiming of the land as my own, and evidence of my authenticity despite physical distance. I view my family’s photographic archive, and my grandmother’s well-loved copy of Cocina Criolla, as artifacts, sacred objects through which I piece together a narrative. I layer pieces and fragments, borrowed from different objects and images, constructing a story. In these objects, one can find proof of the passage of time and a person’s existence. 

Through this series, I process and make sense of the grief and longing I feel for loved ones and places out of my reach. Each year that passes, I question what “home” really means. Do my years spent living in Puerto Rico give me permission to call it my true home? For many of us who have been removed from our countries, our identity is constantly at the center of debate within our communities, and even within ourselves. And yet, home, belonging, and our family histories manifest themselves in different ways for everyone, in the way we think and view the world. Examining these found images, and objects has allowed me to uncover my familial history, but also discover how my family and origin have shaped me into the person I am today.