I dream of freedom as a world where boundaries no longer exist. A world where borders no longer separate my family. A world where I don’t have to think of myself as being from here or there because I am from everywhere.
Last year, I made a piece that encourages people to think about the non-physical borders that exist in my family. My abuelita shares a story from her childhood to my mami and I, but the story passes through different languages in order for the audience to understand. Since I was born on this side of the border, I have lost the ability to understand my abuelita’s native dialect. Alternatively, she cannot understand my English. I make visible the effect these borders have had on the generations in my family. Yet, ultimately, the story is able to traverse these borders to reach me.
Freedom is a world where I can understand my abuelita’s stories. Freedom is a world where I have what has been taken from me.