Artist Statement
I grew up in a land-occupation settlement in Vega Baja, surrounded by all the tropical fruit trees that my family could dream of. Seeing so much abundance and generosity from nature around us, I wondered how was it possible that Puerto Rico imported over 85% of our food? That question has determined my audiovisual work for almost 20 years. In my masters thesis in Caribbean Cultural Studies, I explored the displacement of farm workers from the fields to construction sites across Puerto Rico and the diaspora, as part of the new colonial vision of “development” for Puerto Rico. Later, with Mariolga Reyes Cruz, we produced 30 short documentaries presenting the new generation of ecological farmers as they embodied a counternarrative dignifying our ability and will to grow our own food. However, we knew that there was more to the story about the pursuit of food sovereignty in Puerto Rico.
Photo still from the film Stewards of the Land with Puerto Rican farmers preparing a new farm for food production.