Facebook Artist In Residence 2020

The portrait of Digna represents her personal experiences as well as the collective experiences of tens of thousands of survivors. I asked Nuyorican Poet Bonafide Rojas to visit my art studio and view the collection of artifacts I planned to use in the installation. He was inspired to write a poem dedicated to the victims and the survivors, called “Sobrevivientes”.

Digna lives in a small part of the El Culebrinas neighborhood known as Villa Sofia. During the storm, the river, as well as the smaller tributaries and waterways that branch off of it, swelled and rose into the streets, flooding the neighborhood, including Digna’s home. With the water level rising to over 8ft inside, the force of the flood water combined with constant rain and hurricane winds, pulled Digna and her dog out of their home. Digna was rescued by a neighbor, but unfortunately her companion could not be rescued. When Adrián entered Digna’s home, much of her personal belongings were gone, there was visible water damage throughout her home, and she was sleeping on a children’s mattress on the floor. She hadn’t had clean drinking water in days, and was collecting the rainwater in 5 gallon buckets. Adrián made multiple trips to visit Digna, and ensured more aid reached her and her community.

PR-tifacts were gathered throughout my journey across the island post- hurricane Maria. Many of the items were donated by residents and many others were collected from giant piles of escombro (rubbish) found on beaches, on streets, and in abandoned properties that were completely destroyed. They represent the destruction of the fabric of ordinary life; the memories of a life once lived, the imagination of our children, our love, our history, our pride, our faith, and all that defines who we are as Puerto Ricans.

Punta Santiago, Humacao was one of the hardest hit communities with flooding due to it being beachfront. It became more known when the media showed a message painted on the street by it’s residents that read "S.O.S. Necesitamos agua/comida” (“S.O.S We need water/food”) so any helicopters or planes flying over can see. I traveled to Punta Santiago to deliver relief aid and met Anibal Mojica guarding his home from a neighbors house across the street. His entire home was flattened, and all of his personal belongings were scattered throughout his property.

He invited me onto his property to show me around and talk to me about his experience. He asked about me, who I was, if I was famous, or worked for FEMA. I explained to him I was just an artist. When I showed him some pictures of my work from my camera, he turned to an area of where he had a pile of things. He told me he loved to take pictures also, and wanted to show me his camera. It was rusted and was covered in salt crystals from the ocean water flood. He said he was going to throw away ALL of his belongings because they were now too damaged to keep. He allowed me to take photos of the condition of his home, as well as gifting me the camera and a few additional personal belongings to use in telling our stories of hurricane Maria.