This Is How We Are

I created this film, Asi Somos Nosotras (This Is How We Are), in honor of my family’s healing from the trauma we faced together. Though this film only showcases part of the traumatic events that led to our emotional distance from one another, I felt it was a very integral part of our history that has shaped us into who we are today. As the youngest sister, I feel like my view of our family’s history isn't as clear as it could be. I was born in a different country than my sisters, Sindy and Lisbeth. We led two completely different lives. While they yearned for our mother’s love and protection, I would lay my head to rest next to hers every night. While they faced neglect, sexual trauma, and starvation, I made do with what little my mother could provide for us in a safe home. My sisters are my world. I wanted to dive deeper into what they had gone through before I was in the picture to better understand why we grew up together with brick walls around our hearts, unable to be emotional with one another. Why only now in recent years we have been tearing our walls down and growing as a family? This film was also made for the protection of my sister Sindy’s children. What happened to them will never happen again. The cycle ends here.
The poem in this film was written in 2015, 7 years before the film’s creation. When the words were written, our family was divided and callous. The words reflected this. Our individual canvasses were ruined not only by predators but by each other. The poem was adapted in 2022 to reflect our growth as a family. We are one united canvas. My mother’s pain is my pain to bear as well. My sisters’ trauma is our trauma to heal from. My grief is shared by all. We are now connected in a way we have never been. Once united when my sisters immigrated to New York from the Dominican Republic, but now reunited emotionally as a family.