director's notes

I started dancing salsa as a child with my friends and neighbors on short visits to Cali, Colombia with my mother. After learning LA (on 1) and New York (on 2) style salsa in the United States, I moved to Cali to learn the seemingly impossible, and often overlooked, salsa Caleña. In Cali, I lived with my grandmother and followed my dream of dancing in a semi-professional dance group.

In those years living in Cali, I approached each moment with an open mind and embraced the opportunity to hyper perform my gender– through body movements, makeup and costumes– in ways I had never done before. I learned to do this from people of all ethnic backgrounds and identities. My predominantly Gay teachers became my guides. My Nonbinary friends who could express femininity and masculinity so freely and precisely, became my idols. After moving back to New York City in 2018, my sociological background coupled with my love of the arts, inspired me to begin this project. All I had were the memories of my beloved salsa community, and the certainty that –at least some of them– were using their culture of salsa to foster a more inclusive and progressive society. I began without much equipment, knowledge, or preparation, and have emerged now with a film that, hopefully, moves audiences to discuss gender, art, culture, and the lessons of the Global South. I dedicate this project to Michelle, our transgender protagonist, who could freely express her gender on stage, but who had to fight for the right to exist in her full expression off stage. May she rest in peace and continue to guide this project in its quest to bring dignity to all human beings.