Born November 21st, 1998, in Havana, Cuba.

     Growing up I never imagined myself becoming an artistic person, the concept of being an artist was almost inconceivable. As a young individual I perceived artists as chosen human beings that were hand-picked by God to create the unimaginable. Which of course is not true and I am living proof, I am not chosen nor am I special. Any one person can become an artist if they pick up a brush and allow themselves to let go of the pressure, internal expectations, and perfectionism. But I will say, reaching this mentality has taken over two decades.

When I was 9 years old and arrived at America I was of course introduced to a whole new world, a new way of life and a whole new society. A society with all kinds of people that did a million different things to survive. At first, all I was trying to do was not crack under pressure. I had to learn a new language and navigate through a new family dynamic and the hell that’s better known as middle school. By the time I turned twelve I could not deal with it, all I wanted to do was escape. I came across an online open world PC game called FreeRealms and I absolutely lost myself to that world. I did terrible in school, barely had any friends and my relationship to my family was practically dust. For a long time, I would lose sleep, passed out on real world experiences and neglected the importance of knowledge just be able to spend as much time as I could escaping the real world. It wasn’t until I was fifteen that the game was shut down that I had no choice but to confront my life and most importantly, myself.

A couple of months passed, I felt absolutely lost and totally depressed but slowly realized I had to do something with my time. I began to draw, not because I felt comfortable doing it but because to me Art was magic, and I’ve always loved the idea of having magical powers. I wanted to be an artist so much I didn’t even care if what I drew was hideous. Indeed, all of my first drawings were hideous, but I was okay with that. I began with portraits, a person with sharper features and one eye always covered with luscious hair. Looking back, I feel like subconsciously I was drawing the version of myself I wanted to be. A part of me knew that but also, I always felt disconnected from that person because I was drawing someone from thoughts of fantasy. That’s when I realized that I was extremely disconnected from myself but simultaneously discovered that art could be a useful tool to become self aware and free.

By the time I graduated High School, too many things required my attention, and I sort of neglected my creativity and art. I came out of my shell and made friends, started to go out more, had a lot of fun but then that took its own turn. I got to a point where I wasn’t participating in anything truly fulfilling, I began to become a little desperate and for some reason this huge black hole of lust opened up inside of me. I think for about two years all of my free time was spent having sex, it was sometimes fun but honestly a lot of the times it was traumatizing. Even after I began my first romantic relationship it didn’t really stop, I had met somebody with the same desperation and emptiness I had.

Eventually I became more aware of how much I was hurting myself and took the time to slow down and just focus on the good things in my life, that led me to art again. 2019, I was 21 and created my first actual painting “The Star”. I was so proud and I felt so inspired again but at the same time the relationship I was a part of absolutely crumbled, betrayal hit hard and not long after came covid. It was truly a very unfortunate time for the world, so many people suffered and died. It was so strange for me because as terrible as COVID was, for me it was the first time in my life when I had the ability to make decisions that served my best interest and things worked out. My sister Diana and I moved into an apartment together in Miami Beach, five blocks away from the beach, it was wonderful for us. I had a full time good paying position working remotely. All of my extra income went towards Art supplies and canvases, and all of my free time was spent at the beach. It was really the most bittersweet time.

During the next two years painting for me was something I did for fun, it was an activity that had a positive effect on my body, mind and soul. Art remained one hundred percent a hobby for me. It wasn’t until I was about twenty-three that I was becoming very unfulfilled with corporate/retail jobs and had a mindset shift about art and what it could be for me. I made a choice to begin the process to be self-sustained by selling art. I became unemployed and for about a year a friend of mine let me stay at his apartment without charging me for rent, it was a huge blessing for me as an adult to have the opportunity to remain creative without having the responsibility of paying any bills besides food. About two months into living at his place, I managed to find another remote job which I really needed in order to continue to buy supplies and canvases.

That year I created so many paintings and even created a brand for myself, I created a website and once I felt comfortable, I began to find ways to sell my art. I’d bring my smaller paintings to the beach with me to try and sell them on the boardwalk, I’d reach out to galleries and sometimes I got close, but nothing ever worked out. I did not sell one painting ever, not at the beach, not through a gallery, not through networking, IT WAS ROUGH. But honestly, I learned a lot and I don’t take any of it back, even putting myself out there and giving myself the opportunity was a huge win.

Eventually life in Miami Beach became extremely difficult to self-sustain and had no choice but to leave. I gave all of my paintings away for free to strangers, family and friends and left. I didn’t have many places to go but my brother was living in Iowa and had a free room and said I could move in with him. Almost three years after living here and I am finally one hundred percent self-sufficient and want to put myself out there again. I am taking all of the successes and failures I’ve been through, and I am continuing my journey in creativity and liberation.