Filmmaker Statement

Throughout my childhood visits to my grandparents home in Puerto Rico, the ocean wasn't just a vast expanse; it was a sacred conduit connecting us to our roots. As a child, I took part in baños (ritual baths), and witnessed protective spells and blessings by my grandmother, a spirit healer and medium, that resonated with ancient wisdom. But it wasn’t until adulthood that I began to appreciate these rituals as more than just what my family did, and recognized them as part of our connection to a much deeper cultural tradition, passed down from generation to generation. "Daughter of the Sea" spotlights this connection, and highlights one of the most important figures in African Yoruba spirituality, Yemaya, known as the goddess of the sea. A meditation on grief, this film introduces new audiences to the medicine available in the healing currents of tradition. This film is an ode to our ancestors, their magic, and the source from which we came.