barullo a la orilla

Using patterns of coconut palms and thread figures, they create visual dialogues that reveal the interconnections of the Caribbean archipelago and the tensions between traditional customs and exploitative practices.

The setting of their film is the Reserva Natural de Humacao, a nature reserve on the island’s southeast coast. This area is shaped by the communal struggle, which began in 1986, to preserve the region’s Pterocarpus forests, wetlands, and mangrove ecosystems. The wounds inflicted by colonialism and imperialism are still clearly felt in this region. They are evident in the remnants of the 1930s sugarcane industry, an abandoned water pump, and military installations from the 1940s that were built for the U.S. Army during World War II.

The concept of solastalgia—a profound sadness and despair in the face of environmental destruction—and the intense suffering caused by the exploitation of the coastline motivated Las Nietas de Nonó to reflect on a sense of place that is shaped both individually and collectively. Through a choreography of movements, rituals, and weaving techniques, the duo proposes a speculative and contemplative approach that engages with both the decay and the richness of this area, thereby reappropriating cartography as an Indigenous practice.

• Part of Bwa Kayiman: Crossing the Mangrove.