Sandra Ayala

Into the Past 

Storytelling will always be my respite; it is the reason I create portraits that are rich with imagination, an accurate depiction created by my own version of fantastic realism. In this specific project I chose two historical Taíno women who were chiefs, otherwise known as caciques. Caciques governed over territories or cacicazgos. I chose women leaders to highlight the matrilineal structure.

Using water in my images allows me to envision a cleansing of sorts. The ability of these bodies of water to permeate my story with a new truth, that of being alive and still present. My characters are suspended in time, Anacaona waiting by the sea for her beloved and Yuiza immersing herself to absolve of any perceived wrong-doing. Both were mournful stories reminiscent of the history of our ancestors and brought to life by combining digital images and photoshop manipulation to create a more textured story. 

I am a first generation, Bronx born Boricua who was told when she was 12 that her ancestors were extinct while on a trip to Borikén. That misstatement haunted me for years. As I got older, I spent my summers running barefoot through the land that I wasn’t born on but loved as if I were. Through these visits, I eventually saw the truth: that our ancestors are not extinct; they live within our culture, in our traditions and in our blood.

My greatest joy would be to have as many people as possible look at this project, go back home and do everything in their power to educate themselves, and learn the history that was not taught to us. They should immerse themselves and their children in our culture and traditions still practiced today that came from generations before them.  

Yuiza was one of two women caciques in the Caribbean. Her legend says that to protect her people, she consorted with a mulatto conquistador. Her people saw this relationship as a betrayal and killed her. Loiza, a town located in the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, may be named after her. 

Anacaona

Anacaona, referred to as The Golden Flower. Her name is a combination of the Taíno words Ana, meaning flower and Caona, meaning gold or golden. Anacaona was born in Jaragua, what is now known as Leogane, Haiti in 1474. Her brother Bohechio was cacique of Jaragua and upon his death she became the new cacique of her people. Frightened by her growing influence, Nicolas De Ovando, governor of Hispaniola, ordered her death in 1503.