Sana, Sana (2023) is a story about healing. It’s about a wound that never healed, a wound time forgot, or maybe even ignored. One that festered into a longing to become the hate that created it in the first place. Thematically, I wanted to touch upon the power old wounds have over us, and how healing happens because of hurting, rather than in spite of it. 

The story is set in the fictional Mission Park, which is an amalgamation of very real places such as El Sereno, Cypress Park, Alhambra, and Highland Park. I wanted to base the story on something I knew well, as I was born and raised in El Sereno before I was relocated to Pasadena, CA. It was important for me to tell a story about a person of color from this world, who was of it, but did not feel apart of it.

Touching upon this heritage was a priority. Growing up every Latino kid knew the words: Sana Sana collita de rana. In English they are “heal, heal, tail of a frog”. What follows, “Si no sanas hoy, sanarás mañana” concludes with “if it you don’t heal today, then you’ll heal tomorrow.” 

I developed Sana, Sana after reflecting on my own feelings of being an outsider in my own hometown, and how muddied the concept of “home” and “belonging” feel when one has always felt one foot in, one foot out. Along with that sentiment, I also wanted to tell a story about the unspoken reality of hidden bigotry and homophobia that was societally acceptable for so long in such a world. For me, it was important to touch upon the undeclared truth that such hate never went away, and still lingers in the shadows within many people.

I aimed to tell a story that felt essential; a story about what to do with the things that have hurt you, especially when these things are from your home. When confronted with hate, revenge, control, redemption, and justice, it was important for me to focus on the power of Change. For you can’t believe in change if you don’t believe in Forgiveness.