ABOUT

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Canicas is an animation based on the exploration of identity of two Latina women through their childhood memories. The word “canicas” is Spanish for marbles, a game that they similarly used to play during their times in Mexico and Ecuador with their families and friends.

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The story envelopes between their memories and reflection of identity through separate lives, one that was born in the United States and grew up in her Mexican culture, and the other who grew up in Ecuador and then moved to the U.S. While both tales follow different pathways, there are many similarities to their cultures and how they grew up in; this can also be reflected in the bright colors used through the video and the mixture of Spanish and English in the audio. The overall concept of reliving their memories and childhood relate deeply through their roots and identity; the monkey and tiger that represent them are used as mirages of the things that they have experienced at a young age, since those were their favorite stuffed animals as children.

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Canicas is a form of self-reflection, not only for the two women, but for those in the Latinx community that, while they have come through various paths in life, all share a similar experience within the struggles of asking oneself whether one is truly from one country or the other while also cherishing what they have attained from such transition.