The series “Dulce Amargo” is an exploration of multilayered significance of sugar cane. Growing up in Puerto Rico, I have memories of mornings zipping on at coffee with my Abuela. Puerto Rican coffee is traditionally strong and sweet. As I explore my memories and my roots, I see how the deep roots of the sugar cane plant are intertwined with Puerto Rico’s own roots. Through an exploration of Caribbean heritage and identity, the history of sugar cane becomes the lens through which I connect to the cultural history and lived experiences of the people of the island across time.

The work is driven by an interest in how everyday goods carry cultural memory and human experience across time. Sugar becomes a lens for examining culture, historically tied to forced labor, yet consumed daily and often detached from the conditions that shaped it. The work invites viewers to consider how history quietly persists within ordinary goods, even when their origins are overlooked. Sugar’s sweetness can obscure the labor and suffering behind it, holding both comfort and contradiction within a shared cultural experience.