I was born and raised in Jayuya, dead center of the island. Up in the mountains. So lush, you can feel the trees breathing. My family lives on a hill, and there’s a hill above that hill. My parents still have a roof over their heads, but during Maria, a landslide washed into the house. My mother tells me of water like hot chocolate coming in from the windows…

I was eager to speak with Diego, storyboard artist and illustrator living now in New York City. What did it mean to grow up in Puerto Rico? Would he shed some light on the conditions in his homeland after the disastrous hurricane? And--not least--how do storyboard artists work? 

First, I needed to get the terminology right. Puerto Rico’s relationship with the US is unique. It’s an Estado Libre Asociado, a Commonwealth of the United States. Puerto Ricans are American citizens but do not have voting representatives in Congress. Diego told me his brother is in the army, fought twice in Iraq.

 So we began.