Edna & Heldáy

We Got Each Other’s Back - multi-channel video installation

Live at the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art

Part of a long-term documentary project by interdisciplinary artist Carlos Motta— in collaboration with artists Heldáy de la Cruz and Edna Vázquez– We Got Each Other’s Back is a three-part, multi-channel video installation featuring portraits of queer artists and activists in the United States who are or have been openly undocumented, and who are producing work to denounce historic and present-day broken US immigration policies. The project demonstrates how the intersections of sexuality, gender, ethnicity, race, and economic background define the environment of marginalization and discrimination to which immigrants are subjected, while challenging mainstream media narratives of immigration and sexuality by presenting nuanced, real-life stories of living at the margins of the legal system. We Got Each Other’s Back also includes live and online events and public programs that engage the challenges faced by undocumented migrants.

Director / Carlos Motta

Director of Photography / Adolfo Cantú-Villarreal

Camera Operator / Kanon Havens

Sound / Kai Tillman and Sam Hamilton

Gaffer/ Eli Haan

Set Design / Gabi Villaseñor

Transcription and Translation / Camilo Godoy

Producer / Ella Marra-Ketelaar

Edna Vázquez Interview