'Palante' came to fruition as part of a 10-day master class and workshop in Cuba with acclaimed director Werner Herzog as our mentor, or as he liked to be called: "Mi Coronel." As one of his soldiers of cinema and the only filmmaker of Cuban-American descent, I saw this as a chance to return to my father’s homeland—the one he had forsaken since the mid-1950s because of political reasons—to tell an authentic story from my culture. Sixty years later, I saw Cuba through my own eyes and not as a tourist, but as a filmmaker; and that’s why it meant so much to me. With an immense amount of pressure to share a story worth telling, while at the same time making my family and fellow Cubans proud, I dedicated myself to making my short film ‘Palante’ a success. ‘Palante’ was born out of a similar sacrifice I had to endure by moving to Los Angeles to pursue my dreams and aspirations of a better life. The film’s title and the theme were inspired by my Cuban grandmother, Aleida, who would always console me with the words “¡Pa’lante, Pa’lante!” which means keep moving forward. Shot in the colorful town of San Antonio de Los Baños, I let the environment tell the story. As we follow Estrella and her grandfather, we get a glimpse of the impoverished lifestyle many Cubans have had to endure in their day-to-day life for decades; lack of resources, broken, tarnished buildings and walls, etc. Captured mostly through wide-angle and handheld cameras, I focused on highlighting the beauty and resilience of Cuban culture in contrast to that of their surroundings in each frame.

Winner: Grand Jury Prize Award - Oklahoma Cine Latino Film Festival 2018 Best Director - Oklahoma Cine Latino Film Festival 2018 Best International Short Film - Official Latino Film Festival 2017 Audience Award - Gainesville Latino Film Festival Best Short Film Script - Premios Latino, España Best Direction - Premios Latino, España

official Selection: Oklahoma Cine Latino Film Festival Official Latino Film Festival 2017 San Francisco Latino Film Festival 2017 Gainesville Latino Film Festival 2017 Short to the Point September 2017 Feminist Border Film Festival 2018 Cine Miami Fest 2018 Cuban International Film Festival 2018 Chicago Latino Film Festival 2019 I'm Not Going to Move to LA Film Festival 2019 Chicago Latino Film Festival 2019 Hola Mexico Film Festival 2022