Fifty years after an AfroCuban woman receives aid from the sea goddess Yemayá to help her son flee revolutionary Cuba, her pregnant granddaughter Zamira faces a similar hurdle that affects the future of her unborn child in this tale of diaspora, generational inheritance, and resilience.

Director’s Vision for ‘Agua de tu Madre’

Agua de tu Madre is a story of diaspora and motherhood inspired by my AfroCuban heritage. Growing up as a Brown, non-fluent Latina, I often felt disconnected from traditional images of Cuban-American women. Learning about the complexities of race and displacement within my family helped me make my identity whole. Set against the spiritual backdrop of Santería—a faith that has journeyed alongside AfroCubans through slavery, revolution, and exile—Agua de tu Madre honors the unbreakable spirit of those forced across oceans. Like our ancestors before us, our people hold unthinkable amounts of resilience and power.