Cover design: Stephany Mesa | Coloring: Máximo Montero
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KALALÚ - a project about the grief and love
Kalalú is an animated project that explores Afro-identity, syncretism, and, above all, loss through the characters of Kara and Mar. These two teenagers, who are passionate about Santería, drums, and atabales, must return to the afterlife the souls they accidentally set free while trying to bring their beloved dog back to life.
The main idea behind this intellectual property is to develop it in stages, starting broadly with the production of a short film, then a feature film, until finally creating a limited series.
The process of creating the project began with sketching on paper until I spoke with the Dominican illustrator, Stephany Mesa, to refine the design and settle on the right one 😉
Kalalú was born out of my first encounter with loss, an experience that deeply marked my childhood. At a very young age, I faced the painful reality that the people we love also leave this earthly plane. Without a clear explanation of what was happening around me, and without the emotional tools to process it, I developed a strong aversion to anything related to death: I avoided looking at hearses and didn’t want to attend funerals.
Over time, grief became a dark and incomprehensible territory for me. However, I have learned to see death as an inevitable and, at times, even loving part of the cycle of life. And that, my grandmother taught me. A woman who always kept her Archangel Michael on the table with his little candles and his symbolic candle. While, my grandfather sparked my fascination with learning more about Dominican folklore.
What are we doing right now?
Work is currently underway on the short film. Which we are focusing on Kara, Cemí (dog), and Bulé grandama. This gonna help us to concentrate on the main story. With a screenplay by Natalia Peralta, the production by Violeta Lockhart (Minervas Producciones), Alberto Arvizu serving as storyboard director, and Luis Trujillo as animatic composer. We’re trying to pull everything together to submit an entry for the FONPROCINE 2026 call for proposals.
Let's see how it goes 🫣
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