SOY CUBANA began as a documentary short that followed the Vocal Vidas, a unique Afro-Cuban female a cappella quartet, in their daily lives and artistic process. Their precise vocal harmonies and melting pot of references embody the sounds of Santiago de Cuba, the cradle of Afro-Cuban music. The short premiered at the 2016 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and won ten awards. In 2017, partly as a result of that success, the group was invited to perform at several venues culminating in an appearance before an audience of 3,000 at Grand Performances in Downtown Los Angeles. At the same time, then-president Trump closed the doors to Cuba, after the Obama Administration had begun to open them. As the social and political dynamics evolve, this becomes a film that is about more than crossing borders.