Over this past weekend, a documentary about a Latin American artist debuted at The Center in New York City for Fuerza Fest’s 2025 edition. Fuerza, the first Latine multidisciplinary arts festival in the Northeast of the United States, aims to uplift the vibrant Latine queer community and highlight its issues.
On the festival’s second day, A Doll’s House debuted in the late afternoon of May 18. This short film was produced by Puerto Rico’s Nosveran Studio and directed by photographers Josh Ashton and José Vélez Arocho. It centers around the multidisciplinary artist Alfonso Muñoz Alma, his beginnings, and how his experiences have shaped—and continue to shape—his work.
Right from the beginning, we are introduced to Alfonso through his dollhouse installations, which are brought to life with animation by Venezuelan artist Francisco J. Sanabria. These initial scenes feel intimate, as if we’re entering someone’s home—and if you are Latin American, it might even feel like your own. The way the light casts shadows and the placement of objects create a sense of being welcomed. As quickly as it begins, we’re showered with information, and for its 23-minute runtime, the film manages to bombard us in a completely natural way. Those 23 minutes feel like an hour—in the best way. We constantly shift between scenes: close-ups of the artist, shots of his works, footage of him creating and intervening in his installations, all layered with clips from the classic movies that inspired his childhood playfulness—like *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972). The narrative weaves in his shifts between English and Spanish, the emotion in his eyes, and the crack in his voice when he touches on specific subjects still difficult to speak about. And it’s not just a bombardment of topics, but of visual mediums Alfonso has worked with. Through each medium and each work, we learn how deeply they are tied to his childhood, family, religion, and diasporic experiences.
Specific highlights from the film include:
- The early sourcing of materials, from childhood to adulthood.
- The struggles of being queer not just within a traditional family, but in society at large.
- Becoming part of the diaspora and returning.
- The impact of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City.
- Confronting trauma while offering support for the queer community.
- Alfonso breaking the wall and directly addressing the filmmakers about translating the title of one of his works. (Our favorite)
The short documentary covers so much—it is a must-see. And while a flight to New York City may be out of reach to catch it at Fuerza Fest, Puerto Ricans will have a chance to see it this week as it screens at the Puerto Rico Queer Film Festival in select theaters. If that’s not enough, it will also officially premiere on June 26 at Puerto Rico’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC) in San Juan.
Take a chance—explore, and learn a little about ourselves and others!
We believe it’s always important to recognize the living artists of our culture and document their stories and voices while we still can. Over the past year, Alfonso has been diagnosed with pelvic cancer. A GoFundMe campaign has been created to help cover his medical expenses, and we kindly ask you to consider donating using the link below.
