How do you define ‘home?’

There are the physical attributes of walls, of course, but within my activism work, I find home in people and movements. I’m really fortunate for my work to be international and global, so I see myself as a global citizen where I can find home and family almost anywhere in the world. I find that really empowering and inspiring. Home is definitely a grounding force. Whenever you find yourself straying, whether it be physically or within your ideals, you can always come back to home base to find calm and focus. There are a lot of spikes that happen in life, and I think that having those spaces of home, whether it be in people or in community or just physically, that’s keeps me grounded.

What does the building you live in mean to you and your family?

Our building is around 121 years old, and my ancestors came here from the Dominican Republic. I always say that this apartment is the ‘museum’ of my family, because every single person in my family has stayed in this apartment at one point. This apartment has always been our own little version of Ellis Island, where everyone has had a chance to land, settle, and take some time to figure stuff out before moving on.

Where in your home do you go to find privacy?

I’m in my bedroom right now, and it is sort of my little headquarters. I renovated this room in the summer of last year because I was getting ready to start my third year of medical school – and then I found out that I was sick with cancer. So it actually worked out because I had also got a new mattress and really given my room a face lift. My bedroom ended up being my sanctuary from chemo, and everything I was going through. I do everything here: I sleep here, I work here; it’s really become this amazing little hub for me.

Which room do you spend the most time in, and why?

The kitchen is definitely the centre of my home and my family. My great-grandma was a caterer, and she left my mom her original recipe book with inherited recipes in old Spanish script. We spend a lot of time in the kitchen translating and deciphering these old recipes, which has been really cool. My family also has a special sleep rhythm – we stay up basically all night! So the kitchen is always a place where we come together, even at 3:00 AM. If my brother says he wants some brownies, we go to the kitchen and make brownies.

How have you adapted your home to suit your life and needs?

I get around in a wheelchair so it’s definitely been a challenge. Our apartment is very narrow, but we have this old stroller thing that I used when I was little, and I still use it to get around between rooms in the hallway because my wheelchair only goes as far as the kitchen. In our bathroom we have one of those old claw-foot tubs, and because it’s nice and high it actually works great for me to be able to transfer into my bath chair, so I can take a bath independently. But the biggest issue is the entrance to our apartment. It has four steps, and even though I’ve lived here my whole life, they have never made it accessible for me. We’ve had to buy a portable ramp so I can get in and out.

What was it like to have your portrait taken by Annie Leibovitz?

It was amazing. I enjoyed watching her set up as much as I enjoyed the actual shoot. I’ve always said this work means nothing if I cannot bring my family along with me, so it was really special to have my mom and my sister here for the shoot. I appreciated how much Annie listened to my creative direction and let me be authentic in these photos. I really wanted to shoot in the kitchen, which is a tight space, so that I could be in my wheelchair, because I want the photos to feel authentic to me and my lived experience, and I want other folks to see a disabled person within these photos. That was really important to me, and Annie honored it in these photos.