Interviewer: Anthony Andujar Jr
Interviewee: Lisa Andujar
Hello and welcome to the Artist Ant Interviews People Summer Series! Welcome to another edition to my latest talks with local and global creatives that are alive, hustling and thriving in their respective crafts! Today I have a special guest, and this special guest is unique because she is my one and only sibling. Growing up, I can say that throughout most of my life, I learned a lot from my mother and most especially my younger sister. Anytime I created a story, or illustrated a piece, the only critic whose opinion I highly considered before anyone else, aside from my own self criticisms, is hers. So I figured, that it is only right to introduce to all of cyberspace, the Robin to my Batman, entrepreneur, traveler, ASL interpreter and so much more, my sister, Lisa Andujar! Cue 1960’s Adam West Batman theme song!! Na na, Na na, Na na, Na na, Na na, Na na, Na na, Na na, Lisa man!
Q0. Who are your inspirations?
LA: My inspiration would have to be all those that have traveled before me and just up and left in order to see more. Therefore, I do not have one inspiration...well actually I guess my innate curiosity and birds would be my primary inspiration since both have motivated me to take on traveling in the USA so far!
Q1. How did you get into art, most notably writing about your travels?
LA: I got into art due to you, Anthony Andujar Jr who is an actual artist himself and a damn good one at that! I was also interested in the art of travel because it is so freeing to be able to up and leave and be a complete new stranger in an entirely new state and city and actually fact check and see if the city actually lives up to its expectations.
Q2. When did you take decide to take your art and travels more seriously?
LA: After my sister, Gabriela Carrillo invited me to go to the Dominican Republic and had me meet her wonderful family and friends, I was hooked because I was experiencing an entirely new culture first hand and trying to find for myself whether or not DR was as bad as my Grandma made it out to be. DR was certainly life changing for me and was the first country other than America that I had been to and I got to explore many different spots with my sister so you can imagine how great it was!
Q2. 1. Where have you travelled thus far?
LA: I have traveled to:
- The Dominican Republic: Esperanza, Puerto Plata, and Santiago
- California: Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Long Beach, San Francisco, San Diego
- North Carolina: Raleigh
- Washington D.C (Not a state, but a territory)
- Massachusetts: Boston
- Pennsylvania: Philadelphia
- Louisiana: New Orleans
- Illinois: Chicago
- Maine: Portland
- Georgia: Atlanta
- Texas: Austin and San Antonio
Q2. 2. What has your travels taught you?
LA: My travels have taught me to how to be more independent and not feel alone; through traveling I have learned to rely on and trust my judgement tremendously because when I am out and about I have to be ten times more responsible, confident in all of my decisions, I have to motivate myself, and most importantly get out of my comfort zone even more so when amongst strangers in order to open my mind up and engage in meaningful conversations with those who are different from myself.
I feel that one other crucial lesson that I have learned when traveling to all of these states is that when traveling, actually enjoy everything around you...meaning, no headphones, no phone to snapchat or instagram with, and no nonsense, just be present because I will tell ya, I love being able to see the art that our home, Earth has produced, it is truly a wonderful sight and to share this experience with many others makes it even more so great!
Q2.3. Was it always a goal to travel? If so, how did that influence you as an ASL Interpreter, and artist?
LA: I did not really think too much of it when I was younger because I was so focused on school and making it to college because I knew that would one day make me money and give me security so for the short answer, no. However, for the long answer, I had friends who would occasionally travel to other states and I did wonder about it, but not so much and it was not until I was watching movies such as The Cheetah Girls; the one where they went to Spain, that I felt a small desire to travel.
Although my desire for travel was there, it was not enough for me to want to leave because I had no money to actually plan anything, but then when high school came around, I was finally bursting out of my bubble and realized that there are many countries, haha! I then got curious about what these countries were like and so finally I decided to save up money in college just to have money saved and Gabriella Carrillo invited me out to DR and ever since then I have had the travel bug! How did my travel influence me as an ASL interpreter and artist? That is a good question, well to be fair, my degree is in Sociology so that alone has already given me an upper hand because I was able to learn about how many institutions oppress various individuals and I have taken a variety of courses in different areas such as Anthropology, so in a sense, I have been studying culture, institutions and society as a whole and how they respond to such things.
Through my degree, I have learned a lot, but since traveling and starting a new job as a VRS interpreter I am meeting many wonderful and highly talented individuals who come from all across America and are teaching me things all the time, but that usually starts with me opening up. As I stated earlier, traveling allows me to bring up various topics to discuss during the periods an operator is not present but it also helps me to connect with the various individuals that pop up on my screen; they will tell me stories about their life and their travels and I think that overall, traveling allows you to be open to that sort of stuff, in other words, have a natural and genuine curiosity about others.
Furthermore, I get a lot of ideas for storylines that I would like to create related to my travels and I typically try to accomplish a painting after a few of my favorite trips in order to capture how I felt, usually through the use of color and design. You may even see my work in one of the exhibits of MOMA one day, it is that hipster, haha!
Q2.4. What do you hope to accomplish in your travels across the 50 states?
LA: Hmm, well here is something funny, I do not intend on visiting all 50 states, haha. Initially I only ever wanted to see the coastline of America because I do not care much for the middle states truth be told, but I do hope to maybe go to Utah for Zion park, Bryce Canyon, and Arches National Park, Arizona for the Grand Canyon and Antelope Canyon, possibly Colorado for camping and New Mexico for the pueblos.
Essentially, my goal is to see where I would want to live in the near future so I figured I would check out some states now and I planned on traveling the USA so I could know more about my own country but also to prepare me for all the trips abroad I will take! However, let's not forget the most important thing, I hope to accomplish seeing the beautiful lands that the world has to offer before I leave this Earth and actually feel growth from within.
Q2.5. What do you seek when you travel?
LA: When traveling, I seek to find individuals that enjoy telling everything they would never tell the people they know and just opening up and sharing a bond over a weird but unique experience which is why I love hostels. Aside from getting to know complete strangers I actually getting a bit lost in a city I am traveling to and figuring my way back and trying to discover hidden gems. Nevertheless, I seek the alone time I get when traveling and challenging myself and ultimately growing.
Q2.6. Where would you like to travel after you complete your trek across the 50 states?
LA: I would like to travel to Canada, most of South America, Mexico, all of Europe, Africa and Asia!
Q2.7. What places would you like to revisit?
LA: For now, I would like to revisit Austin, Texas to see the migration of the Bats, San Francisco and San Diego. I love California and would legit live there!
Q2.8. With what you've experienced in your travels, do you plan to document it in a form of a blog?
LA: I have thought about making a blog and kinda did on my Instagram and Facebook page, but I do have a blog on Wordpress (Not finalized and nor does it have any stories...*womp womp*), but I do write about my experiences traveling in my various personal journals and eventually will release it!
Q2.9. What books did you carry with you when traveling, and why those books? What did they do for you and how did it impact your traveling experience?
LA: I believe when I went to Boston, I read the book, The Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea because it was a book I had on my reading list and I will admit that it is a must read due to how funny it is and how it reminds one to acknowledge that so many stereotypes about certain individuals are beyond false, but there are also those that embody such stereotypes. Nevertheless, it is a fun read. One book I would highly suggest is The Barefoot Queen by Ildefonso Falcones, it was one of the best books I have ever read in my life! Shakespeare can not even compare...seriously...and that guy was weird so trust me!
The other book I completed recently when going to San Diego was Toward Competent Practice: Conversations with Stakeholders by Ana Witter- Merithew and Leilani J. Johnson and that book was useful in helping me see the important role of an ITP program. The book also highlighted the need for those that work in the interpreting field to feel as though they are well prepared for the field professionally and academically but furthermore how individuals of the field need to ban together so that they stand as a united front rather than a disheveled group of professionals who can't come to a consensus as to what is needed for the field. Overall, I would say that I typically try to not read during the day of my travel because I want to soak in the sights from the air or the road, but if I do it will usually be a book from my list of books that I intend to read before the end of 2019. Although, I usually read at night for simple enjoyment :)
Q3. What drives you in your daily life?
LA: Truth be told, I am motivated by my curious mind and...the desire to master languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian so in simpler terms, I am motivated by the idea that I can accomplish everything I set out to do. Now if we were to get all sentimental then I would say my family motivates me because I come from a background of financial insecurity and seeing how all that can change has definitely kept me going. There is no way but up from here on out!
Q4. What made you the person that you are today?
LA: Financial insecurity, growing up with deaf parents, attending PS 347 and High School for Health Professions as well as Hunter College and my experience in retail has definitely shaped me into who I am today because I had been exposed to many things in regards to government assistance and how some people choose to get out of it or stay on it. School opened my eyes to the amount of diversity that existed in the world, college opened my eyes to Racism...I literally thought it was over before college (Facepalm), and retail taught me that when given the power, people will act like unnecessary douche bags and that it is meant to be a temporary position...not ever long term unless the individual can advance and become/wants to become manager then never mind! Retail showed me that I wanted more.
Q5. If you could speak to any living creator or inspiration, who would it be, why, and what would talk to them about?
LA: If I could talk to anyone it would have to be Muammar Gaddafi because I recently saw a documentary called, the Lust for Libya and I would like to ask Gaddafi what he believes would have united his people looking back because man...watch it for yourself and really think critically about the role America plays in these countries... I actually do not care for celebrities, no disrespect to the good ones.
Q6. If there were any deceased creators , actors, singers, writers, etc that you would want to speak to, who would it be, and why?
LA: Honestly, I don't think there are any.
Q7. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
LA: I can't chose one place, but I will choose a country...Brazil!
Q8. What is one thing that you fear?
LA: I no longer have fears because I expect nothing from others and do not want to bring that energy into my life! I am going with the flow at the moment... but obviously I am human and use to fear not being able to accomplish my goals in a timely manner.
Q 9. If you had a superpower what would it be and why?
LA: I would teleport because I love to travel and get away from the madness of life but then again...I would not want to get lost in time.
Q10. What catches your attention when you meet people?
LA: I pay attention to people's facial expressions and body language when I meet them (usually their eyes and torso) to see if I should continue talking or just cut my losses and save my energy, haha!
Q11. What is one word of advice that you would impart to your younger self?
LA: Go study abroad because you will always make the money back since things always work out for the best if you will it into existence :)
Q12. What are three books that you always remember or return to, and why? How did they shape you?
LA: I actually do not return to books after finishing them but the books that stick to me are definitely The Barefoot Queen, Just Mercy and The Girls of Riyadh! The storyline of The Barefoot Queen embodies the experience of a colored woman who goes through the early stages of her life not standing up for herself and it is beautiful seeing her growth! Just Mercy depicts the shitty racism that exists in the legal system and how powerful it is and The Girls of Riyadh shares the lives and viewpoints of four Saudi women.
Q13. If you could continue or remake a movie, or franchise, what would be your film of choice ?
LA: I would remake the movie, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but with women of all backgrounds facing extreme situations that majority of them overcome because that would be more relatable.
Q14. If you were to make a film, novel, or comic book based on an album, what album or artist would you pick?
LA: I would pick 123 Soleils which is a group of three Algerian artists and I have no idea what they are saying, but damn does it sounds nice. But if not them, then Republica because their songs are great. I would choose the band Faithless, Bloc Party and Depeche Mode...you just can't ask these sorts of questions, haha!
Q15. Who In this life, has motivated you to stay true to what makes you who are?
LA: Honestly, those movies that use to show up on Lifetime and Oxygen about bullying, murder, online pedophiles...etc really shaped my perspective of the world and how I do not want it to be.
Q16. Where do you hope to see yourself in five years?
LA: I see myself being a nationally certified Sign Language interpreter working in different settings around the USA as well as becoming a certified Spanish interpreter and becoming fluent in Portuguese, Russian, and French. By then, I also expect to have worked in hostels around the world for at least one month in order to get more exposure to the languages I want to learn and master.
Q17. What are three albums or songs currently, that you listen to on repeat? And why?
LA: I have been playing “Little Numbers” by BOY, “M'en Aller” by Canardo ft. Tal, and “Tell Me” by Marwa Loud mainly because they are catchy and I want to master the lyrics for the two French songs, haha!
Q18. What color speaks to you the most and why?
LA: Ocean blue is my favorite color because I LOVE the beach which is why I love California!!!
Q19: What is your greatest weakness?
LA: My greatest weakness recently was not being able to differentiate the difference between anxiety and gut intuition but also trying to give people the benefit of the doubt after they show their true colors...I think everyone does the second one I mentioned.
Q20. What is your greatest strength?
LA: My greatest strength is my ability to self-reflect and find solutions to make myself feel better and talk to strangers.
Q21.What's one thing that you're proud of?
LA: I am proud of myself for being so determined in achieving the ability to travel and graduate with my Bachelors in Sociology! College is definitely a tiring experience especially if you do not know what you initially want to do, but it is also a rewarding experience.
Q22. What is a mantra that you tell yourself?
LA: Breathe.
Q23. What is success to you?
LA: Success to me is accomplishing a goal you set for yourself and continuously doing things that will aid you in your self growth.
In truth, I think I learned more about my sister in a different light in the same way that you all have within this interview! Time, experience and travel will do that to ya.
You can follow her travels on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/lisa.andujar.estrella?igshid=1wkplow8uz72
https://instagram.com/lisa.andujar.estrella?igshid=1wkplow8uz72
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