Brooklyn-born and raised/ Borikén-based, Yasmín Hernández is an artist, writer, and activist whose work is rooted in liberation practices. Her 2009 project Bieké: Tierra de Valientes, honoring activists who ended US Navy maneuvers on Vieques, introduced her to bioluminescence, transformed her vision and aesthetics, and inspired her 2014 move to Borikén. Spending four months without electricity following Hurricane María, fireflies of those dark nights reignited her interest in bioluminescence. Reflecting on the perpetual darkness of power outages, climate change and colonialism, in 2018 she launched CucubaNación, a painting series that began with a mural in Mayagüez. In 2022 CucubaNación expanded into a store-front art space, directly across from the mural. Serving as her studio, gallery, art shop and community art space, it is dedicated to the liberatory lessons of Boricua bioluminescence. CucubaNación is also host to Rematriating Borikén, Yasmin's project exploring the decolonial journey home in aesthetics inspired by the Puerto Rico Trench. 
 

Yasmin has a BFA in Painting from Cornell University. She has exhibited and presented her art in Puerto Rico and the US and has worked as an educator with various community organizations and art institutions including Taller Puertorriqueño in Philadelphia, El Museo del Barrio, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. Based in el oeste de Borikén, she shares her art at yasminhernandezart.com and chronicles the journey home at rematriatingboriken.com.