S3 Ep4. From Bermuda to New York to Ghana: Elena Menendez Sanchez on Finding Home in Art

This episode of ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter features multi hyphenate artist and Bermudian creative Elena Menendez Sanchez, whose life and work weave together theater, activism and deep self reflection. In conversation with host Aderonke Bademosi Wilson, Elena shares how she embraced being a multi hyphenate artist at NYU, where she trained not only as an actor but also as a director, playwright, sound and light designer, producer, songwriter, poet, and dancer, choosing breadth as a way to honor her curiosity and capacity. She talks about growing up in Bermuda with strong social norms and how creativity, for her, means forming her own path rather than following prescribed rules, even as she navigates the realities of living and working in New York. 

Elena opens up about identifying as hopeful and optimistic even while recognizing moments of pessimism and she describes being a contrarian as a playful and essential way of seeing the other side so she can better understand the full picture.​

Elena reflects on graduating from NYU as a hard won accomplishment shaped by financial strain, culture shock and the challenge of studying in the United States as someone from a predominantly Black country, and she shares how she nearly pursued pharmacy instead, seeing surprising alignment between medicine and art as different ways of helping people heal. 

Her stories from studying abroad in Ghana reveal a profound identity shift, as she grappled with being misread as American, the invisibility of Bermuda in global conversations and the pain and growth that come from feeling like your country “does not exist” in other people’s imaginations. That experience led her to claim her Bermudian identity more firmly, deepen her knowledge of her own culture and see her uniqueness as a superpower rather than a burden. 

She honors the legacy of her grandfather, Bermudian artist and activist Ronald Lightbourne, describing him as the first multi hyphenate in her life and crediting his artistry, anti apartheid activism and interracial marriage with shaping her sense of justice, courage and possibility.​

Throughout the episode, Elena speaks tenderly about friendship, grief and what it means to hold space for others, especially friends who have lost parents, emphasizing kindness, patience and remembering how human we all are. She shares specific self care practices, including a chakra based check in ritual that combines mantras, food choices and mindful grounding, as well as the importance of nourishing relationships, small luxuries and movement. 

Elena also offers a glimpse into her creative future, from assistant directing 12 Angry Black Women at the Billie Holiday Theater, to dreaming of working on London’s West End, to building a theater space in Bermuda where artists can experiment, fail, and grow. 

She talks about her play Kink’s A Good Hair Story, which explores Black women’s hair, identity and the emotional labor of hair care, and shares book recommendations that center queer people of color and invite readers to reckon with change, belonging and self discovery. The conversation closes with Elena’s gentle invitation to listeners: keep dreaming, even if you have to do it in secret for a while, find comfort in yourself when others cannot hold it for you and trust that there is always room for better things ahead.

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Transcript

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:06.095)

Welcome to another edition of ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter, a podcast that uses overwhelmingly positive questions to learn about our guests, where every episode uncovers extraordinary stories of triumph, growth and empowerment. Hi, I’m Aderonke Bademosi Wilson. My guest on today’s show is Elena Menendez Sanchez.​

A multi hyphenate artist, creative, hopeful, a contrarian, dynamic and optimistic. Elena, welcome to the show.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (00:45.582)

Thank you, thank you for having me.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:50.125)

And so, Elena, you gave me six descriptors and I welcomed each and every one of them because I really want to dig deep into each of them. So let’s start with multi hyphenate artist. What does that look like? What is that?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (01:06.848)

Yeah, it’s something I picked up in school. The studio I was in, everyone considered themselves a multi hyphenate artist. We were in a studio where typically for NYU drama learning, the studio is kind of just acting and you focus on a certain method. But for ours, they made sure to teach us playwriting and directing and designing and everything under the sun.​

And you can choose if you just do one thing or if you do multiple, but a lot of us leaned toward doing everything, because why not? So I consider myself a director, an actor and playwright, and I got into sound and light design. I’ve been producing recently. I also do songwriting and poetry and prose work as well in terms of writing. I dance and I sing and then, you know, by the time you say all those things, someone is like, whoa, that’s a lot. So it’s just easier to say multi hyphenate artist and let people figure it out through what you’re doing.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (02:20.807)

So, can people find your work somewhere? Where can we see some of the things that you do, or all of the things that you do?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (02:29.928)

Yeah, I’m kind of curating an archive right now on my website that I published about two months ago. It’s just myfirstnameMS.com, so pretty easy to find. And that has all the things I’ve been doing in the past in terms of theater, so acting, directing, playwriting, all the sorts. The thing about theater being a live form of art is it’s difficult. It’s not always recorded.​

And if it is, especially coming from university, someone has it in some old file that they don’t want to share with anyone. So I’m working on having more of an archive of my work, especially when it comes to things like songs and my plays and things of that nature. But for now, it’s just the website that’s easiest to find what I’ve been doing.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (03:24.221)

Thank you, I look forward to looking at your site and seeing your work. You’ve also described yourself as creative. Tell me a little bit more about that.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (03:34.651)

I think everyone’s a little bit creative, but just in terms of…​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (03:45.236)

Looking for creation rather than following the norm. I felt like a lot of the time, at least growing up in Bermuda, there’s a lot of social rules and norms and being taught what you should be doing. And I feel like creativity and creation is kind of forming your own way. And that’s what I see as being a creative, whether that’s being an artist or just using your imagination to touch more.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (04:14.781)

Mmm, hopeful.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (04:17.877)

Yeah, it’s funny because I’ve been describing myself more on the pessimistic side recently, just living in the United States and New York in the current climate. But I think my essence in my person is someone who is hopeful and optimistic and looking for the next good thing rather than the current bad thing.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (04:42.545)

And so can we put hopeful and optimistic together?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (04:45.087)

I think so, yeah.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (04:49.629)

Contrarian.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (04:50.657)

Contrarian, I like to oppose a lot. I think it comes naturally to me. It’s just fun to see the other side, even if it’s not necessarily going to be right or correct, but just to see what the opposite is so that you can get both halves of the whole picture. And it’s fun to argue and see the other side.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (05:23.205)

And optimistic.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (05:25.013)

Yeah, I think optimistic is almost giving yourself permission to be hopeful. Letting myself think about what could be and not putting myself down if it’s not realistic and kind of pushing it toward being more realistic than it is now.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (05:48.477)

So you’ve described yourself, I think, very creatively and very, very much the Renaissance artist. Where do you see yourself going? Where do you see yourself in five years’ time, ten years’ time?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (06:06.353)

The ideal that I’m putting into the world and the universe is working on the West End in London. I think I’ve had my fill of New York for a bit. She taught me a lot. And, you know, being in a place where theater is valued and loved and money is put into it by the government, I see myself creating. I don’t know if that’s acting or maybe putting up one of my own plays.​

But hopefully making money and living off of doing art is where I hope to be in five years.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (06:47.683)

And are you planning to move to London anytime soon?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (06:51.147)

I’m hoping in the next year or two to head over there, yeah.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (07:01.895)

Hmm, okay, I’m gonna watch this space.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (07:04.455)

Thank you.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (07:08.241)

I’d like our listeners to learn a little bit more about you. Please share three interesting things about yourself that our listeners may not know and your friends will be surprised to learn.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (07:20.204)

Hmm.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (07:25.011)

I think probably…​

That my favorite scent is lavender, and it’s because it was my grandmother’s favorite scent. I actually have a tattoo of lavender because it was one of her favorites. And it’s something that really calms and grounds me. There is a place in New York called Café Reggio that does a lavender mimosa that I was obsessed with from the beginning, a lavender latte. So anything lavender I’m obsessed with.​

I really like pulling cards, not necessarily tarot cards. I’m still trying to learn how that works and what that is, but there are these oracle cards that I have that my mom kind of taught me about using. I pull them to help with self care. I struggle with self care in general unless it’s a task and something to do, because then it makes me feel like I’m still being productive. So I pull these cards that tell me things like plan a trip or go on a nature walk or whatever, and things like that ground me. So I feel like people don’t really know that I like pulling cards; a few people know that.​

And that I’m actually assistant directing a show at the end of the month. That’s something that not everyone knows right now. I’ve been holding that close to my chest. The person who’s directing it was actually one of my professors who I really admire. I’m super excited. We’re going to be at the Billie Holiday Theater at the end of the month, and I’m super excited to be assistant directing.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (09:07.729)

Congratulations.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (09:08.225)

Thank you.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (09:14.469)

Elena, can you tell us about a recent accomplishment or success that you’re particularly proud of?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (09:20.909)

Yeah, I’m really proud of graduating from NYU. It’s something that I wasn’t sure was possible from before I was accepted until the day of graduation. I feel like there was a lot of resistance along the way in terms of thinking if I could even get into a school that’s that renowned and with such a low acceptance rate, and then also how expensive it is.​

Right now it’s about 85,000 a year, if not a touch more now that I’ve graduated. And then just living in the United States coming from a predominantly Black country and adjusting to what that looks like in the current climate as well. It was resistant and tough along the way. So I’m just proud of myself for, at every step, every trial where I was like, no, I might not make it, finding a new way and having that credential. I’m super proud.​

Because I told myself that if I didn’t get into acting school, I would just become a pharmacist. And I immediately got into NYU and was like, okay, we’re gonna try the arts thing. If they think I can do it, I should be able to.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (10:52.797)

First of all, congratulations on your success at NYU and graduating. I just want to go back to being a pharmacist. That seems like really different ends of a spectrum. Why a pharmacist and how did you settle on that?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (11:14.207)

Yeah, everyone says that. Everyone’s like, medicine, art, I just don’t see how they combine. But you’d be so surprised how much they align with each other. Actually, right now I’ve been talking to a lot of people who were in the same studio as me. One of my best friends and roommates, she’s literally doing drama therapy right now. I have another friend who was in studio with me who’s also going into occupational therapy. So I feel like medicine and art align more than we think that they do.​

But in terms of pharmacy, my aunt, she’s a pharmacist and one of the first jobs I got coming up was being a pharmacy technician. And I’ve always loved science. My dad has his PhD in chemistry, so I think I come by it honestly. But I enjoyed making the topical creams and the suspensions and even just doing things like inventory, and you still get to be social and talk to people and see how they’re doing and help them.​

And I think the reason that I got into theater and art is to find expression and to help us work through our emotions. And I think pharmacy is just the corporal version of that, where it’s helping them heal their body versus their mind. And it would have been a bit more of a stable paycheck. So I was like, it’s something I love and something that would be lucrative and something that I knew my family did that I enjoyed. So that’s why I was looking at pharmacy.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (12:56.221)

Thank you for sharing that.​

Please tell us about a time when you made a difference in another’s life. What were the circumstances? Paint a picture for me.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (13:06.879)

Yeah, this question I find so difficult. I was really mulling it over and I was like, I’m almost scared to give myself credit for changing someone’s life. And I feel like it’s not often that someone opens up to be like, wow, you’ve really changed my life. Most times you’ll be like, I really love spending time with you or something of that nature, but you’re not gonna be like, you’ve changed my life.​

I was like, wow, how do I give myself almost those kudos for something like that? But recently, I’ve actually had a couple friends, it’s weird because we’re young, we’re in our early 20s, but who’ve lost parents. And I have one friend who recently lost a father and just holding space for her and her emotions and what she’s going through. If she doesn’t respond for two or three weeks or if she’s not feeling the best, just being like, no, it’s okay. We don’t have to call; process in your own way.​

And having that feedback from her of like, thank you, I’m not getting that a lot actually. Like, that helps a lot that you’re giving me the space and ability to just process the way I need to. And I feel like that changes life a little bit, at least we’ve talked about the quality of friendship that we have and how that changes your life, to see how people can hold space for you. I don’t think it’s always common to have people in your life who can hold all of you.​

And I think something I’ve really learned in New York from the friends that I’ve made is how to have that friendship. Yes, come as you are. It’s not always perfect, but that’s why we hold space. If we’re holding grudges over it, it’s never going to work well.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (15:03.773)

Thank you.​

What were the key strengths and qualities you relied on to make a difference for your friend who’s grieving?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (15:15.722)

I think thinking about what I would want. I know that I’m not always perfect. Especially recently, I’ve been so exhausted with my little New York job that I know how tiring life can be. And sometimes you really are giving your best and it won’t add up to what you want it to be. So keeping that in mind of how human I am and how human others can be.​

Taking care of yourself is super important. I think a lot of times we prioritize being there for other people and it can make our cup run low and then we explode and we wonder why and blame everyone else, where if you’re really taking care of yourself and you’re like, okay, well, they didn’t respond, maybe I’ll make myself a cup of tea or something or we’ll call another time.​

And giving yourself a little love and grace so that you can give them a little love and grace as well, I think was a big key strength. I feel like those are the main things, like leading from kindness and love rather than fear and stress.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (16:41.309)

Thank you. Can you recall a situation where you overcame a challenge that led to personal growth? What did you learn from that experience?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (16:53.229)

Yeah. I did study abroad in Ghana a year ago now, which was such a blessing. I definitely want to go to Accra again soon, but it was extremely isolating for me because I went with a group of Americans and I was starting to get to a place, like in my third to last year, where I was like, no one knows anything about Bermuda and I just want to go to a place that reminds me of home.​

So I was super excited to go to Ghana, like motherland and all that; that’s what everyone was saying when I was going to go. And I was like, it’s going to be great. And then every Ghanaian person thought I was American, because I do sound American. I was born in Canada, so I definitely have the accent. But even in terms of, like, they don’t know what the Caribbean is. I remember in 2017 when we went to South Africa, they were like, what is a Bermuda? We have no idea, no clue.​

And when I was trying to explain to people in the street, like, Bermuda, Caribbean, they’re like, I have no clue what the Caribbean is. And I’d be like, Jamaica. They’re like, well, you’re from Jamaica. I’m like, no, not Jamaica. Like, it just wasn’t getting explained well. And then being with Americans who are completely amazed and bewildered by the culture, but me finding familiarity in Ghana but not being accepted as familiar and being othered as American.​

And then everything in terms of tourist attractions and things of that being catered to Europe and the United States, I was just getting extremely frustrated by it. Especially when they had us visit the slave castles and things of that nature, and they would only talk about the transatlantic slave trade in terms of the United States.​

Which was ridiculous to me because I was like, the most amount of enslaved people went to Brazil, but we’re not talking about Latin America, we’re not talking about the Caribbean. We’re barely talking about the UK either. We’re just talking about the United States. And being in a group of Americans who were mainly being catered to and then being not understood and denied by the Ghanaians, I was just, my God, no one knows what Bermuda is and it could literally not exist.​

And coming to terms with being from a country that a lot of people don’t know, especially being surrounded by people who will never understand that because the United States is a global superpower. So it was just one of these things where I was like, whoa, there’s a world in which my country doesn’t exist for a lot of people because they don’t know what it is. And then what that meant for me, of like, well, do I exist in this world? I just started having an existential crisis around it all, especially feeling like I had quite a global perspective.​

I feel like living in Bermuda, you have a lot of opportunity to do so because we get so much information from the rest of the world. And the thing that really was like a growing pain from that was learning how to be steadfast in myself, even if other people don’t understand me or where I’m from or anything to do with that nature. As I think the younger you are, the more you want to be understood and have people commiserate with you in very specific ways.​

And kind of having to let go of that, like, oh, people might not know where I’m from or anything about my perspective, and letting that uniqueness be a good thing and letting that be a superpower rather than something that’s like, ah, no one understands me. And just being like, okay, you know what? It’s actually kind of cool and chic maybe to be this unique, and then I can have more conversations with people to learn more from them and hopefully they learn a little bit from me too.​

And I feel like it really helped me to grow in terms of caring what other people think and just be like, you know what? It’s okay if I’m a little bit different and we can move through the world and the world won’t crumble.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (21:12.709)

Wow. I can absolutely identify with that, people not knowing, having ever heard of Bermuda and trying to explain it. I remember I was in Hong Kong and this young lady, she and I were talking, and I saw her eyes glaze over as I was trying to explain. And so what she did is she took out her phone, went to Google Maps and said, show me, show me where Bermuda is.​

And so I was able to find it on her phone for her so she could have some context. And I thought that was really great on her part to try and figure out where in the world Bermuda is. So Elena, my question for you is based on the lessons that you’ve learned in Ghana, and I think a lot of Bermudians can identify with your perspective in terms of meeting people, going to other countries and traveling.​

I mean, even in the United States many people don’t know where Bermuda is, and the UK and Europe. So Canada, maybe even our closest allies don’t know where Bermuda is. I think people in the Caribbean have a sense of who we are and where we are. What did you learn? What are you taking on your next journey as you explore the world about the lessons you learned and having an identity as a Bermudian?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (22:54.131)

I think patience is a virtue. And letting people be a little bit hard headed in terms of, a lot of people will give up immediately, like you said, the eyes glazing over. They might just be like, I don’t know it, I don’t care to know. And letting that be okay for the people who don’t really want to know. And letting the delight light me up when I get to share with people who really do care about it.​

Like, it’s been a lot of fun at the job I’m at now. I’m telling people all about Bermuda and showing them the waters and the culture and everything else. I think also educating ourselves. I know that for me, going to private school, when we learned history, we didn’t learn about our own country. We only learned history about Ireland, South Africa and anywhere but the country we’re from.​

And so it was really cool in Ghana to get to study my own culture. I did a full presentation on Gombeys, because I learned about the Gombey drum in my Afrobeats course. And kind of looking into all of that, that helped me to better understand my own culture and to have more foundation for when I wanted to share with other people.​

So also, you know, educating myself further so that I can have more of a leg to stand on when I teach other people. But I think in moving through the world in future, letting who I am and what I stand for be a reflection of my country and being open to just sharing. If people don’t want to hear it, just moving on and maybe learning from them instead.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (24:53.277)

How did you get to go to Ghana? Tell me about that.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (24:55.326)

Yeah, NYU has a huge study abroad program in so many countries. There’s NYU Buenos Aires in Argentina. There’s Madrid, people love Madrid. There’s NYU London. There’s NYU Shanghai and Abu Dhabi and like a bajillion other places. I was looking at Florence at one time to do commedia dell’arte.​

So I was kind of just like, if anyone knows Marcus Smith, Zebra Kid, he went to NYU as well and he kind of got me into going to NYU. And when we were talking about me going, he was like, if you do anything, get all of your studio stuff out of the way, do an academic semester and go study abroad. And I really took that to heart when he told me. I was like, yeah. And I love using school to travel.​

I did the same thing when I was at BHS to go to Argentina and to go to other places. So I’m like, yeah, if you can do it on school’s dime, why not, right? You’re already paying for school. So I was like, okay, what would I really want to do? What places would I want to go to that normally I probably wouldn’t be able to afford to go to or I’d be too scared to go to?​

And I will admit at the time I was dating someone Nigerian, so I was a little more interested in West Africa and learning about the culture. And I was tired of learning about predominantly white, cis heteropatriarchal artists in theater. And I saw that there was an African women playwrights course at NYU Accra and I was like, perfect. I get to learn about theater from women and theater from Black women, which I really didn’t get a lot of in school, which will show me what I can do as well.​

So I was like, that’ll be my top choice. You get to give them three choices or something. So I think it was like Accra, Madrid and one other one that I can’t really remember, maybe Paris or something. But yeah, I was like, okay, let me sign up. I don’t think there are a lot of people trying to go to Ghana, luckily. I mean, it’s sad, because people should, it’s incredible. But everyone’s obsessed with Europe. Everyone’s like, I’m going to Madrid, I’m going to Spain, and they love it, which is great. I’m sure it’s also awesome.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (27:13.420)

But I was like, I’m pretty sure that’s something I’ll be able to go to as well. So that’s how I got to go to Ghana. And it was like the light of all of our lives. It was a super cool cohort because we were tiny. There were just six of us, and one of the guys was from Harvard as well; he wasn’t even from NYU.​

And because we were such a small group, we got to get really close with each other. We were also the first all Black group they had, which was really peculiar to me. I was surprised that they didn’t have a lot more Black people coming on the trip to Ghana. So they kept calling us a very unique group because that’s the West African of them too, “You guys are very unique.”​

But we had a lot of fun discovering everything together, and I think there was a lot of learning on their part as well, having a group like us that was different from what they had had before. So it was a lot of fun. And a lot of us are still great friends now.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (28:16.829)

Mmm.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (28:19.596)

Thank you.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (28:19.643)

Wonderful. And learning from Ghanaian women writers, playwrights, what was that like? Tell me about that.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (28:30.188)

It was so cool because our professor, she is so famous in Ghana. Like, she is really a staple in art, in history and community in Ghana. I would be studying the transatlantic slave trade in one class and there’s still an interview of her talking, but she’s my theater teacher. I was like, she is a staple in this community. And her mother was also a huge staple in the community to the point where she has a playground or park named after her.​

So learning from people who have this legacy in terms of art and theater in Ghana. And then it was right around the time that they were doing a performance at the National Theater of Ghana of her mother’s works. So we got to see, she did a lot of works for children’s theater, so we got to see people and children acting out her plays and learning about her own mother, and then she was giving us these really brazen, harrowing plays from Ghanaian women.​

I think it taught me not to be afraid of getting into the gritty. I think New York thinks it prides itself a lot on being new and harsh and whatever, and I was like, no, New York theater has nothing on the raw truth.​

She also made sure that we were getting, because it was an African women playwrights course, it wasn’t just Ghanaian women. We kind of went week by week in different countries throughout the African continent. So getting to see the nuances of, depending on which country they’re from, what they’re really focusing on, the difference if it’s more of a Christian leaning country versus a Muslim leaning country and what the differences in women’s experiences are there.​

I got to really get into For Colored Girls. A lot of people knew about that already, but I did not know. So getting to really get into For Colored Girls and see the different adaptations and everything else and learning from people who knew more about it from my peers as well. It was a heavy class for sure, as a lot of them were with all the courses I was taking.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (30:54.592)

But it taught me that also the European way of, like, it needs to be this structure and it needs to have this arc and whatever, doesn’t matter too much. I think the content matters a lot more. The truth matters a lot more. And then the elements of culture that can really play into a play in theater.​

There’s a lot of call and response with Ghanaian and African theater and a lot more play and maybe a lot more physicality, and seeing how that worked itself into the plays as well was interesting in terms of thinking about what elements of my culture and what I know I can put into my plays. The class let me dream a little bit too.​

I got to see these three generations of theater makers. Our professor’s niece also had a theater company in Ghana and she got to come talk to us about what she’s been doing. And I think I lose a lot of hope for theater in Bermuda because it’s so small and not a lot of people are doing it, and trying to explain it to people, they’re like, why don’t you just do theater in Bermuda? And I’m like, that’s not quite how it works right now.​

But it did let me dream a little bit of, you know what, I could make my own creative theater space and I do have generations of theater makers and play artists as well. My grandfather was quite a well known artist on Island, and knowing that I can use that to propel maybe creating the foundation and space that I wanted on Island. Like, maybe I can make a little amphitheater and a theater space where people can kind of try things out and fail and it’s not a big deal.​

You don’t have to make a bunch of money in City Hall. You can just try to make art and go from there. So it gave me a plan for a future that I want beyond the West End afterward, which was really cool to get to open my mind to that a little bit.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (33:05.179)

It sounds as though the experience has impacted how you see playwriting, how you see the creative process and what you are bringing to this potentially to the stage. Would that be accurate?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (33:20.372)

Yeah, I’d say so.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (33:25.093)

You mentioned your professor. Tell me about her. What is her name?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (33:27.816)

Yes, Efua. If I could remember her last name right now, but I can find it for us. Let me try on my phone. But Professor Efua, she was very no nonsense. She actually really reminded me of my grandfather in a lot of ways. She was super sweet. She brought us some food, some Ghanaian foods for us to try as well.​

She was definitely giving me auntie vibes. She made sure we got to see as much theater as we could. I’m gonna find it, because those guys are a big deal.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (34:08.381)

Okay, you can.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (34:11.581)

Yes, Professor Esi Sutherland. Yes, Esi Sutherland Addy. You have to say it in the accent. Miss Esi Sutherland Addy. She was the best, so much fun being in her class. And then her mother was Efua Sutherland.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (34:39.653)

You’ve mentioned your grandfather. Tell me about your grandfather.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (34:40.684)

I feel like my biggest thing is, I wish I had more time with him. But he brought a lot of play into my life. Apparently I used to call him Boom Boom Gramps, because he would play the drum and we would play the drums with him. So the sound of the boom boom, I think of him.​

He was always excited to see what I’d learned on the piano recently and playing the piano around and listening to him play. I feel like a lot of people who I even see on Island these days are like, I saw you with your grandfather at this time doing this. And I’m like, how lovely. He brought me to so many places. I can’t remember anything that wasn’t on video, so I only remember Proud to Be Bermudian and nothing else.​

No, it was definitely learning what an artist’s life could look like. I think definitely hearing a lot of my mom’s stories of when she was younger and sitting under the piano listening to him perform at various hotels and things like that. I feel like he taught me what the first multi hyphenate artist of my life looked like.​

He was doing playwriting and he played the piano and the trumpet and he did poetry. So I don’t know if he would have called himself a multi hyphenate artist, but he certainly was. And it was really fun, closer to the end of his life, showing him things that I was excited about that kind of aligned with his world. That was right when Hamilton was getting really big and I was super obsessed with Hamilton.​

So showing him a musical that’s more of a cabaret because there wasn’t a lot of talking, but then it was also a hip hop musical and it was rap, it was teaching history. It just felt very, very new and not a lot of people were doing it. And he actually quite enjoyed it, which I was happy about.​

And then also his sense of justice as well and learning about him being active in the anti apartheid movement in the UK and in Bermuda as well and the little things that he would do in order to fight things like that. I feel like I can say it now because I don’t think they’re going to come get me, but I was part of the pro Palestine protests and stuff like that in school.​

And when my parents were really worried about that stuff because they had NYPD everywhere, I had friends and professors getting arrested. It was really crazy. I would think about the things that he would do during the anti apartheid movement and the bravery that he had. So even, I think he did get arrested once; I was like, that won’t be happening to me. I’m going to be a little bit more careful around that.​

But also that, of fighting for what you believe in, especially him having married my grandmother who was a white woman in a time where it was really socially unacceptable and her having actually been disowned from her family for being with him and then being steadfast in that. And that I wouldn’t exist if they hadn’t. So I feel like they also taught me a lot about standing for what you believe in and it turning out well, because I’m sure there are plenty of horror stories as well.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (38:27.622)

And what was his name?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (38:28.596)

Ronald Lightborn.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (38:32.775)

Thank you. And I want to say that I knew your grandfather. He was actually the first host of my show, Heart of the Matter, when it was a radio program. And he did all the interviewing and I did the production for the show. And there was one episode where I got to interview him.​

And it was the same format as this podcast in that we asked each of our guests the same questions. And he answered the questions that he generally would ask our guests. And that was really a great opportunity to hear his voice.​

And so if anybody’s listening and is interested, I have to look to see what episode it is, but I’ll make sure it’s linked to this interview. And yeah, and so he interviewed me, I interviewed him, and he also interviewed our audio engineer and technician for the show, Abimbola Bademosi.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (39:42.483)

Yes, please. I want to hear it too.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (39:55.748)

I think I know. Yes, we worked together on a theater camp that one of my peers started, Acting Up. And so I got to work with him on that one.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (40:01.748)

You know Mr. Bademosi?​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (40:12.643)

Okay, so he’s actually my brother. I don’t know if you know that. Yes, so this interview, Elena, for me is full circle. Because, and actually, you may not remember this, but you were actually there with us during the interview that we did, where we interviewed each other.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (40:15.035)

I saw Bademosi and I was like, there’s some sort of relation there.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (40:37.695)

Yeah.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (40:41.853)

And that was the first time I met you. You were probably about five or six at the time. And I got to meet you when you were a child, and I haven’t, I hadn’t seen you since. So at least I’m not aware that I’ve seen you since. And I also interviewed your mother, Jessica.​

And when I decided I needed to be interviewed using these questions, I asked your mother to interview me. So there’s a lot of connection here and a lot of cross interviewing. So I’m really happy to have you share your journey and your thoughts on this format.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (41:13.759)

Yeah, that would have been right when I moved here.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (41:42.731)

Yeah.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (41:51.389)

You are listening to ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter podcast. Welcome back to ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter. My guest today is Elena Menendez Sanchez. Elena, we’ve talked about your time at NYU. We’ve talked about your time learning for a year in Ghana. We’ve talked about your grandfather. We’ve talked about your journey as a multi hyphenate artist.​

What self care practices or strategies help you to sustain your energy and motivation while navigating your journey?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (42:33.259)

Hmm.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (42:37.065)

Okay, this is one that is kind of funky and kind of aligns with what would people not know about me. My mom really got me into chakras and chakra practices a long time ago; that’s a different silly story for another time. But in learning about the different chakras and how they target different elements not only of the body, but of the mind and emotions, I’ll kind of do a little internal check in of, okay, how am I feeling today?​

Do I feel aligned with, and I start from the ground up with the chakras. So you have the root chakra and then the sacral and you go up from there. And I’ll go, okay, am I feeling grounded? Am I feeling in touch with my family? Have I been contacting my parents? That’s a big one for me that I struggle with. And I kind of see where I’m at with each stage of the chakra.​

And I focus on some sort of mantra for the chakra and I also eat based on what chakra I’m working on. So if I’m like, okay, I need to work on my root chakra, I’m gonna put a lot more tomatoes and red peppers and root vegetables and turmeric and all else into the foods, and I’ll do a little meal plan of everything I want to get for the week based on the chakra that I want to work on.​

And I do that until I feel like I’ve fulfilled that. So whether that’s one week of doing that, or two months of doing that, that’s something that I find really grounds me because it targets the mantra mental element of it, like, say it’s, I am in alignment with all other human beings or whatever it be. Saying that helps me and then eating, it also helps with mindful eating as well.​

Like, okay, I’m eating this thing that I know will nourish me, but also is helping me to think about what I’m working towards in terms of connectivity or if I’m working on the sacral chakra and eating a bunch of oranges and thinking, okay, I’m working on my creativity and all else. So that’s a practice that really helps me, especially in terms of grounding.​

I feel that there are so many things that you can focus on, especially in New York City. Okay, I need to do this and then this is next and I need to do that. And how many moments really just to focus on myself, what do I need right now, and putting that into action really helps me. One thing I think I’m still growing in is getting the movement element of it, which I was really good with in Ghana, which is why I think that also helped.​

Also putting the caveat that I was only in Ghana for five months. I wish I was there for a year, but it was very brief. And yeah, I want to get better about the movement elements of it, whether it’s a little yoga or…​

Freshman year movement class at school, we did a lot of Pilates, which was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be, especially coming off of COVID, because we had to do Pilates in masks, which was almost torture. So I want to get better at that bit, but I think in terms of the self care that I do, also grounding myself in people who bring energy to my life.​

I used to think, I always try to figure out if I’m an extrovert or an introvert or an ambivert or whatever. Apparently they just came up with a new one that’s like an outrovert or something. And I’d be like, wait, I’m really drained when I’m with a bunch of people, but then I also get a lot of energy from being with people. I’m confused. And learning that it’s the quality of people that I’m with and making time to see maybe a friend I haven’t seen in a while or a friend that I’m just missing their energy or space, that always helps me, even if it’s just for 45 minutes to catch up, has been really great and grounding for me recently.​

And yeah, just I think self care in terms of maybe it’s getting my hair done or buying a new moisturizer or bath bomb or something, something that feels a little more luxurious are the things that I do.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (46:51.591)

Thank you for sharing. How might sharing your experiences of success and growth create a positive ripple effect in your family, community, the world?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (47:03.659)

I think knowing that it’s okay if it’s difficult, or if it feels like you’re a little bit defeated at points. I think a lot of the success stories we hear are like, I just persevered and then it was great. It was great the whole time and I didn’t feel sad at all; it was very brief. I mean, like, you know what, it’s okay if it was actually hard for a lot of the time and letting that be okay and letting the joy be coming out the other end and looking back and thinking, wow, I really did all those things, that’s kind of crazy.​

I think that has a ripple effect. And then also just being brave enough to stand for what you believe in. I think there’s a lot of fear right now around a lot of things. Sorry, I’m a little bit sick. And people, I feel like, have been trying to tell me a lot about, make sure you’re not doing this and not doing that and whatever else. And I think there’s a positive ripple in knowing that you can stand in what you believe in and not give in to fear. And it will turn out well, because the universe or God or whatever you believe in does have your back.​

And then in terms of, I guess, my family. I think focusing on myself and what I love has in turn taught my mom to focus on what she loves, which I have found healing for us both. Because I really do believe that doing what’s best for you gives you more energy and kindness and love to give to others because you’re giving it to yourself. And I’m hoping that that ripples out further in my family and further in my circle and my field. So yeah.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (49:10.577)

Thank you.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (49:15.249)

What exciting opportunities do you see on the horizon? How do these opportunities align with your passions and aspirations?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (49:24.371)

Yeah, I’m super excited about assistant directing this piece. It’s called 12 Angry Black Women. It’s a little bit of a full circle moment for me because at the beginning of this past year, I was working on it as just an assistant stage manager, and it was my first job in New York after graduating that I was getting paid for. It was art and I was so excited.​

And this time around, I’m graduating to be assistant director. And the people I worked with in the first rendition of 12 Angry Black Women were incredible powerhouse women, people who were in Harlem, if anyone has watched that show, people who were in Snowfall. Gail, I can’t remember her last name right now, but she gave me some beautiful advice. And everyone was so kind and humble.​

Being in a space of only Black women in theater is very difficult and hard to find in general, let alone in New York. And it was such a beautiful space to be in. Especially, if anyone knows 12 Angry Men, it’s kind of this story of 12 jurors putting someone on trial. I don’t know enough about it; I need to do more research on my theater.​

But this one was interesting because in 12 Angry Black Women, they’re putting the United States on trial. And each angry Black woman has a different element of what a Black woman can be. So one of them is an immigrant Black woman. Another one is a trans Black woman. Another one is a Black woman of the more elder age. There’s a Black one who’s of the youngest age, like recently graduating. And we get a range of what a Black woman can look like.​

It’s one of the coolest plays I’ve ever seen. So I’m so excited to work on it. I got to bring my friends to see it. The last time we did it, I don’t know how much it’s changed this time, but it had two alternate endings on if they put the United States as guilty versus not guilty and how that makes a difference in what happens.​

The space in the jurors’ room is kind of surreal. It’s a little magical. There are things that happen in the juror room that couldn’t happen in real life. And it’s something I’m really excited about to share with more people and to kind of have my own perspective put in a little bit.​

They definitely did give me moments here and there last time to be like, well, Elena, actually, what do you think? Which was really exciting for me, about having that be my role this time. Especially with the professor that I had who’s directing it, Nicci Douglas; everyone look into Nicci Douglas. They’re so cool. They’ve done a lot of amazing work in New York already. There’s one called Prayer that went very huge and a couple others.​

They were my movement teacher. And so also getting back into movement and dancing, it’s something that I’m like, yes, I danced for seven years, but can I call myself a dancer? It’s something that I’m still working on, trusting myself and letting myself call myself a mover, dancer or whatever. So I’m so excited to look into that element of it.​

But that’s a project I’m super excited for coming up. And then getting back into playwriting. I did a lot of cool shows over the years, one that I’m really proud of called Kink’s A Good Hair Story. I was looking into Black women’s hair care and what hair means to us as identity and how it affects how we move through the world, how people interact with us, the amount of effort that goes into it.​

A lot of people who aren’t Black women, even my dad, have absolutely no clue. He’s a baldy and he has no idea what’s going on in Black hair care for us. But it was such a safe space and it was one of those shows where people came up and they were like, you need to put this on off Broadway and so on. And so just getting back into creating art.​

For myself, I think the biggest lesson I learned at NYU is not to create art for other people, but to create art for yourself. Because there are so many other people that feel the same way as you, and in creating art for yourself, you are creating art for other people. Because that show was one where everyone who was on it was like, thank you for making this piece, I really needed this. And I was like, well, thank you, because I made it because I needed it.​

So getting more into creating and then honing my craft as an actor as well and discovering new places. I feel like I really got my pulse on New York. Seeing what other places have in store as well. That’s my rundown of what I’m excited for in the future.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (54:31.279)

Elena, what brings you joy?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (54:33.290)

I mean, I feel like we’ve really been kicking this horse of art. But music really brings me a lot of joy. Going back to Ghana, because we’ve been talking about it quite a bit. Everyone in our cohort was actually quite musical, whether they were an economics or poli sci major. Everyone loved to sing. Everyone more or less was in and of the church as well.​

So we would always just sing gospel songs or Christmas songs or whatever else together. And it was so much fun just sitting at the dinner table almost every night, doing random harmonies and songs with each other. So music is something that brings me a lot of joy. Community is something that brings me a lot of joy. One of my favorite things to do is bring my friends from completely different sectors of my life and put them together and see how they interact.​

And my friends are always good people, so it’s super fun to see them get along with each other and see what they learn from each other and gain.​

Yeah, I don’t know. Life brings me joy. Nature, animals, anything that’s alive and bringing other people joy and calm is something that brings me joy.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (56:01.895)

Thank you. We’ve almost come to the end of our really wonderful conversation. What book recommendation do you have? It can be a book or books that you’ve read recently or something that has stayed with you over the years.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (56:18.666)

Yeah, okay, I think I have three. Okay, this is also perfect timing because I wasn’t reading books for a long time. I used to be a super big book nerd. I had a whole fandom page on Instagram. I’m not going to say what it is so y’all can’t find it, but I was really into books and it was like my whole life, that was my personality, reading books. It was a fun nerdy time.​

But recently I’ve been super tired of books because of school and reading for academic purposes. But now I live in Washington Heights, but just super far from where I work. So trying to keep my mind going on the subway when you’re down there for like a whole hour trying to get to work, there’s no service. I was like, what am I gonna do to entertain myself? I can’t just listen to musicals forever. I started getting into reading again.​

So I have been reading a lot more books. I think Parable of the Sower, a lot of us know it, Octavia E. Butler. Such, such, such a good piece to read, especially now because the predictions were for right now, 2024, 2025, 2026. And seeing almost the prophecy that Octavia Butler created, where you can see so many things that aligned in what she anticipated to be in the world that are happening right now, and to kind of look at ourselves and be like, hmm, we actually knew all this was gonna happen and we didn’t do anything about it.​

Are we going to do anything about it now? And so that was a book that I was reading that also helped me a lot when I was just going through a post grad funk of like, okay, I finished school, I have my little menial job, what am I going to do now? And the book that she’s created where what really stuck with me is “God is change.” Everything is change. The only thing that’s constant is change. That helped me a lot.​

Okay, if things are changing all the time, it’s okay, because that’s how it’s supposed to be and kind of helping me to be less resistant towards it and kind of let it be, opened my mind a lot and helped so much in that post grad funk. There’s one I was reading recently called You Exist Too Much. I will have to find the author for that one, but I’m sure there aren’t too many books called You Exist Too Much.​

That one I got from the New York Public Library and it’s based on a Palestinian woman and her experience as a Palestinian American, which I was interested in, obviously, with the recent political climate, who’s going through a lot of emotional and verbal abuse with her family and her mom and her parents, but also being someone who is brown or BIPOC and also queer.​

And her experience as a queer BIPOC woman, which was really fascinating to me. And then she also had a love addiction, which coincided with kind of the abuse she was getting from her parents. It was just a fascinating story really. And it’s kind of going through her process of going to a rehabilitation center to kind of work through all the stuff she’s been through. So that was interesting. She was also in New York a lot of the time, so that was fun to read while I was in New York.​

And then this last one I’m reading currently, which is fascinating. I would definitely say you want to be, you know, 18 plus to read this one, but it’s called 100 Boyfriends. And it’s just going through this queer Black man’s journey of romantic and sexual relationships. But for me as an artist, it’s interesting to look at the way that he writes. It’s a super tiny little book.​

Also, when I was reading his bio, he’s also a multi hyphenate artist. He’s a poetry and theater maker and also writes books. And I was like, that’s perfect. And he has a very glib, almost harsh way of writing. And I was fascinated by just reading people’s reviews of it. Like, the reviews were a precursor to the book. I was like, you guys are using some incredible words right now just to describe this book. Everyone’s fascinated.​

So that’s one where if you’re interested in the artistry of writing and different ways of getting your point across, and maybe it’s a little less floral and a little less standard of what you read, it’s not The Secret Life of Bees. It’s just super cool to see the way that he is writing. So those are my three book recommendations right now if you’re looking for books written by people of color and mainly queer people of color as well, which is really cool.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:01:07.773)

Thank you for sharing your book selections. Is there anything else? Elena, do you have any final thoughts?​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (01:01:16.046)

I would say there’s always more opportunity for better things. If you can’t find comfort in others, find comfort in yourself, because you are the person who you’re with for your entire life. So letting that love from you be the thing that drives you. And don’t be afraid to dream, even if it has to be in secret for a little bit.​

Yeah, I guess those are my main little thesis points.​

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:02:03.771)

Elena, thank you so much for your time. And I have some appreciation nuggets that I’m taking away from our conversation.​

One of the things that you said is, how human am I and how human others can be.​

You also talked about, you mentioned this several times, and it struck a chord for me: giving yourself love and grace.​

And when you talked about your time in Ghana, you said, there is a world in which my country does not exist for many people. And I thought that is such an incredible perspective.​

And you also talked about being brave enough to stand up for what you believe in. And I feel…​

First of all, I want to say thank you. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for being so open with your comments and your thoughts and your perspective. I truly appreciate you taking the time to join me on ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter, a podcast dedicated to asking overwhelmingly positive questions as we uncover incredible stories and wisdom of people you may know.​

Elena Menendez, I’m sorry, Elena Menendez Sanchez, thank you so much for joining me. And I truly, truly wish you well in your chosen career. And I look forward to seeing your name in lights around the world.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (01:04:03.100)

It’s a tongue twister.​

Elena Menendez Sanchez (01:04:20.276)

Thank you.