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b"Sana Sana says he's working to bridge the gap between dehumanization and injustices to land and water through hip hop, illustration, and direct action. \\u201cI was pretty much born an artist, but I feel like I didn\\u2019t really start coming into my own,\\u201d said Sana Sana, a local Reno visual and hip hop artist \\u201cuntil I dedicated my art to saying something that was meaningful to the people and for the land.\\u201d \\n\\nHe does not believe art and activism are independent of one another. He goes by Sana, which is Spanish for heal as his chosen name because of the song mothers from his community sing to their kids when they get hurt, sana sana colita de rana. \\n\\nOriginally from Milwaukee, Sana Sana came to Reno about fifteen years ago. His artwork is based in illustration, having worked as a tattoo artist for fifteen years. As the pandemic wore on, he chose to leave a local shop. It was an opportunity to break out on his own and focus more on his work and be selective about whom he tattoos. \\n\\nSana Sana draws heavily on his ancestry for not just inspiration but also to live up to who he is. His family goes back to the people of central Mexico where he says poetry is the highest form of expression. \\u201cWhen something moves me to say something, that\\u2019s when I create,\\u201d he said \\u201cthat can be either an illustration or it can be a song.\\u201d His mother\\u2019s side is Coahuilteca, an Indigenous group from southern Texas and his father\\u2019s side is Pur\\xe9pecha, a group of people living in Michoac\\xe1n, located in central Mexico.\\n\\nListen to the episode for more with reporter Richard Bednarski, including song clips."