Andres “Jay” Molina

Written By Andres "Jay" Molina
Jay, a Dominican man with a goatee and glasses perched on his bald head, sits in a wheelchair outside on a sunny day in front of a river. He wears a light blue T-shirt and looks straight to camera.

Andres "Jay'' Molina left the Dominican Republic in his late teens for New York's Lower East Side. In 2014, Jay developed a rare lung condition that attacked his vital organs and left him paralyzed. A former baseball player and truck driver, as a Reality Poet, Jay became an animator and filmmaker—co-directing the documentary feature Fire Through Dry Grass about the group’s survival and activism during the pandemic. Along with the film’s numerous festival awards, Jay received the NYC Mayor’s Office Safe In The City Grant and the AXS Film Fund Grant. Jay passed away in summer 2025.

Stories

Visual Art

Andres "Jay" Molina

Growing up, I was athletic, in great shape. I played baseball and touch football with my friends, and every summer we went to Candlewood Lake. We swam and jumped into the lake from high rocks. I learned to conquer my fear.

I was wounded, but not by a gun. In 2014, I developed a rare lung condition that attacked my vital organs and left me paralyzed.

People here at the hospital try to amp you up. They say you can do anything. And that’s how I feel after I fell in love with motion graphics and making films. I study hard. I can’t remember your phone number, but I remember how to put a 3D camera into Z space. The body gets older, but we still have that little kid in us. Here in OPEN DOORS, I’m pretty much excited about stuff all the time. That’s the way to be: learning and pushing ahead.

Previous

Ramon “King Tito Love” Cruz
Next

Abdul “Suluk” Johnson