The SANTES Project started in 2023 when StormMiguel thought, 'How do my ancestors want to be remembered? Do they even want to be bothered?' That question sparked an idea to discuss how living ancestors could have autonomy and agency in how they are remembered. StormMiguel approached Luna who felt similarly about death and spirituality. They created the SANTES Tool, which is a form for QTBIPOC to leave instructions to their loved ones on how to be remembered when they pass.

In 2025, the SANTES Project started to evolve into community-based art projects, starting with the SANTES Podcast. The SANTES Podcast features QTBIPOC guests who are artists and community members that StormMiguel and Luna wanted to uplift their callings and discuss their takes on being living ancestors.

You can hear more about their perspectives on spirituality, death, and ancestorhood on the SANTES podcast, available on our website, Apple Podcast, and Spotify.

​Luna Merbruja (they/them) is a Mexican & Athabaskan artist currently based in Seattle. They are a Lambda Literary Finalist for their poetry book Heal Your Love, and have been published in Nerve Endings: The New Trans Erotic and The Resilience Anthology. They co-wrote and co-directed Transmutation: A Ceremony. You can follow them on social media @LunaMerbruja.

​StormMiguel Florez (he/him/elle) is a trans, queer Chicane filmmaker, whose work includes the documentaries and narrative films: The Whistle (Producer/Director),  MAJOR! (Editor/Co-Producer 2015), Vulveeta (Co-Editor, Co-Producer, Actor), and his upcoming feature narrative Welcome To Roswell. He is also an event and media producer, actor, and life-long musician. He’s originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, which he very much considers to be his homeland, and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years.