Rooted in the Making: Creative Women of San Diego pt. II

Part two: Checka Sardina

Grounding the Work

Francesca, though most know her as Checka, is a Siciliana, Mexicana, and Yaqui creative, born and raised in San Diego, Califas. She identifies as an artist, photographer, and DJ. You can follow her on IG at checka619. 

Checka’s creative practice is about preservation and connection. She’s able to capture both of these things beautifully through analog photography and vinyl DJing. She’s interested in intimacy, culture, and legacy – how memory lives in bodies, sound, movement, and everyday rituals. Her work exists at the intersection of documentation and devotion. “It often means sitting with discomfort, tenderness, or vulnerability, both mine and others. Trusting that those moments are worthy of being seen.” When being met with resistance she reminds herself that her practice isn’t about perfection, but rather truth and care.

Wellness to her means being in relationship with herself in terms of physical, emotional, and spiritual – all without urgency or punishment. It looks like rest, creative play without an audience, strong boundaries, and staying connected to herself and her community. 

The Path Inward

Checka views the immersion in music, family narratives, and cultural practices as a pivotal moment for her creative development, which ultimately led her to realize that creativity is essential for both survival and connection. Later in life, she recognized that a significant number of stories, particularly within her community, were not being documented. This realization prompted her to create as an act of both resistance and preservation.

Growing up, she experienced wellness not as a topic of discussion, but rather something demonstrated through action. Whether it be music, photographs, cooking, gathering, humor, or resilience. “Rest was often something you earned, not something you were encouraged to prioritize. As I grew older and connected with other creatives, I began to understand wellness as something that must be intentionally reclaimed, especially within communities that are accustomed to pushing through in order to survive.”

She details several significant hurdles she’s had to encounter in trying to access care for her overall wellbeing such as cost, time, and representation. Checka mentions that finding a provider which understands cultural context, creative lifestyles, and non-linear schedules isn’t easy. She also speaks to the stigma around needing help especially when there’s an expectation to be strong, productive, or constantly giving to others.

In connecting to her body, she’s able to identify tightness, hard breathing, irritability, and disconnection as telling signs that she’s off track. Her remedy for this: pause and realignment. “I had to outgrow the version of myself that believed my worth was tied to output or external validation. I let go of people-pleasing and the need to explain my vision to everyone.”

Restoration

Checka views trust and care as the two core principles essential for her to feel supported in her work. Other things that make a huge difference for her are that of collaborating with people who respect her boundaries, honor her time, and understand the emotional weight of creative labor. She feels most restorative in moments of quiet connection, meaning when someone feels truly seen through her lens – or when music creates a shared emotional space.

At the end of the day, Checka is someone who loves deeply, listens closely, and finds joy in the small things like music, archives, conversations, walking through the city, and being with loved ones. “I’m still myself, even without creating.”