-SPOKEN WORD

-POETRY

-MUSIC

-TEATRO

AND MORE!

About the Artist:

Xinistra Gl’Amour’s is a drag artist who centers her work around community building and advocacy for the queer community. As a queer artist, her mission is not just to bring joy and entertainment, but also to educate and raise awareness on important issues. As a Latine, Xinistra navigates points of intersectionality with the goal of bridging gaps between communities and helping create spaces that are inclusive to all.

About the Artist:

Escaping a life of social and racial disparities J.D. Rodriguez, left for Los Angeles with dreams of Hollywood when he was 18 yrs old with nothing more than his passion and unparalleled resilience to tell his stories one way or another. His first 10-minute play, Zero Tolerancia, dealing with a family of mixed immigration status while caring for a special needs’ son, played successfully at the Friday Kahlo Theater and at the Brisk Festival in Santa Monica in 2023. His second short play The Reputation/La Reputacion about a young Mayan abused mother confronting the powerful Bishop of her community was also accepted successfully at the Frida Kahlo and Brisk Festivals. J.D. Rodriguez took part in the UndocuStories Project in 2022 at the UCLA Center in MacArthur Park under solo performer Doris Duke Artist, Guggenheim Fellow and Drama Pulitzer Prize 2022 finalist Kristina Wong. In the same year J.D. took a short play writing class under Center Theater Group teaching playwright Aja Houston. The bittersweet experiences of being an immigrant from Guatemala without an immigration status has shaped the glass through which he experiences life and are these vicissitudes the ones that inform his writing and directing for Film and Theater.

About the Artist:

Alvaro is a Texican playwright living in Chicago. His plays have been seen in New York City, Mexico City, Hawaii, Chicago, Seattle, and all over Texas. His award-winning plays include On The Wings of a Mariposa and Luchadora! He is currently creating a new stage adaptation of Pam Muñoz Ryan’s novel Esperanza Rising.

About the Artist:

Christopher is a poet born and raised in Watsonville, CA. He graduated with an MFA from the University of San Francisco and has had his writing appear in numerous publications. He is the author of the poetry collection “the world is burning and i’m late to work” forthcoming in June 2024. He divides his time between Watsonville and Los Angeles. You can follow him on Instagram at @ChSoriPalma.

About the Artist:

Sammy Cardoza is a multi-faceted artist who’s music currently ranges from Soul-Pop to R&B and Reggaetón. Because she doesn’t let one genre define her as an artist, Sammy grounds her music in storytelling and life-experience. Her musical influences (to name a few) are Selena, Sade and Linda Ronstadt. In sharing her music, Sammy hopes to spread messages of the importance and value of community, mental health and love for ourselves and one another.

About the Artist:

Anthony Del Sol is a multifaceted artist. He’s a producer of film & photography & he also enjoys acting & making music. With his art he hopes to inspire people to pursue their creative passions, to share their stories & to kindle & stoke the light they have within.

About the Artist:

Spanglish spoken word poet performer born and raised in East Salinas via Michoacán Mexico. First generation Chicana telling my story in my own words!

About the Artist:

bere is a first generation American and college attendee, a Xicanx/Latinx Civil Rights lawyer. Her lifelong dedication to social justice has led her activism, advocacy, a career in law, and even poetry -all of which center on the social justice issues close to her heart (particularly immigration, racial justice and criminal justice reform). bere has been writing poetry since the age of ten. She wrote “Society’s Robots” when she was twelve. She went on to publish her second poem, “Solitary Storm”, while in high school. In 2003, Poetry for the People Press published her poem, “Spring Break: The Movie,” as part of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People anthology In Poetry We Trust: student poets spit their peace. In 2022, she performed her poem, “Lessons Learned by a Pocha” at the legendry Teatro Campesino’s production Palabra Volume Familia, which commenced her friendship and collaboration with Professor Anita Reyes. In the spring 2023, Professor Reyes and her students at San Jose City College featured three of bere’s poems in their production I Love Immigrants. On Cinco De Mayo weekend 2023, bere performed at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum in its first ever poetry event: Viva Poesia.

About the Artist:

Mauricio Sámano is a Native from Colima, Mexico; grew up in a small town named Los Tepames. Watsonville has been his home since his arrival to El Norte in 1994. Mauricio has worked in multiple theatrical productions with the world renowned El Teatro Campesino, based in San Juan Bautista for a little over two decades. He has also worked with Baktun 12, in Salinas, and Teatro Vision of San Jose. Some of his works include La Virgen del Tepeyac (Cuauhtlatoatzin Juan Diego), La Pastorela (The Hermit), Food for the Dead, Simply Maria or the American Dream, La Cortina de la Lechuga, Mi Abuelito Fue Bracero, A Xmas Carol, ¡Y que!, El Vagón (Boxcar), La Víctima, Everyman, Rain of Gold, No Tiene Que Ser Así.  He played the part of El Coyote in the independent film Sin Visa with Zarco Films. When he is not doing theater, he is an active community volunteer with his employer, for local non-profit organizations in the Santa Cruz area. Mauricio is a firm believer of using theater as a means to educate people on the many issues we face as a society.

About the Artist:

Playwright, director and performer. With an influence of the crime novel and the noir genre, elements of Mexican folklore and contemporary urban music and rhythms, the 70’s glam aesthetic and her training as a mask actress, visible in her writing and her productions. She believes in the use of theatre to give voice to outcast characters and social issues. Identity and the struggles that come with it, are one of her main topics. Founder and director of the independent theatre producer group Teatro Glam&Roll.

About the Artist:

Andres was born and raised in Hollister, California and a proud son of Mexican immigrants from Durango and Michoacán. Coming from a primarily agriculturally-based region of the California central coast, he was raised as a product of many movements including the farmworkers, civil rights, and the Chicano movements. He double majored in Political Science and Chicano Studies at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in 2015 and earned a Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California (USC) in 2019 with a specialization in Social Change and Innovation (SCI). Since the age of 12, Andres has been an avid member of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the nation’s oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization. For the past 15 years, Andres has been an advocate for the Latino community on local, state, and national levels where he has collaborated with elected officials to advocate for issues pertinent to the Latino Community. Andres is currently a Field Representative for his home California Assembly District 29 for Assemblymember Robert Rivas and on his third term as National LULAC Vice President for Young Adults. He is currently in the process of applying to Harvard University to pursue a degree in International Relations.