Speakers and Artists

Yesika Salgado is a Los Angeles based Salvadoran poet who writes about her family, her culture, her city, and her fat body. Salgado is a two-time National Poetry Slam finalist and the recipient of the 2020 International Latino Book Award in Poetry. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, Univision, CNN, NPR, and many other platforms. She is an internationally recognized body-positive, writer of the column "Suelta" for Remezcla and contributor to refinery29’s Latine platform Somos. Yesika is the author of the best-sellers Corazón, Tesoro, and Hermosa, published with Not a Cult.

Martin Amini is an Iranian, Bolivian, American comedian. Martin began his stand-up comedy career in 2012 in Washington D.C. and has since performed nationwide. By October 2018, he made Thrillist's, "Best Undiscovered Stand Up Comedian List" and has opened for headliners, such as, Trevor Noah, Andrew Shulz, and Hasan Minhaj. Martin filmed his stand-up show Laff Tracks on TruTV and Unprotected Sets which premiered on Epix produced by Wanda Sykes.

Kadencia is a 13 piece ensemble comprised of professional musicians that have toured with some of the best local and internationally renowned bands in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region. Kadencia is based out of Richmond Virginia, and is ready to make your event memorable.  The orchestra is directed by lead vocalist and singer/songwriter Maurice Sanabria Ortiz.  Kadencia’s repertoire is made of original compositions written by Mr. Sanabria and arrangements from leading composers in Puerto Rico.

Maria Zambrano Davila (they/them/elle) was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. They migrated to Santiago de Chile in 2017. Having spent their formative years in different Hispanic places, their sense of belonging pertains to Latin America as a region more than to a particular country. Maria is currently a political science and visual arts major at UR. In college, they are involved with the Solidarity Organization for Latine Students (SOLS) as the Co-Chair of Advocacy and with the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion (SCEI) through the office for Latinx Student Support and Multicultural Programs. Maria's goal is to recognize the differences between Latines from different backgrounds without letting these become divisive. Instead, Maria intends to transform this diversity into a strength for the Latine community and its general culture.

 

Maria thought of using the national flowers of each country since they represent the region's diversity without falling into cultural appropriation or political symbols. In general, it was easy for Maria to find original governmental sources communicating each country's national flower. However, since Maria wanted to be intentional about inclusion, they paid attention to Brazil's and Haiti's flowers. These countries are usually underrepresented in the Latine community since they are not Spanish-speaking. Since Maria does not speak Brazilian Portuguese or Haitian Creole, they could not access governmental information as easily. Still, they did their best to research the names of the flowers or find a person who spoke the language and could spellcheck them.  Additionally, some countries had both a "formal" and "informal" national flower in which Maria and Dafne, the Assistant Director for Latinx Student Support and Multicultural Programs, discussed which would be the "legitimate" national flower; if the one proposed by the community or the one approved by the government. Dafne and Maria chose to keep both flowers in those cases. Finally, Maria deliberately looked for the spelling and names of all flowers and country names in their most spoken or official language, especially where these names sounded or were spelled significantly different than their English translations. Maria hopes the Latinx Heritage Month art people take home serves as a familiar, housewarming gift that reminds Latines of their and their ancestors' homes.