On February 21st, we kicked off the Conectándonos Más (connecting more) youth program with a celebration that brought together the 20 participating youth, youth leaders, community artists, and program coordinators at the Union Cultural Center. It was an important time to get to know each other, share experiences, and discuss expectations for this year’s program. As in 2025, we will meet at the Union Cultural Center every Saturday at 1 p.m. until May 30th. The program will conclude with a celebration on June 6th, during which we will share the youth’s achievements with the Seattle community.
What makes this year’s program special?
The community artists who will be joining us: We will be guided by three community artists who are part of the MÁS community. The artists with whom we wove Afro-Latin identities in 2025 are returning: Garifuna Master Eufemia Crisanto, with whom we shared about Punta and Garifuna songs, and Otoqui Reyes, who took us on a percussive journey with Puerto Rican Bomba. This year, Mestre Silvinho, Silvio dos Reis, joins us, bringing with him the knowledge surrounding Capoeira. A new sound and movement that we add to the Afro-diasporic “call and response.”
A team of youths will lead in this space: One of the objectives of our program is to strengthen youth leadership in their communities, so this year, five Youths who have participated in previous cohorts are joining the organizing team: Diana Colón, Lynn Soriano, Lisa Guity, Ashley Rodríguez, and Kyela Norales. Joana dos Santos, a participant in the 2025 cohort, and Sabrina Chacón-Barajas, who facilitated arts activities in the last two iterations of Conectándonos Más, have also been involved in the preparation.
The translation team: As a program, we aim to promote the retention of the mother languages of displaced youth. Therefore, this year we also have a team of translators, led by L. Ginocchio Silva, who will serve those comfortable speaking Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
This year’s organizing committee also includes Milvia Pacheco, Rony Nuñez, and Patricia Franco, who have participated in organizing the program for several consecutive years. They are joined by Aviona Rodríguez Brown, who is also a member of the MÁS board of directors.
An opportunity to participate in community organizing: This year the program is supported by: the City of Seattle’s Department of Education and Early Learning DEEL; artists who donate their time and culinary expertise; And teachers and youths who spread the word to reach more and more youths.
If you want to support this space for ancestral connection through the arts, you can:
– Volunteer on Saturdays from 12:30 to 4:30 pm
-Donate traditional dishes from the culinary cultures of Abya Yala
– Make a donation through our Givebutter profile.
