Welcome to the youth program Conectándonos Más. In this section you will find all the information you need to know about the 2026 program. We are excited to accompany you on this journey of self-discovery and reconnection with our history through the arts.
This week in the Youth program
Rooting #01
We will begin to root ourselves in the program. We will activate the connections between us as a group through the arts and group activities. Check out the presentation we used at the meeting and the homework for rooting#02 here.
Previously
Youths will participate in 3 collective projects:
1- Community organization: Your work in each committee. more info
2- Collective Canvas: The collective creation of a visual graphic work that represents what you as a group are learning and the connections you will make during the program.
3- Community art: participation in the final exhibition with the community artists.
Consult the complete program schedule here
Cohort 2026 Artist Guides
Rooting
Milvia Berenice Pacheco Salvatierra
I am an Afro-Latina artist born in Caracas-Venezuela, where I began my career as a dancer combining dance and theater training.
More
Rony Nuñez
A proud Garifuna, born in Guatemala. I am the only boy out of six siblings. The first in my family to graduate from the University of Washington.
Connect with the cultural and artistic traditions of the Black communities of Abya Yala
Juanita Eufemia Crisanto
Is a Garifuna Community organizer born and raised in Buenavista Palacio, a little town in the neighborhood of “Gracias a Dios” in Honduras. Dances and enjoys Garifuna culture since birth
Otoqui Reyes Pizarro
He was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He has over 30 years of experience in the Bomba genre, he is the director of the Hijos de Agueybana group, made up of eight artists committed to preserving their Afro-Caribbean roots.
Silvio Dos Reis, or Mestre Silvinho
He has been practicing capoeira for 38 years and teaching for 30 years. He is originally from Brazil and moved to Seattle in 2004. Capoeira is his professional life, his joy, and his practice is essential to staying healthy and continuing to develop his connection to diverse communities.
The team that has prepared this year’s program is formed by: Patricia Franco, Rony Núñez, Sabrina Chacón-Barajas, Aviona Rodríguez Brown and Milvia Pacheco, along with Joana Dos Santos, Lynn Soriano and Diana Colón, who participated in the program in the 2025 cohort; and, of course, artists Juanita Crisanto, Otoqui Reyes and Silvio Dos Reis.
Each year, new youths join the committee,
Would you like to join?
Contact the facilitators.
Program resources
Committees
All program activities are organized around 4 working committees. These teams will be the anchor and support for everyone during these fourteen weeks. Each committee has specific tasks that will help us connect more deeply as a community and develop leadership skills. Each committee has a leader who has previously participated in the program; they will help carry out all the committee’s tasks.
Committees:
1. Feeding, 2. Care for the space, 3. Logistical Assistance for Projects, 4. Logbook and Diary
Feeding: This committee will be in charge of coordinating the food, snacks, and drinks that we will enjoy throughout the program, as well as the food served during the celebration.
Diana Colón will join you in this committee
Care for the space: Manage the physical space in which meetings take place, receiving and leaving the space and equipment we used in the best possible conditions.
Ashly Rodriguez will join you on this committee
Logistical Assistance for Projects: Track deliverable schedules and assist in the logistics of the final presentation.
Lisa Guity will join you on this committee
Logbook and Diary: Create content about the program to publish on social networks, based on photographic records, audios, drawings, or any other material produced in the meetings
Lynn Soriano will join you on this committee
