2023 Cohort

Hello, I am Angel Daniel Mejia Calix. I was born on February 26, 2002. I am from Honduras. I am an artist who learned to paint and draw on his own. I also write poetry. I have a brother who also draws. I am a responsible person and I like to work as part of a team.

My main interest is to keep learning and proving that everybody has an artist within temselves.

My goal is to present my art and be an inspiration to many young artists.

Always grateful to God for the people who support me and inspire me to continue with my goal.

My passion for art began when I was 9 years old making drawings for my classmates, then it developed in high school with my friends who inspired me to enter events but I never won. I left it for 4 years and then took it up again and I continue in the process of learning as well as my culture that gives me new ideas to represent what I feel.

I grew up in a big family, my dad and mom always supported my passion for drawing and continue to give me motivational words and remind me of our Honduran culture of which I am proud.

During the program I participated in the interview with Panamanian, Alfredo Chavez.

Hello, my name is Hever. I am 20 years old and I like music. For this reason, my offering in the program is interpreted in the form of lyrical rap. During the program I participated in the interview with Alfredo Chavez.

I shout the poetry not everyone understands

Only people of color, indigenous, and their descendants.

People who were mistreated and remain

In racial struggle with the fucking colonizer

I have indigenous blood running through my veins

One generation ago my people were chained

My grandfather was murdered only because of his brown skin.

Today I feel pride of having it until this date

My features tell me that I never fear

To the gentrifiers and their damn system

They raise the rent and create a whole problem.

They want to imprison us with their shitty law

It’s a shame to know that we are the same

And receive bad treatment from people without manners

The education I have was learned on the street

And no white guy is going to be able to make me shut up

Hello, I am Isatou and I am from Gambia. My family language is Soninke. I came to America in 2020 and I came to study more and help my family. I love to cook and I like music very much. Dancing makes me feel joy. My education and my family are very important to me. In the future I would like to be a doctor or a nurse to help others. I also want to help my country, especially people who don’t have money to go to the hospital.

During the program I participated in the interview with Garifuna artist and teacher Juanita.

Hi, I am Karina (She). I am 14 Years old, I like dancing and music. i am connected to the central American region. During the program I participated in the interview with Garifuna artist and teacher Juanita.

Hi, I’m Andree (He). I’m 14 years old, and I joined Conectándonos Más with the expectation of experimenting with all kinds of arts. During the program, I participated in the interview with Brazilian artist Eduardo Mendonca.

Hi, I’m Nimany (She). I’m 15 years old, I like to dance and express myself through art, and I’m connected to the Central American region. During the program, I participated in the interview with Garifuna teacher and artist: Juanita.

My name is Roel Redondo. I am 14 years old and I am in 8th grade. I was born on December 27, 2008. I was born at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, but I currently live in Everett. I am the son of my Dominican mother and Filipino father. My favorite hobby is playing sports, especially baseball, basketball and soccer. I have been to the Dominican Republic 5 times but have never been to the Philippines. I would like to go soon. The things I like most about the Dominican culture are the food, the music, and the passion for baseball. I enjoy making music, singing, and listening to music. I am currently in the boys choir at my school. I also play the trumpet and am now in my school’s advanced band and in the school’s jazz ensemble. I took a leadership class a couple of years ago that taught me how to use my voice to give my stand up for what is right. I am currently part of my school’s track team and play baseball for Everett Little League. Baseball is my favorite sport. I have been playing baseball since I was 7 years old. My favorite baseball teams are the Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies, although I have never lived in Philadelphia. The reason I like it is because my parents used to live in southern New Jersey, but New Jersey doesn’t have many major league teams, so my dad grew up following Philadelphia teams. Other hobbies I have are hiking in the mountains and traveling to places I’ve never been or even places I’ve already been.

During the program I particpated in the interview with the brasilian artist Eduardo Mendonca.

Hello, today I am going to tell you the story of Rosman Sanchez.

Rosman is 19 years old and was born on October 15, 2003. He is a black skinned person who likes to share and help people and likes to make people laugh is part of his personality.

Rosman likes to do a lot of sports and also likes video games, he is very friendly with people and likes animals. There are many people who don’t understand him.

Rosman entered the program because he wants to learn more about his culture and wants to find himself as a person because sometimes we don’t know who we are and we want to know who we are as people and what is the best thing to do for our culture and how to help our community Rosman works and studies to be able to have a better life in the future in his free time he likes to play video games or go play soccer with his friends and he also likes to meet new people.

Rosman has been used to being with his family since he was a child, he has 2 brothers and 2 sisters.

During the program, she participated in the interview with the teacher and artist Juanita.

Hello my name is Sergio I am 15 years old I like to play soccer and also watch tik tok and hang out with people coming to the group is fun my favorite color is blue and black I like to go out and learn more things I like to learn more about my culture and about the cultures of other people. During the program I participated in the interview with Brazilian artist Eduardo Mendonca.

Hello! My name is Soriya. I am a thirteen-year-old Black and Asian American born in Seattle, Washington. In my free time I enjoy crocheting, playing pickleball, running track, basketball, traveling, horseback riding, swimming, and trying new things. My favorite genres of music are RnB, Hip Hop and Jazz. In the future, I plan to be a successful entrepreneur, pediatrician or screenwriter. A fun fact about me is that I love the beach and last year I jumped off a cliff into the creek.

During the program he interviewed two capoeira artists: Alair Macedo (mestre Curisco) and Milani Silve (congramaestre Guerreira).

Hi, I’m Zoe (her). I’m 14 years old, I like dancing and I entered the program to learn more about my own identity and express myself with new artistic languages. During the program I interviewed Brazilian artist Eduardo Mendonca.