{"id":9990,"date":"2026-09-10T16:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T23:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/2026\/09\/10\/heres-how-our-first-session-of-un-ratico-con-mas-went-and-whats-coming-up-next\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T16:44:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T23:44:47","slug":"heres-how-our-first-session-of-un-ratico-con-mas-went-and-whats-coming-up-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/2026\/09\/10\/heres-how-our-first-session-of-un-ratico-con-mas-went-and-whats-coming-up-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s how our first session of “Un Ratico con M\u00c1S” went, and what’s coming up next."},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Our first session of Un Ratico con M\u00c1S <\/a>was an intimate and empowering gathering. A small group of us met on Saturday, August 29th at Estelita\u2019s Library in Beacon Hill to write poetry about our names, get to know each other a bit more, and reflect on the importance of creating spaces and activities that amplify our voices and strengthen our presence as Afro and Indigenous people in this city in the Pacific Northwest. <\/p>\n

While enjoying a delicious guava cocktail and chips with guacamole, we created from the imaginaries of our own bodies and experiences. We began by naming ourselves for ourselves, feeling the sounds of our names, and searching for new meanings within them\u2014names that sometimes hold secret messages of family histories and heritages that we are not always conscious of. <\/p>\n

Imagining ourselves from our own lived experiences becomes a priority at this moment when violence against the migrant community is increasing. It is a way to reaffirm the value of our presence in this territory and to celebrate our creative power. <\/p>\n

Here I share the poem that was born from this exercise of reconnecting with my name, as a sample of what we create in this space:[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\n

Milvia Berenice Pacheco Salvatierra:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The warm coast of my ancestral memory<\/em>
\nbrings me a deep breeze, full of good ach\u00e9,<\/em>
\nspreading through a thousand pathways of dirt roads<\/em>
\nand blessings<\/em>
\nthat sustains my being.<\/em>
<\/h5>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are deeply grateful to Estelita\u2019s Library <\/a>for offering us the space for this gathering, as well as to everyone who participated.<\/p>\n

Our next gathering will be on Monday, October 12th, from 6:00 to 8:30 PM,<\/strong> to create a collage representing your identity, family, and community. It will be facilitated by artist Aviona Rodr\u00edguez Brown,<\/a> who is also the board president and interim co-director of M\u00c1S.
\n
We look forward to seeing you there![\/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”dashed” border_width=”1px” el_width=”86″ accent_color=”#8224E3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]Collage your PowerPoint <\/b><\/p>\n

In a world that constantly tells us who we are or are not, this is our time to come together in community and create and share the world we know we can create through our collective power.<\/span><\/p>\n

A variety of canvas styles will be made available along with materials galore.
Bring anything you deem beautiful in your house and life to build into a collage representing you, your family, and your community.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Come spend a little time with M\u00c1S and make art showing us how you see yourself empowered in this world. <\/span><\/p>\n

A free event at Estelita Library, which is generously sharing its space with us. Light drinks and refreshments will be available via suggested donation. <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_btn title=”I want to join” align=”center” custom_background=”#8224E3″ custom_text=”#FFFFFF” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fforms.gle%2FxcDmNvLGTejf6Ab97|” custom_hover_background=”#1E73BE” custom_hover_text=”#EEEE22″][vc_cta h2=”Mark this event on your M\u00c1S calendar” h2_font_container=”tag:h6|font_size:22px|color:%23FF8400″ h2_use_theme_fonts=”yes” h2_css_animation=”none” btn_position=”bottom” btn_title=”Request a calendar” btn_align=”center” btn_size=”sm” btn_custom_background=”#5BDCE9″ btn_css_animation=”none” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” add_button=”true” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fmovimientoafrolatino.org%2Fen%2Fresources%2F|”]\n

Get our undated calendar. Print it out and use it whenever and however you like. <\/em>
\nBy purchasing this calendar, you’re helping us continue to make these events possible.<\/em><\/h5>\n[\/vc_cta][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Teaching Artist: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Aviona Creatrix Rodriguez Brown<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aviona Creatrix Rodriguez Brown, Board President, a Third-Generation American and first-generation Afro-Mexican, is a multidisciplinary artist working at the intersection of performance, visual art, and community storytelling. Her creative work explores themes of identity, resilience, and the transformation of lived experience into creative expression. Through her work, she pushes boundaries in art-making, ensuring that diverse stories are seen, heard, and honored.
Learn more and connect: <\/span>linktr.ee\/avionacreatrix_official<\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][vc_single_image image=”7748″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Our first session of Un Ratico con M\u00c1S was an intimate and empowering gathering. A small group of us met on Saturday, August 29th at Estelita\u2019s Library in Beacon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[214],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-un-ratico-con-mas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ratico-con-Mas.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9990"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9994,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9990\/revisions\/9994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movimientoafrolatino.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}