¿Y Cómo Está Mi Gente?
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Reclamando Our Narrative
2022-2023 Schedule
Session 1: Sunday, December 11
1:30 - 4:30pm (Hybrid)
Session 2: Thursday, January 19
7:00 - 8:00pm (Virtual only)
Session 3: Saturday, February 11
1:30 - 4:30pm (Hybrid)
Session 4: Thursday, March 23
7:00 - 8:00 pm (Virtual Only)
Session 5: Saturday, April 15
1:30 - 4:30pm (Hybrid)
Session 6: Friday, May 12
6:00 -9:00pm (Virtual Only)
Latinx Writers, ruby pacheco and rose cervantes, created a communal space to reflect on everyday experiences, foster dialogue around a shared narrative, and amplify Latinx stories.
Together, the facilitators and storytellers explored personal stories and cultural themes. By building trust, exploring creative writing, and practicing vulnerability, these writers felt visible and felt the power of community.
Each session offered tools, strategies, and language around various topics that impact the Latinx community on a daily basis. Topics ranged from intersectionality to generational trauma to community healing to how words can fuel social change.
This opportunity is wonderful for artists, writers, aspiring writers, creatives, and advocates for equity. Stay tuned for the second edition of Reclamando Our Narrative; a healing & writing workshop!
Meet the Facilitators
ruby pacheco
Born in Queens, New York and proudly raised en Republica Dominicana, ruby (she/her) arrived to Massachussets at the age of 14. She graduated college with a masters degree in education and creative writing. For the last 26 years, she has been nurturing both technical and creative writing skills in youth and adults in high school and community college in Tampa, Florida where she currently lives.
Feminist. Latinx. Bilingue. Womxn-Centered. Disruptor. Bruja. Creator. Educator. She is a fierce youth advocate striving to equip students with tools to find their agency and voice. She has coordinated over 50 Unity Days in her high schools to help students develop a sense of belonging to one another and step into the recognize the power of community.
To ruby, writing is a form of magic, of ancestral resistance—a power that turns the intangible into stories that build a clearer sense of self and illuminate the invisible cord that connects us to one another. A moon worshipper and spiritual seeker, she re-tunes and realigns by connecting with nature: hikes in the Carolina mountains, waves of the gulf, songs of crows from her backyard, and eyes of the lizards and spiders that call her garden their home. In the arms of her two daughters y su familia, she is able to exhale and find her peace cultivating the energy of her adopted plants. Ruby lives with her soulmate, Sherlock, an eight year old Wheaten terrier who has been her compassionate writing editor. She is currently working on a collection of short stories and essays about loss and grief.
In her untamed rizos, she weaves her Taíno roots and the American dream of her immigrant family to forge her own legacy.
Rose Cervantes (she/they)
Rose has been creating worlds in her mind since she was a young ball of bouncing curls in Key West, Florida. She left her small island and traveled up to the panhandle where she graduated with a bachelor's in Creative Writing and Public Relations, and a master’s degree in Media Communication Studies from Florida State University. They feel at home in teaching environments where curiosity is born and human connection is fostered. She combines her writing skills, process-oriented mind, and passionate heart to elevate the arts and fight for equity.
Rose is a local St Pete poet and freelance communication specialist spending their time loving, growing, and existing. With her communication and teaching background, she uses an arsenal of storytelling techniques, research analysis, and creative portals to connect passions with inclusive impact. Their past projects have ranged from co-producing a NYE Festival of the Arts, managing artists relations and artist grant opportunities, teaching as an adjunct professor, creating Latinx community art events, developing accessible applications for artist relief at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.
Rose is a fierce believer that empathy and vulnerability amplify our voices. When we spend time with our stories, Rose feels the power of writing and its ability to unlock our imagination and create bridges to community.
Lover of long hugs, nights filled with dancing, local bookstores, nature, and creative weirdos. You can find published poems by Rose in St. Petersburg local poetry magazine, Neptune. Her poetry explores family, identity, mental health, love, and the spectrums of human existence. Connect with her on Instagram: @tabirose.