Join Nevada Humanities and Latino Arte and Culture on Saturday, April 19, 2025, from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm at the Sierra View Library in Reno for an afternoon of music, poetry, and conversation as we celebrate Latino poetry and community. Introductory remarks will be provided by Dr. Manuel Murrieta Saldivar, associate professor of Spanish and Literature at California State University, Stanislaus. We will explore themes of family, heritage, language, and what it means to be Latino today, with featured performances of rapping by Orlando Ortiz and poetry from Mario DelaRosa, Jafeth Sanchez, Genevy Machuca, and Elisa Garcia in English, Spanish, and Spanglish. A guided conversation will follow.
This event is free and open to the public, but we ask that you RSVP in advance at the following link.
Photo courtesy of Elisa Garcia
Elisa Garcia is a Mexican-American writer and spoken word poet originally from Los Angeles, California. Her journey in the spoken word scene has been marked by significant milestones, including her role as the coach for the Spoken Views Youth Collective at Brave New Voices in 2016. In 2017, Elisa was part of the first-ever Reno team to compete in the National Poetry Slam held in Denver, Colorado. Elisa has shared the stage with renowned poets including Anis Mojgani, Michelle Myers, Brandon Leake, Buddy Wakefield, and Derrick Brown. She was part of the Spoken Views slam team that competed at the Utah Arts Festival in 2022. She co-manages Sierra Literary Cooperative and is the host of the variety show Lit at Night. Her poetry has been featured in the Sisters Three Production of The Human Perspective, the Mark Twain Days Newspaper 2024, and local zines.
Genevy Machuca is a second-year student at the University of Nevada, Reno pursuing a dual degree in journalism and Spanish with an emphasis in broadcasting. She hopes to break the barriers that language sometimes creates, and instead build bridges. In her free time she enjoys writing and staying active.
Photo courtesy of Genevy Machuca
Photo courtesy of Orlando Oh
Orlando Oh is a multidisciplinary Indigenous/Chicano Artist proficient in the mediums of ink, pen, spoken word and lyrical execution. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his roots trace back to Zinapécuaro, Michoacan "the place of obsidian" on his paternal side and Crystal City, Texas on his maternal side. His body of work is a reflection of the experience of an Indigenous Person surviving colonization over many lifetimes and lands. The pictures he paints in visual and lyrical form are an offering to the indomitable Indigenous spirit of the Americas, prayers of healing and the power of choosing to live as a human being in a dehumanizing society.
Mario DelaRosa, born and raised in Mexico City, migrated to Las Vegas where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He later moved to Reno to pursue a Master’s Degree in Philosophy. In 2020, Mario co-founded Latino Arte and Culture, a nonprofit organization committed to amplifying Latino voices and fostering cultural expression through the arts. Since 2015, he has been dedicated to producing and promoting Latino arts and culture through festivals and cultural events, including the Spanish-English Poetry Encounter in 2022, 2023, and 2024, where selected poems—some of them written by Mario himself—were published in booklet format. His organization also provides arts and culture workshops, including STEAM-based programs. With 18 years of experience as a Spanish-language journalist and Editor, for two Spanish-language newspapers in Northern Nevada. Through his work in journalism, he broke barriers for Latinos in Reno, creating access to information that had previously been out of reach for the community. In 2003, he co-founded Teatro Brown Eyes Too, Nevada’s first Latinx theater group, marking the beginning of his journey as a bilingual playwright, with at least 10 bilingual and in Spanish plays written.
Photo courtesy of Dr. Manuel Murrieta-Saldívar
Dr. Manuel Murrieta-Saldívar was born in the state of Sonora, Mexico. He earned a Ph.D. and M.A. from Arizona State University, Tempe, in Hispanic Literature, with a minor in Latin American Studies. His specializations include Mexican chronicle writers and Mexican alternative discourse as well as creative writing, poetry, and narrative, in the Spanish language. Dr. Murrieta has a B.A. from the Universidad de Sonora, Mexico in Hispanic Literature and a thesis on Chicano poetry published in Mexican-American newspapers in Arizona. Likewise, he has been a journalist for years, a poet, and an integral writer and publisher who deals with themes of Latins in the USA and the US-Mexico border. He received the Sonora Journalist award for his chronicle texts and was awarded three times the Sonoran book award for his essays and narratives. He received a recognition award from Arizona State University, and Chandler-Gilbert Community College, "for his work as a Mexican-Chicano chronicler, poet, researcher, and editor” (October 2020). He also received a recognition award from the University of Sonora, Mexico, “for his solid career within regional letters, his outstanding work as an academician, writer, journalist, editor and cultural promoter, and for his remarkable work in defense of the Spanish language in the southern United States” (November 2017). He was “Educator of the Year 2014”, in Central San Joaquin Valley, a recognition given by the Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) (May 2014). Moreover, Dr. Murrieta is author of three books of poetry: Alejados del instinto (2011), Poecrónica en las urbes (2015), Los días primigenios (2021); two novels, Háblame a tu regreso (2004), El norte virgen de mi cuerpo (2022); three books of travel narratives and chronicles: De viaje en Mexamérica (1992); La grandeza del azar: eurocrónicas desde París (2006), La gravedad de la distancia (2009), among others books of academic content. He is a frequent contributor of articles, poems, and creative works for printed and electronic magazines, especially in the USA, and Mexico, including his own website: www.manuelmurrietasaldivar.com . Professor Murrieta has taught at Phoenix College, Arizona State University, and the University of Sonora. He developed and teaches the first creative workshop in Spanish language, poetry, and journalism, for the Modern Language Department, at California State University-Stanislaus where he is a full professor of Chicano, Mexican, and Latin American literature and culture as well as Spanish for native speakers. Finally, Professor Murrieta is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Spanish language publishing house Editorial Orbis Press (www.orbispress.com ) and the electronic culture and literature publication www.culturadoor.com
Photo courtesy of Dr. Jafeth Sanchez
Dr. Jafeth Sanchez is a three-time graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno (Education ’04, Educational Leadership, ’07, Higher Education Administration ’10). She is an associate professor who has dedicated her career to developing high-quality educational leaders across P-20 educational pathways. In January 2022, she also accepted the role of Director of the Latino Research Center under the University's Office of the Provost. Her research agenda encompasses educational leadership practices, organizational change efforts, gender and ethnic equity, and student outcomes related to access, retention, and completion. She has actively managed and attained grant funding as a principal investigator or coinvestigator for approximately $9 million over the last decade. Dr. Sanchez previously taught mathematics and was awarded Northern Nevada Math Teacher of the Year in 2012 by the Northern Nevada Math Council. She was also a Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholar and served as a mentor for its previous scholars across the country. Her passion for educational improvement and access to higher education are embedded in all aspects of her work in teaching, research, and service.
