Healing Arts from the Borderland

Join us with healer and yogi Karessa, creator of the Wholistic Mercado, as she explains the lessons in her life; evolving her acceptance and understanding through facing the truth and having faith. Karessa demonstrates a kindness towards her being, her lessons, and her faith in the community she serves doing the same with a little bit of guidance.

Join us with Celia Aguilar storyteller through writing, poetry, music, and acting, as she reviews her journey of connection, strength, and  reconnecting to her indigenous heritage despite stigma. Celia continues to grow her stories pending a manuscript and by connecting to additional organizations that uplift through music.

Join us with Ome Tlatoc tattoos and agriculturalist as he describes the healing he does towards the stigma of tattooing, his active decolonization journey, and how his culture influenced his art of tattooing.

Meet Maria R Perez, activist and wordsmith as she describes her life as a Mexican-American woman with disabilities and how it has given her many opportunities to empower people through language and connection.

Join us with artist, activist, and essayist KB Brookins through their journey of discovering themselves in literature and poetry as they deconstruct the gender binary, societal expectation and stereotypes. Experience their empowerment in their identity of being a queer, Black, non-binary, transmasculine person who actively seeks to helps others speak their truths, write themselves into history, and take on their own strength in their identity and wounds. #cw: sexual trauma

Valerie Rivas discusses the lessons in her life and how her intuition protected her, introspection allowed her

to heal and start an incredible journey of utilizing herbs to help her community. She has gentleness in her

approach, and in caring for plants, she honors lessons in every type of situation and not take on the weight

of expectation. She speaks of medicine being everywhere in both plants and experiences.

Kaelin Li discusses her life as an international adoptee from China during the 90s and how it influenced her life experiences, art, identity, as well as recognizing the harmful impacts of stereotypes within her community. As graceful as her dancing, Kaelin inspires by knowing she will be legislator later but is making impact now through film, dance, and her being herself. #StopAsianHate

Join us with Jacqueline Recendez as she grows into herself as a Latina lesbian muralist. She describes the obstacles in her life demonstrating an art of resiliency, strength, and allowing others to know they can do the same.  Despite challenges, Jackie offers confidence, pride, and beauty in this world through the murals she makes and the story she carries

Join us with Jackie Barragan an Indigenous Mexican-American who continues her ancestral ties through art, filmmaking, and ceremonial practice. Jackie discusses generation trauma experiencing sexual oppression and being inspired to heal using multiple modalities to express and bring awareness to a better tomorrow as survivors.

Join us on a journey through perspective where Lori Edwards discusses her 3 lives: as an adopted child, a young mother to a an ill child while being an EMT, her new life with her family having a transgender child, and how her experiences have allowed her to build community wherever she goes. She copes through writing, reading, and allowing herself to continue to grow from experiences that are not just her own.

Aida is an artist that host a one woman show revealing her trauma and having participants reflect. In this episode gives insight into her own life on how her journey has lead her to heal through art, heal others, as well as reconnect to how she identifies. 

Listen to Sandra Ramirez's journey of how she expresses her body through dance, her struggle in gender expression as a cis-gendered woman, an eating disorder, and what it means to "have the body of a dancer". 

Take a listen through a journey of resiliency in which our artist, Gabrielle Lennon, tells about her life, her mental health journey of recovery, overcoming blocks, and ultimately sharing her knowledge as a writer/actor to the community. There is mention of her suicidal ideation/tendencies as well as sexual harassment." Our podcasts are for those in recovery, survivors, and the everyday people who wish to be inspired by local/traditional artists who reveal their art, how they came to be, challenges (including those of intersectionality), and their current community outreach. #healingwithheart #recovery #sexualassaultawarenessmonth #inspiration #hope #healing #resilient #mentahealth #healingtrauma #healingtraumaintheborderlands #contentwarning

Norman grew up Black and Gay, from a Black Church family, attending Catholic Schools in the Southwest Suburbs of Chicago. Bullied by family beliefs and expectations, and called a f@g in grade school when he didn’t even know what it meant, Norman’s journey led him to multiple unsafe situations. Now he has learned to take what has always been unique about himself and he is celebrating it, and encouraging others to find their “unicorn” power!

This podcast is part of a project by the Borderland Rainbow Center in El Paso, Texas to bring non-traditional Queer, Intersectional healing arts to survivors of trauma.

https://www.borderlandrainbow.org/

Facebook @borderlandrainbowcenter

Instagram @borderlandrainbowcenter

Twitter @BRainbowCenter

YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa4GRplymPUJBnfEn9zbPJg

Contact Brian@RainbowBorderland.org

This work is funded by TAASA on behalf of the Department of Justice.

In his youth Joseph, like nearly all of us, absorbed harmful narratives and beliefs about himself.  These beliefs that we are not worthy lead to all kinds of self-destructive behaviors.  And the limitless taboos that society invents to shame and terrorize us only make it worse.  Joseph found recovery from addiction, and he found his authentic self, his “superhero powers,” when he left unhelpful beliefs and narratives behind.  Joseph fInds recovery from trauma, and he gains love and success.  But his greatest gift is knowing himself and being proud of who he is, and the life he leads.

This podcast is part of a project by the Borderland Rainbow Center in El Paso, Texas to bring non-traditional Queer, Intersectional healing arts to survivors of trauma.

https://www.borderlandrainbow.org/

Facebook @borderlandrainbowcenter

Instagram @borderlandrainbowcenter

Twitter @BRainbowCenter

YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa4GRplymPUJBnfEn9zbPJg

Contact Brian@RainbowBorderland.org

This work is funded by TAASA on behalf of the Department of Justice.

In his youth Joseph, like nearly all of us, absorbed harmful narratives and beliefs about himself.  These beliefs that we are not worthy lead to all kinds of self-destructive behaviors.  And the limitless taboos that society invents to shame and terrorize us only make it worse.  Joseph found recovery from addiction, and he found his authentic self, his “superhero powers,” when he left unhelpful beliefs and narratives behind.  Joseph fInds recovery from trauma, and he gains love and success.  But his greatest gift is knowing himself and being proud of who he is, and the life he leads.

This podcast is part of a project by the Borderland Rainbow Center in El Paso, Texas to bring non-traditional Queer, Intersectional healing arts to survivors of trauma.

https://www.borderlandrainbow.org/

Facebook @borderlandrainbowcenter

Instagram @borderlandrainbowcenter

Twitter @BRainbowCenter

YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa4GRplymPUJBnfEn9zbPJg

Contact Brian@RainbowBorderland.org

This work is funded by TAASA on behalf of the Department of Justice.