Artists

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Indigenous Artist 

   Reuben Crow Feather is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. The U.S. government gave his tribe the name Sioux, however they refer themselves as the Lakota Oyate. Akicita Tokaheya (First Warrior) is the Lakota name that he was honored with by his elders. The name First Warrior means so much to him and is a big name to fill. Their war today is to revitalize spirituality amongst the masses for the greater good of all of mankind. He believes we can do this through living a healthy, education-minded, drug-free lifestyle.  Giving our youth a healthy model to strive for, he has been working in bringing spiritual awareness along with addiction prevention using nonwestern modalities. As a World Champion Traditional Dancer and Singer, he’s utilized his notoriety as a platform to educate our youth wherever and whenever.  He has had the honor to perform and speak to many youth organizations, schools and Universities.  Building bridges and breaking stereotypes is always one of his goals in order to educate our non-indigenous relatives to bring unity to the Human Race.

Traditional Alebrijes Artisan

Irma Rodriguez is an artist from Oaxaca whose work began as a little girl. In her own words,  "As long as I can remember I have been painting and creating alebrijes. When I was a little girl in Oaxaca, México I would go on long trips with my family to sell alebrijes in the market. I grew up with a sincere love and passion for the colors, design and beauty of the alebrije watching my parents and extended family create their own beautiful works of art. "

Since coming to the US her passion has grown as she launched her business Alebrijes Rodriguez full time to heal from the depression of working at a job that did not satisfy her creative spirit. She is a proud mother of two children and enjoys teaching the art of alebrije making. Creating alebrijes is then, not just an art rather a calling from the spiritual realm to transform endings into new beginnings. 

Tattoo and Visual Artist

Lucero Vargas (Amanalli Lu) was born in Mexico City. Vargas migrated to Los Angeles, California at the age of 11. She then moved to Santa Rosa where she works as a Professional Tattoo Artist. Inspired by Mexican and Native American Culture, she employed a naïve folk art style to explore questions of identity, postcolonialism, gender, and race in American society. Art has transformed her life and has helped her heal her trauma. She hopes to use the same process to help young people. Vargas strongly believes art is one of the best activities for anyone to heal the body, mind and spirit.

Interdisciplinary Performance Artist

Nicolás R Valdez is an interdisciplinary performance artist and cultural arts educator. He began studying traditional Conjunto accordion music at age nine through Guadalupe Cultural Art Center’s Xicano Music program. In 1993, he became the youngest founding member of the Guadalupe’s resident youth theater company, Grupo Ánimo. He went on to study Drama at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and, in 2005, toured nationally with Teatro Campesino’s 25th Anniversary production of Zoot Suit. 

His original one-man show, Conjunto Blues, which documents the Mexican-American working class experience through Conjunto accordion music, was featured at LATC’s 2017 Encuentro de Las Americas and San Diego Repertory Theater’s Latinx New Play Festival. Professionally filmed and edited in 2020, Conjunto Blues has since screened at film festivals, universities, and cultural centers across the U.S. and internationally receiving awards for Audience Favorite, Best Cinematography, Best Musical Score, and was the Runner-up for Best Film. Frontman to Los Nahuatlatos, a Xicano-roots-fusion band, he’s released two full-length albums, Tierra Sin Fin (2017) and Jamás Inquietos (2018). 

Nicolás is a graduate of the NALAC Leadership Institute class of 2016 and Music To Life’s (MTL) 2023 Musicians Accelerator Academy. His latest project, Proyecto PAX- funded in part by a grant from SA’s Office of Cultural Affairs, is a documentary short exploring the current state of the Xicano music scene in San Antonio, TX. In August of 2024, Nicolás moved to Santa Rosa were he joined Raizes Collective as a teaching artist. He continues to perform nationally and internationally, hosting concerts, workshops, film screenings, and finding creative ways to empower youth voices.

Visual Artist

Edilia Mendez is a Sonoma County Chicana artist born and raised in Windsor, California with roots from Oaxaca from her maternal side and Leon Guanajuato from her paternal side. She graduated from Windsor High School and is currently doing Mural projects with the Raizes Collective. Edilia first became interested in art at a young age but recently started embracing it as a career. Edilia believes that art is a form of healing, of self-expression and a way to advocate for her community.