Cuéntame Team & Artists

  • Visual Artist - SELA Resident Portraits

    Adriana is a first generation, Los Angeles born artist with family roots in Yalina, Oaxaca, and Guadalajara, Jalisco. As a figurative painter and illustrator, the intention is to try to capture the energy evoked by the individual person. Being a part of “Cuéntame” as an artist, has been a captivating exploration of visual storytelling. Using varying amounts of color saturation, in a mostly, pastel pallet for each person, further attempts to capture just a piece of that persons’ unique story. The goal of these painted portraits is to serve as an introductory snapshot of an individual within a sparkling community.

  • Photographer - Cuéntame opening reception

    Amanda Tapia (she/her) is a South Gate based educator, community organizer, photographer, and worker-owner of For The People Cafe. In early 2021, Amanda began sharing her film photography with the world. Her initial work focused solely on film street photography and environmental portraiture. Since then, her work has dived into the digital world-allowing her to fully explore concert photography, studio portraits, and personal artistic series. At its core, her images work to authentically reflect the vibrant spirit of her surroundings.

  • Cuéntame Partner & Venue

    Cruzita's was founded by a mother-daughter team in 2015. Celina was born and raised in Huntington Park and is a first-generation college graduate and food entrepreneur by way of Mexico and El Salvador. She received her bachelor’s degree in sociology and studied culinary arts at LATTC. Her passion lies between the intersections of food and social justice and believes that access to quality food is a human right. Maricruz, an immigrant by way of Zacatecas, Mexico, worked in the food and food grocer industries of the more privileged neighborhoods of Los Angeles for over 30 years. She used to own a small produce market in Huntington Park, while simultaneously working a full-time job, and raising three children as a single mother. She eventually closed due to lack of resources, but her passion for bringing quality food to her community never ceased. Celina and Maricruz's shared lived experiences and perspectives on the current food system led them to understand the food disparities (food apartheid) that existed between the more affluent neighborhoods and their predominantly immigrant, working class community in SELA. They decided to put their experiences together and open up a space that would bring people together and spark dialogue through wholesome food and drinks.

  • Videographer

    Francis Agyapong, Jr. is a Ghanaian-American filmmaker from Hoboken, NJ. Over the last year he's been filming the series Insectarium for PBS and the American Museum of Natural History hosted by brilliant entomologist, Dr. Jessica Ware. Not necessarily a fan of institution, he's worked for and with a bunch of them including: MIT, The New York Times, New York Magazine, NBC, HBO, and OkayAfrica among others. Francis is very aware of the aesthetic prowess and clout given in bios to institutions and his ego is none above it. Francis is currently in pre-production on his first-feature length film to be shot in Ghana later this year, a financial horror story with the working title of Uncle Alhaji. As a filmmaker he draws more inspiration from books than movies.

  • Leslie Mendez

    Born & Based In Los Angeles. Amo la Cumbia pero tambien el Rrrock! I like to create safe & expressive dancefloors through my open format DJ style, musica para todxs. <3

  • Cuéntame Volunteer Crew

  • Visual Artist - Cuéntame de Southeast LA artwork

    Alejandra Martinez is from Bell and Southeast Los Angeles more broadly. Raised in her dads' art studio, she has long nurtured a passion for creating art and has sought to pursue it alongside her education as she explores the socioeconomic and cultural fabric of her community.

    Alejandra's artistic focus lies in creating mixed-media pieces that reimagine community development in Southeast Los Angeles. She is also the founder of the SELA Community Map, a mapping project that seeks to illustrate and archive memories of Southeast Los Angeles as it transforms. A key intention behind this project was and continues to be about preserving and uplifting collective memories of SELA’s built environment and its role in shaping our lived experience.

  • Community Engagement Assistant

    Anita is currently a college student studying Psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience. Once she graduates, she plans on attending graduate school to obtain her Ph.D to service communities like the ones she grew up with and around.

    Her parents have always nurtured her love for reading , which is why her room is essentially a mini library!

  • Teaching Artist - Zine Workshops & Collaborative Zine

    Blanca Carla Arriaga is a creative, multidisciplinary artist from Southeast Los Angeles. While she did obtain a B.A. in Ethnomusicology from UCLA, her life has taken a big pivot from performing arts and into the world of visual arts. She loves to share her slices of life through artistic mediums such as journaling, zine-making, music-making and more! Currently Blanca works as a recreational leader at the South Gate Museum and Art Gallery in the city of South Gate. She is also the organizer behind the Gallo Giro Zine Club, a local zine club in Huntington Park where folks in the community gather together at a restaurant to take space, drink aguas frescas and make zines.

  • Denisse Rodarte

    Denisse Rodarte is a product of SELA who now resides in Echo Park. Growing up to Mexican immigrant parents in SELA during the 80’s and 90’s gave Denisse a foundation in her later work in community organizing and running her small business. Surrounded by a unique Latinx culture in SELA also shaped her love of music and art!

  • Exhibition Coordinator & Designer

    Edlin G. Lopez is a community organizer, artist and educator. She received a Bachelor’s degree in studio art from Humboldt State University with a minor in Art History, as well as a certificate for Museum and Gallery Practices. She holds a California Teaching credential in Multiple Subject Education and currently works as a fifth grade teacher. Her commitment to educating and providing access to resources for her community is evident in every project she takes on. She facilitates community events, and works as a project consultant in a variety of capacities ranging from curriculum development to exhibition design and curation. Deeply dedicated to the work in the Los Angeles River and open spaces, she was the curator for the art gallery of the SELA Arts Festival since from 2018- 2020, and continues to expand the notoriety of her home region of SouthEast Los Angeles through Open Walls, an online exhibition studio founded by herself and Albert Orozco, artist and architect.

  • Alma is a cultural worker and bookworm from Walnut Park/Huntington Park. Her project, Libros con Alma, launched in 2021 as a book sharing initiative focused on giving free books by authors of color and books in Spanish to residents and friends of southeast Los Angeles.