Creatives Narrating Our American History in 2020
My name is Veronica Montes and I am an aspiring writer and content strategist. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share my voice and part of my story especially as this year concludes. With so much more time on my hands in 2020, I made the conscious choice to focus on as many creative projects that filled me with peace, joy, and happiness. Some of my creative projects included reworking my own clothes, sketching, painting, and my first passion, writing. I find these creative and therapeutic projects teach me patience, discipline, perseverance, and skill as I express my authentic self.
The following are some of the amazingly talented creatives who have inspired me to write and build the courage to share my work. I strongly believe their contributions to our collective community are an important part of American history. They tell beautiful stories about culture, inclusion, community, and who we are as a country.
Anastacia Favela
I met Anastacia about five years ago and we’ve kept a friendship despite space and time. We love talking about spirituality, female sexuality, and higher consciousness. On her YouTube channel, Wild Owl Woman, she creates a space for people from all walks of life to spend time reflecting on things happening within themselves and their minds. A certified energy healer with a Master’s degree in analytical psychology from the University of Essex, a Bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Columbia College Chicago, and years of experience in teaching meditation, Anastacia recently welcomed me as a guest on her channel to discuss our unique experiences as Mexican American women.
On her channel, she creates a platform to elevate multi-faceted stories behind many people of color, artists, gender non-conforming individuals, and powerfully wild women pushing boundaries on our traditional American ideals to grow and evolve. Most importantly, she offers free insights on analytical psychology and has expressed the limited accessibility to services in this area to those who are healing and are in most need.
Nick Norment
Nick is a comedian from Chicago and I worked with him when I was a server a few years ago. He worked security and I always enjoyed our fun conversations as he walked me to my car late at night to ensure I was safely on my way home. We would often joke about how we would work for SNL one day and brainstormed skits based on the obscene scenarios we saw in the nightlife. I am so proud he has produced several amazing comedy shows. Most importantly, in doing so, he shed light on the fact that many comedy theaters in Chicago offered limited opportunities to comedians of color. I am so proud to see Nick transcend from aspiring to a professional comedian who creates space and opportunities for other comedians of color to thrive.
Elena Sáenz at 18th Street Vintage
Elena is a Latina business owner creating reworked fashion that elevates Pilsen’s unique urban fashion trends with an infusion of 90’s nostalgia, designer branding, and Mexican culture. Her hustle is not only sustainable and inspiring but also embodies the extraordinary beauty in our community by celebrating bodies of all types of colors, shapes, and sizes. I had the pleasure of working with her behind the bar and her sweet vibrant female boss energy shines in her pieces. She creates fierce fashion for our community that is not only easily accessible but affordable.
Mateo Zapata
Mateo is a photojournalist and multimedia artist. I met him about five years ago when I worked briefly as a community organizer in a heated gentrified Pilsen. We had a deep conversation about our love for the community and the purpose to do our part to preserve it. This year, his beautiful photos documented the protests against racism and police brutality in Chicago. In addition, he documented the Latinx experience during the pandemic. His work reminded me of the passionate conversation we had about living our truth and purpose.
Recently, he captured an Aztec dancer adorned with a beautiful feathered headpiece performing an ancient ritual in the streets of Pilsen at Miguel Vega’s community memorial service. These images inspired me to seek strength in the spiritual warriors of our ancestors and to channel the truth of a people we once were prior to imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism in the midst of the chaotic world we were currently living in. It gave me so much strength, vitality, and vision after exploring that connection in my meditations, research, and spiritual rituals.
Shirien Damra
Shirien is a Chicago artist with roots in Palestine. As an illustrator and designer, she uses her work as an act of healing for social justice. Many of us connected with her work throughout this year’s catalyst of events that left us in pain and distraught. We found solace in the vibrant colors in which she painted our hope and solidarity. Learn more about her and her work in a recent article published by Elle Magazine.
Phoebe Robinson
I am in love with Phoebe Robinson’s podcast Black Frasier. She is one of my favorite female actresses and comedians. I look forward to the many fun and memorable guests she hosts. She has interviewed Tracee Ellis Ross, Jameela Jamil, Michelle Buteau, Hasan Minhaj, Whitney Cummings, Michelle Obama, and many more discussing topics such as financial health (it’s a thing like mental health), living your truth, social justice issues such as police brutality, and 2020.
After I recently returned to Twitter, Phoebe responded to my professed love for her more than once and so the connection is probably mutual. I truly believe one day we will meet, hit it off, and the rest is history. I am so grateful for her work because the many laughs and tears I’ve experienced from listening to Black Frasier helped me get through 2020. It is therapy that is free but please support by buying some merch!
Alok Vaid-Menon
My favorite episode of Black Frasier featured fashion icon Alok and the topic was about freeing ourselves from societal expectations in order to be who we truly are for our own sake of inner peace. Alok (they/them) is an internationally renowned gender non-conforming writer and performance artist. In this episode, every word uttered by Alok clapped at so many truths many people struggle to embrace because humans are conditioned to see themselves through the eyes and expectations of other people. I’ve watched this episode several times and it always shakes me to my core with joy.
As an energetic being, I made personal and professional choices that made the common eye judge me as unambitious, disloyal, mentally unstable, or aloof to the realities of the human realm. Whereas, I felt the strength of a spiritual warrior choosing truth, inner peace, spiritual guidance, energetic healing, transformation, and happiness. I honor my choices as part of the evolution of human consciousness that transcends beyond the commonly known “truths” that only belong and are limited to this earth realm. I am proud Alok has challenged the common narrative of gender non-conforming and transgender individuals because it breaks away from a focus on dying tragically to living authentically and that is immensely powerful. I also truly feel their poetic insights on living authentically are also revolutionary for human conditioning, healing, and culture in general.
Tamika Newhouse
I am currently a content writer intern at AAMBC Inc., founded by Tamika Newhouse, author of 17 novels. She is my current mentor, boss, and inspiration. In addition to serving as the founder and CEO of Delphine Publications and Delphine Legacy Media, she has helped launch the careers of hundreds of writers and elevated access to opportunities for Black creatives through the success of Black Writers Weekend. In her podcast Traces of Mika, she shares her triumphs and tribulations as a successful Black woman author, creative entrepreneur, single woman, and former teen mother. She lives and succeeds authentically, as well as shares her wealth of insights to pave opportunities. Most importantly, she shares her personal life and healing including her battle with depression. I’m so thrilled to be contributing to the release of the second season of Traces of Mika, so stay tuned. I also look forward to growing as a writer under her mentorship.
In my professional career, I have been mentored predominantly by white women. Although I am very grateful, as an aspiring writer and a Latina, I am very fortunate to have Tamika as a mentor because she inspires me to make my own community proud in the near future, as well as by connecting and building solidarity among the diverse stories of women in my life.
The End of 2020
This past year has been a tumultuous year for us all. As this year concludes, keep in mind to continue to support creatives, especially creatives of color and nonbinary individuals, who are inspiring and narrating our inclusive American cultural revolution. If you are a creative, celebrate our truth as a collective culture and pave opportunities for others to do the same. No matter age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or spiritual beliefs, you have the power to inspire other people to become a better version of themselves, as well as express their truth to the rest of the world, by just being who you are.
I was born, raised, and currently live in Chicago. I’m a proud daughter of two immigrant parents from Mexico. They are incredibly hard-working people who came to this country illegally to escape poverty. My dad is now a legal resident and my mother is a citizen. I am part of the first generation in my family to graduate from a university in the States. I have taken many unconventional turns in my professional career, but have done so trusting wholeheartedly in my inner spiritual guidance and commitment to my spiritual growth and evolution as an energetic being, a luxury my parents did not know.
Originally posted on the NIOT Daniel Island’s VOICES blog.
