outstanding latinos
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Art for the community

Mario “Río Alberto” Zavala is a Mexican artist and organizer, whose mother immigrated to the United States from Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Raised on a farm in Othello, Washington, he is one of 8 of his father’s children. A photographer herself, Rio’s mother instilled in her children an appreciation for the arts, and they were enrolled in piano lessons from a young age. Around this time was when Rio discovered the art of theatre and storytelling through music. Rio went on to study at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Massachusetts, as well as the Chicago College of Performing Arts Theatre Conservatory.

Since then, Río has become an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion for minority artists in theatre, through his work as a company member at Perseverance Theatre in Juneau. Perseverance Theatre’s production of “Devilfish”, by Vera Starbard, was a landmark in the organization’s journey toward equitable and inclusive representation of the indigenous culture in Juneau.
 
In addition to his work as an artist, Rio has also been an organizer with RAIZ, a program started by Planned Parenthood that works to provide support and resources to the Latinx and undocumented communities here in the United States. Last summer, Rio had the opportunity of developing a camp with Latinx leaders and culture bearers, sponsored by Out North to bring Aztec history and culture to kids in the Anchorage community.

​This summer, Zavala plans to travel throughout the lower 48 before returning to Juneau to continue working towards a more accessible theatre arts community.  
Macehualiztli, The Aztec Dance
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By Eduardo Topiltzin Gómez
Translated by Itzel Zagal
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The cultural roots of the inhabitants who have occupied the American continent since ancient times unite us under a vision of love for Mother Earth, respect for all living beings and harmony with the cosmos, coexisting of our ancestors between the common good of the peoples and communication with the earthly and spiritual plains. Traditional Aztec troupe Monarca, brings a message of fraternity through our prayer in motion that is the Mexican or Aztec dance, the flower and the song “In Xochitl in Cuicatl”.