Identities and Belonging: Disrupting & Expanding Our Notion of Latinidad

In this episode you will hear the voices of Natalia Garzón Martínez, Victoria García, Jonathan Peraza-Campos, and Delia Mendez. They come together to discuss the contradictions that exist with the term "Latinidad" and the importance of nuancing terms to include historically silenced and marginalized voices. When does fitting in become assimilation? How can we break the box instead of trying to fit into it? Listen to this episode to hear organizers and creatives discuss what it means to step into your own autonomy, create collective consciousness, and build power that centers both preservation and change.

Victoria Garcia

Victoria García is a Chicana visual artist and designer from Doraville, Georgia. She got her BFA in Graphic Design at the Art Institute of Atlanta and has been working in the creative industry for the last decade. Her upbringing in Atlanta’s "International Village", or Buford Highway, has led her to focus on the intersection of art and activism as it pertains to immigration policy, diasporas, and gentrification.

Jonathan Peraza

Jonathan Peraza Campos (he/him/él) is a Central American educator and organizer with the Buford Highway People's Hub. He has taught Latinx studies and political education classes for years to youth and adults on Buford Highway and beyond in schools, in movement spaces, and with nonprofit organizations. He supports teachers who want to incorporate Latinx and Central American studies across U.S. classrooms as the program specialist for Teaching Central America at Teaching for Change and an educational consultant.

Delia Mendez-Valdez

Delia Mendez-Valdez currently serves as We Love Buford Highway’s Program and Communications Coordinator. As she grew up along Buford Highway, she became a passionate advocate for community engagement. Starting as a youth program leader, she evolved into a community outreach coordinator, organizing health fairs and providing crucial health education and services to the local Hispanic and Latino population.