Ari Mejia
Producer, Audio & Community Storytelling, Vocalo
Stories by Ari Mejia
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The Rundown: Mayadet Patitucci Cruz says organizing and healing go hand-in-hand
Mayadet Patitucci Cruz focuses their work on bringing resources to LGBTQ+ youth around the city.
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Traveling parties are part of a queer Chicago culture of partying as resistance
Starting in the 1980s, Executive Sweet was a traveling party that focused on Black lesbians. Two of its longtime organizers say they aren’t finished yet.
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The Rundown: A Chicago-based doula takes healing into their own hands
Daisy Zamora is a proud Latinx Chicagoan focused on bettering her community. She’s a volunteer doula, who also works to create healing among young people.
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The Rundown: Chicago-based creator Tony Smith molds minds with multimedia art
Multimedia artist Tony Smith uses his experiences to teach students at the Hyde Park Art Center how to have their own voice through art.
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The Rundown: How Chicago shaped sci-fi illustrator Ennis Martin
Ennis Martin is an illustrator, painter and science fiction fanatic. He tells his story as part of Vocalo’s “Chi Sounds Like” series.
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Chi Sounds Like: Chicago filmmaker explores Black cultural expression
Paige Taul says her journey started when another Black person told her she wasn’t Black.
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The Rundown: A nature sanctuary in Chicago meant for healing
Beatrice Scescke was raised in Chicago but always dreamed of connecting with nature. She shares more in Vocalo’s series “Chi Sounds Like.”
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Chi Sounds Like: Chicago mother creates midwifery catering to Black and Brown women
Jeanine Valrie Logan saw a need for women of color in maternal health when she struggled to find a Black midwife during her own pregnancy.
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The Rundown: Kimberly Dixon-Mays is no stranger to the power of words
Poet, playwright and performer Kimberly Dixon-Mays knows the power of words. She shares more through Vocalo’s series “Chi Sounds Like.”
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Chi Sounds Like: Writer Tempestt Hazel revels In Bronzeville’s history and culture
Hazel says she often thinks about “the way that cultural preservation is directly linked to how we understand what is valued in society.”
