Musical Guest: LILA DOWNS

Lila Downs is one of the most influential artists in Latin America. She has a magnificent, unique voice and is known for her charismatic performances. Her own compositions combine genres and rhythms as diverse as Mexican rancheras and corridos, boleros, jazz standards, hip-hop, cumbia and popular American music. Frequently, her lyrics focus on justice, immigration and women’s issues. Recently, she has collaborated with the band “Mujeres del Viento Florido” an orchestra composed of Indigenous women  from  Tlahuitoltepec, Oaxaca, with whom she is pictured here.

She grew up in both Minnesota and Oaxaca, Mexico. Her mother is of Mixtec indigenous origin and her father was Scottish-American. Lila sings in Spanish, English, and several Native American languages ​​such as Zapotec, Mixtec, Nahuatl, Mayan and Purepecha.

She has recorded duets with artists such as Mercedes Sosa, Caetano Veloso, Juanes, Nora Jones, Juan Gabriel, Carla Morrison, Natalia LaFourcade, Santana, Nina Pastori, Soledad, Diego La Cigala, Aida Cuevas, Toto La Momposina, and Bunbury. Chavela Vargas “named” Lila as her “successor.” Lila has recorded nine studio albums. She has won a Grammy and 5 Latin Grammys.

Lila has been an ardent supporter of scholarships for Oaxacan Indigenous young women through the Fondo Guadalupe Musalem of Oaxaca, and also a good friend and supporter of the Chicana Latina Foundation.  We are honored to have her support.

Emcee: Marga Gomez

Marga Gomez was voted “2020 SF Bay Guardian Best Of The Bay Comedian” and was an original member of Culture Clash. Marga Gomez has been featured on LOGO, Comedy Central, and HBO’s “Comic Relief” at the invitation of Robin Williams who called her “Amazing… a lesbian Lenny Bruce.” The New York Times has called her “deliciously cheeky.” She is also the writer/performer of thirteen solo plays which have been presented nationally, Off-Broadway and internationally. Her acting credits include the Off-Broadway Ars Nova production of “Dr. Rides American Beach House” (November 2019) and roles on “Sense8” (Netflix) and HBO’s “Tracy Takes on…”  NBC named her one of eleven “Out Latinos you should know.” She is an Artist-In-Residence at Brava Theatre, San Francisco. 
2019 Marga stand-up clip.

KQED July 22, 2020
“Within two weeks of the shutdown, Gomez had already launched the first of many virtual comedy shows, the format of which she’s tweaked with each subsequent edition. First there were midday comedy brunches, then afternoon “high tea,” a Cinco de Mayo bash, a birthday party doubling as a political fundraiser, and, most recently, 30-minute “queer quickies” with co-host, the fabulous Jesús U. BettaWork. And finally, at long last, live-streamed performances of The Spanking Machine, running through July 25.”
Link to article.

New York Times July 15, 2020
“No Zoom window could possibly contain the outsize personality of Marga Gomez.”
Link to article.

OmeDJ: Ome López

Ome DJ’s full-time and is the co-founder of Dulce UpFront, an award-winning multi-media art-activist organization. Dulce UpFront has produced over one hundred events capturing the attention of thousands of people, working in partnership with a large constellation of artists, activists, event producers, Organizations, and colleges from throughout the state of California. As a two-spirited state wide DJ Ome has an infectious energetic stage presence & an eclectic pallet in song selections. In 2018, Ome was awarded Inspirational Queer Activist by Queer Out and highlighted by Rise Up as part of the next generation of activists in California who are actively creating and inspiring change on a local and global level. In 2020, Ome was awarded City of Fresno District One Woman of the Year in Arts & Culture.

Honorees:

  • Legacy Award:
    Estela Garcia
  • Trailblazer Award:
    Christina Fletes
  • Keynote Speaker:
    Carmen Perez Jordan
  • Musical Guest: Lila Downs
  • Alumnae Introductions:
    Mariam Al’Helew &
    Karen Crespo Treviño
  • Student Speakers:
    Marlene Mercado &
    Marjorie Blen

2020 Leadership and Scholarship Awardees:

Adriana Mora

Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior with a Minor in Human Development UC Davis School of Medicine

Alexa Morales

Computer Science

SFSU

Alitzel Blanco

Anthropology

UC Berkeley

Amanda Ceballos

Feminist Studies and Theater Arts

UC Santa Cruz

Ana Rodriguez

Social Welfare and Gender, and Women’s Studies

UC Berkeley

Anamaria Morales

American Studies with an emphasis on business and entrepreneurship, minor in Chicano Latino Studies

UC Berkeley

Andrea Zamora

Intended Public Health

UC Berkeley

Angelica Esquivel

Chicana and Chicano Studies

SJSU

Emelia Leon

Master’s of Public Health

USF

Estefania Villicana-Albanil

Sociology

UC Berkeley

Eunice Paredes

Spanish and Portuguese

UC Berkeley

Fatima Cervantes

Biology / Pre-Med

De Anza

Gilary Carrasco

Sociology

UC Santa Cruz

Gilda Temaj

Ethnic Studies

UC Berkeley

Jackelyne Carrillo

Sociology AA-T

CC of San Francisco

Jacqueline Salguera

Intended Public Health

UC Berkeley

Jaline Chan

Health Education

SFSU

Karina Gonzalez

Master’s of Social Work

SJSU

Lorenza Villanueva

AA Economics and AA Interdisciplinary Studies

Cañada College

Maria Suarez-Nieto

Biology (Neurobiology) and Human Rights

Stanford University

Mariam Hernandez Mendoza

Biology

Gavilan College

Marjorie Blen

Sociology

SFSU

Marlene Mercado

Cultural Studies

UC Davis

Raquel Zepeda

Juris Doctor

Stanford Law School

Roxanna Villalobos

Sociology

UC Santa Cruz

Valeria Aguillon

Master’s of Education

SFSU

Vicky Zavala

Masters of Criminal Justice

SJSU

Viridiana Castro Silva

Liberal Studies

CSU Sacramento

Yanelit Madriz Zarate

Associates in Arts for Transfer

Berkeley CC

Yesenia Matias Chavez

Masters of Arts in Counselor Education

SJSU

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