Dr. Olga Terrazas Trailblazer Award

Reyna Grande

Reyna Grande is the author of the bestselling memoirs, The Distance Between Us (Atria, 2012) and A Dream Called Home (Atria, 2018), where she writes about her life before and after she arrived in the United States from Mexico as an undocumented child immigrant.  Born in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, Reyna was two years old when her father left for the U.S. to find work. Her mother followed her father north two years later, leaving Reyna and her siblings behind in Mexico. In 1985, when Reyna was nine, she left Iguala to make her own journey north.

Writing about immigration, family separation, language trauma, the price of the American Dream, and her writing journey, Reyna’s work has appeared in The New York Times, the Dallas Morning News, CNN, The Lily at The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, among others. In March 2020, she was a guest on Oprah’s Book Club television special. Reyna has received an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlán Literary Award, and the International Latino Book Award

Musical Guest

OmeDJ: Ome López

Since they began DJing in 1999 Omedj has become known for their infectious energetic stage presence & an eclectic pallet in song selections. Ome has performed and emceed in front of audiences awaiting Grammy-winning artists such as La Santa Cecilia and Little Joe y La Familia to other acclaimed acts like Ty Dolla $ign, Saul Williams, Chicano Batman, Las Cafeteras & Climbing Poetree. In addition to their DJ duties, Ome Quetzal Lopez is also the co-founder of Dulce UpFront, an award-winning multi-media art-activist organization, having produced over one hundred events capturing the attention of thousands of people. In 2018, Ome was awarded Inspirational Queer Activist by Queer Out and highlighted by Rise Up, alongside Alicia Garza & Bambadjan Bamba, 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.