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Platica Y Poetics S3E10 w/ Dr. Hector Garza

Dr. Hector Garza
In a wholesome and intimate conversation, Dr. Héctor Garza, a celebrated San Antonio artist and
educator, opened up to us about his lifelong journey as a creator rooted in borderland identity,
queer expression, and pedagogical purpose. Known for his vibrant fusion of Mexican
iconography with American pop culture, Garza’s work transcends boundaries—most notably in
his reinterpretation of la lotería, where sacred figures like la Virgen and political symbols like
Uncle Sam co-exist, inviting viewers to reflect on cultural dualities. He traces his hybrid
aesthetic to early visual memories from his childhood, living in el barrio El Pateon where lucha
libre, calaveras, and vibrant neighborhood murals shaped his imagination. He described
nepantla—the liminal in-between space—as central to both his life and work, reflecting the
borderland condition of navigating queerness, cultural tension, and identity multiplicity. Through
collage and mixed media, he shapes to shapeshift bodies and experiences, crafting pieces that
feel as nostalgic as they are subversive. Influenced by both contemporary Latinx queer artists
and iconic Mexican visual traditions, Garza draws inspiration from the likes of Keith Haring and
María Félix to mask-wearing luchadores and street altars he has spent over 20 years teaching,
recently honored as Educator of the Year at Incarnate Word High School sharing how his
students, especially queer, bicultural youth, are at the heart of his creative drive. Hector
emphasized that academic research enhanced his ability to contextualize his work, but that his
visual voice has always been rooted in instinct, memory, and the hybrid body. We spoke of the
evolution of queer Latinx art both unapologetic, and sacred. A direct reflection on the politics of
duality, beauty of contradiction, and visual storytelling that reveals within every hue and stroke.
Dr. Héctor Garza reminds us that art is survival, and hybridity is power.

Empower Community Health- Fiesta Youth

Empower Community Health- Positively Devoted

Empower Community Health- The ARC San Antonio

Empower Community Health- Northern Hills Ministry

The Resilience Within- Stories That Resonate 3

Platica Y Poetics S3E9 w/ Liz Coronado Castillo

Queer Lineage, Landed Memory, and Healing Narratives were the themes in an intimate and layered platica inspired by Gabriela Mistral’s “Dame la Mano,” with playwright and poet Liz Coronado Castillo to explore the intersections of queerness, ancestry, and storytelling. Just as Mistral’s work offers a quiet but potent manifesto of unity and sensual resistance, Liz’s voice emerges from the soil of West Texas and northern Chihuahua, to honor the complexities of identity and belonging. She spoke of how her family's roots—working-class, resilient, and deeply spiritual—continue to shape her voice as a queer Chicana writer navigating the liminal spaces between cultures and generations. Liz illuminated the power of duality: Xicana and scholar, poet and playwright, grief and healing, she reckons with trauma and transformation, describing how poetry and playwriting serve as tools for liberation, not just personally, but communally. Her advocacy work as Director of Student Success at St. Philip’s College shines through in her art, championing students from historically excluded backgrounds, and this ethos of radical belonging pulses through her poems and plays. The importance of presence, silence, and witnessing—practices that inform not just how she writes, but how she holds space for others is visible and felt throughout page and stage, carving space for queer, brown, and nonconforming bodies to exist fully and fiercely—without apology.

The Resilience Within- Stories That Resonate 2

The Resilience Within- Stories That Resonate 1

Platica Y Poetics S3E8 w/Osmani Ochoa

Migrant Futurism, Poetics, and Survival were themes in my cosmic resonant conversation with Osmani Ochoa—queer Mexican-Xicanx poet, editor, and immigrant rights organizer. He shared insight into their creative and political vision, deeply informed by lived experience, collective struggle, and radical imagination. Their forthcoming chapbook, ‘How to Survive an Asthma Attack in a Climate Apocalypse’, fuses bodily precarity with ecological collapse, revealing the intimate links between environmental violence and racialized breathlessness. His poetry pulses with urgency, queerness, and tenderness, all while channeling migrant futurism as both a political framework and a narrative strategy. Drawing on their work as an organizer in San Antonio, Ochoa’s voice is rooted in solidarity and survival where they explore the queer, brown body as both vulnerable and defiant—alive despite dispossession. Their commitment to amplifying marginalized voices is further expressed through their editorial work at Maíz Poppin’ Press, where they uplift writers pushing against colonial and capitalist frameworks. Their love for Mexican musical icons reveals an aesthetic lineage for artists who transgress norms with flair and emotion. Reflecting on place, Ochoa emphasized how San Antonio and Mexico inform their consciousness—culturally, spiritually, and politically, by embracing hybridity, write for those who come after you, and dare to imagine beyond survival—toward liberation.