KXEP-LP Empower House Radio

Platica y Poetics S2E9 Jo Reyes-Boitel

My sit-down with Jo Reyes-Boitel began with a platica as if we were sitting down at a smallvintage metal table with cafecito Cubano in hand. She began by sharing who the artist andindividual are setting the stage by exploring who she is and how she exists in the world. Thisunique foundation led seamlessly into a discussion of her work, focusing on her distinctive voiceand the sensuous undercurrents that define her writing. Jo shared with us her favorite sensorypleasures—offering insights into how these elements enrich her creative process and deepen herconnection to the world. She spoke of the sensual clarity and inner alignment that manifest in herwriting, revealing how these qualities arose as precursors to her work or as revelations within it.Desire, she notes, operates as a central blueprint for her, a celebration of diverse identities thatinfluence her craft. In discussing Mouth, Jo delved into how her poetry navigates thecomplexities of intimate partner violence, queer survival, and femme-centered femininity. Sheexplores how lush, sensuous imagery allows her to approach difficult topics with emotionaldepth while highlighting the resilience of the queer body. Through juxtaposing pain withtriumph, her work reimagines the fairy tale narrative, gifting a voice to marginalizedperspectives. In discussing Michael + Josephine, she reflected on the exploration of queer Latinxintimacy, deepening the conversation about queerness within Latinx communities, revealing howthe divine and the everyday intertwine, speaks to the the complexities of love, humanconnection, and trauma recovery. The duality of tenderness and recklessness in her poetry, asdescribed by Anel I. Flores, reflects the vulnerability and strength of her characters, capturing themultifaceted nature of existence and her commitment to reshaping narratives of identity,survival, and liberation.

Happy Hour w/ Elda Olvera - Honoring Black History Month

Sala Artisté w/ Karla Kopalli

Sala Artisté w/ Vic Janitzi Estrada

The Resilience Within S2E13 Pilgrimage w/ Carla Pineda

Carla lost her husband Paul in July 2024 after 10 years of major health challenges and 36 years of a life well loved.  She shares her journey of grieving the loss of her beloved husband, Paul Pineda, who passed away 6 months ago. She shares some of the surprises along the way, and likens her experience to a pilgrimage, where it is about the journey, not the destination. Carla finds that Paul is still with her on this journey.
Carla is a journaling/writing workshop and retreat leader with a background in psychology/counseling and is a certified spiritual director.  She manages the bookstore at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Tx. and is a co-facilitator of The Wisdom Years, a  ministry focused on spiritual growth in the last third of life.  

The Resilience Within S2E12 Feeling The Feelings w/ Daniel Ramirez

Daniel Ramirez, poet and teaching artist, shares about his journey of feeling the depths of his emotions through meditation and breath. For Daniel, sacred poetry - by sacred poets such as Rumi and Hafez - was a deep medicine in his grieving process. These days he continues to show up in the world with a conscious, intentional connection to what’s happening within.  

The Resilience Within S2E11 A Moment To Reflect w/ Armando Estrada

Happy New Year! Today Armando Estrada joins me in the studio to take a moment to look at Empower House Radio and what it’s all about. Then we spoke about The Resilience Within and the spirit behind it.

The Resilience Within S2E10 Reclaiming The Narrative w/ Sarah Joy Thompson

Sarah Joy Thompson shares the story of navigating loss and grief after the passing of her father and then later undergoing treatment for aggressive breast cancer. She found ways to ‘reclaim the narrative,’ including through the exploration of movement, dance and poetry.
Sarah Joy Thompson is a Filipina-American poet and the author of a chapbook The Everyday, the Mundane, and the Brave (Finishing Line Press, 2019) and a full-length poetry collection Driving into Black Mountains (FlowerSong Press, 2020). 

Happy Hour / Elda and Venus w/ Bennie Price Big Mamas Safe House

Empower Community Health w/ Thrive Youth