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Elevate Live: The Connection between Art and Heritage

This week’s Elevar y Celebrar chat introduces Jose Castro, a local artist of Redwood City, CA. Jose, better known as “Castro”, has been exhibiting his artwork for 10 years throughout the Bay Area. Castro conveys the intricacies of everyday life within his community by blending chicanoism and politics with family, spirituality, and nature. Castro will discuss how art plays a pivotal role in LatinX and Hispanic cultures, and how he uses his work to inspire across generations. Be sure to tune in on the Elevate Facebook Page on Friday October 2nd at 10AM PT.

Esta semana en Elevar y Celebrar presentamos a José Castro, artista local de Redwood City, California. José, más conocido como “Castro”, ha expuesto sus obras de arte alrededor de toda el área de la Bahía en los últimos 10 años. Las obras de arte de Castro combinan la intersección de vida cotidiana con chicanismo, política, familia, espiritualidad y naturaleza. En nuestra entrevista, conversaremos con Castro acerca del rol que el arte juega en la cultura Latina y cómo utiliza su arte para inspirar distintas generaciones hispanas. No te lo pierdas este viernes 2 de Octubre en la página oficial del programa Elevar de Facebook a las 10AM PT.

Jose Castro | Guest Speaker

Jose Castro, better known as “Castro”, is a local artist from the North Fair Oaks district in unincorporated Redwood City. Jose has exhibited his artwork for over ten years and has curated over a dozen shows in the Bay Area. Painting and illustration have been an integral part of Castro’s life for as long as he can remember, and his struggles with color-blindness have not stopped him from creating. He allows the imagery of his art to breathe the stories of his ancestry and culture as a LatinX artist, including the emotions and feelings of struggle, resilience, and inspired by many of the lived experiences of his community. He enjoys capturing the harmony between the little things in life; such as nature, family, healthy living, and spirituality with a blend of Chicanoism and politics. Different mediums allow him to express varying ideas to fully inspire his viewers and capture their attention for the moment.

Marlene Castro | Host

Marlene Catro is the Program Manager, Education Partnerships at Facebook. Community-oriented education programs have been key to transforming Marlene’s life as a Bay Area, CA native and a first-generation LatinX high school and college graduate. Marlene was driven by her personal and professional journey in building and directing educational programs for youth and young professionals with a racial equity lens and leading community-oriented initiatives. From the K-12 Classroom, to nonprofits, and now at Facebook, she has been able to gather best practices to build program solutions that create urgent pathways to opportunities in computer science education and overall digital skills training for historically underrepresented communities. Her strengths combine designing and facilitating meaningful learning experiences and training, establishing strong and mutually beneficial partnerships, and scaling ideas into new campaigns and programmatic investments. On her down time you will find her volunteering in classrooms, hiking the Bay Area, taking a dance class, or enjoying some down time with her husband and their yorkie, Frida.