About Angélica
Hola. My name is Angélica and I'm a multi-disciplinary and performing artist. I recently graduated with an MFA in Studio Arts with a focus on photography and multi-media storytelling. My professional life also focuses on advocacy for human equity—particularly in underserved communities and for women and children of color.
I was born in Los Angeles to Salvadoreño and Mexican parents and I spent a large part of my childhood performing on stages and television on the Televisa network studios in Mexico City. Part of my musical accomplishments include being an award-winning recording artist with solo CDs titled, Angel Baby (Quality Records) and Angelica (Arista Records). My first production was a mariachi album recorded at the age of 15 in Mexico City with the famous Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, and produced by the mariachi Vargas' musical director, Pepe Martinez.
I'm also a photographer and advocate for social justice. I spent recent years working with the migrant farmworker and immigrant communities of rural Virginia where I co-founded the non-profit Dos Santos Food Pantry. My advocacy work in the areas of immigrant rights and food justice led me to become close with the Latino communities I served in rural Virginia. Through this community work I obtained a new understanding of what the working-poor endure in this country and how there are so many misconceptions of how food is grown and harvested. I stood with many farmworkers, food factory workers, house cleaners, and other immigrants who couldn't afford to purchase fresh produce or make ends meet with their low wages, yet they faced constant racial discrimination for taking grueling jobs that not many people wanted. This work transformed me. Both of my parents were once migrant farmworkers and I made a commitment to shed light on these issues of injustice.
At the same time that I was working as an immigrant advocate in rural Virginia, I was also studying photography at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore (UMES) where I later received my Bachelor's degree in design and photography. My lens sometimes became a way to tell stories of the people I was working with and of issues of social justice that spoke to me. To continue the work of human equity, I chose to apply to a graduate program at a tribal college—to further advance my studies of indigenous peoples and to learn of the history not taught in schools. I recently graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts and I reside in Long Beach, California. I hope to continue to advocate and raise awareness of my own culture, and that of black, indigenous people of color (BIPOC) in this country.
Thank you for visiting my site,
~Angélica