Despabila! is a collective centered on intersections of art and social justice, with emphasis on Latin America and US communities of color. Founded after Chile’s 2019 protests, we seek to educate, inspire, and grow connections among movements for change through artistic expression.
Marcela Soto: Artist, cook, graphic designer, and feminist, with +33 years of experience in this life. She moved to Seattle in 2015 and since then she has been connecting art in various forms from Seattle to Santiago and Vice versa. Marcela is director and curator of Chile Woke, a curatorial platform, with the goal of promoting the work of artists and photographers that are currently developing projects related to the social and political crisis ongoing in Chile since October 18th, 2019. She uses art as her main media to fight for what she believes and bring solidarity between communities.
Despabila’s Interview Series engages writers and visual artists from across the Americas in a series of recorded conversations about the role of art and writing in struggles for social justice. Our first interview series focuses on Chile, and features the work of graphic designers, printmakers, writers, and musicians whose work has responded to political events in Chile, from the Pinochet dictatorship to the more recent estallido social.
Peña Quisera Dar Mi Voz took place at Evergreen State College's House of Welcome, on March 16, 2023; from 18:00 to 21:00.
The first Peña Despabila took place at Casa Latina, on January 11, 2020; from 18:00 to 22:00. It counted with the presence of over 15 local musicians, poets and speakers; who presented for an estimated audience of 50 attendees. (Sacado del reporte de la peña.)