LOOKING BACK
For a decade now, Boyle Heights Beat’s youth journalists have reported on some of the neighborhood’s most outstanding businesses, institutions and individuals. In this recurring series, we’re revisiting our sources and updating some of those stories.
When Carmelita Ramírez-Sánchez was eight years old, she told her family she wanted to be on the radio.
“I want to be the voice that comes out through the air,” she recalled saying.
Her father purchased equipment so she could practice and become comfortable with being a radio host.
That passion would continue to blossom into high school and college, when Ramírez-Sánchez interned at a local radio show, and later for a hip-hop record label. But that was only the beginning.
In 1991, Ramírez-Sánchez’s career success reached exciting heights when she became the first woman to serve as the vice president of Interscope’s hip-hop record label, Poetic Groove.
“I had some really wonderful femtors [female mentors] and mentors, and I was able to establish myself comfortably in the industry,” she said.
After roles in sports reporting, radio shows, and consulting for brands like Nike, Adidas, and Warner Bros, Ramírez-Sánchez launched her own nonprofit, “r.e.i.n.a.s” (realizing every idea needs a start) to support teen girls from underserved backgrounds and promote access to the media industry.
Now, as executive director of the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC), an arts and media nonprofit, Ramírez-Sánchez gets to mentor others who, like her, have developed an interest in media at a young age.
“From the beginning, this is what we have been advocating for, to develop young people into careers that have just been historically denied these opportunities in the past,” Ramírez-Sánchez said.
The Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory opened its doors to the public in 2011, on the first floor of a building that houses the historic Paramount Ballroom on Cesar Chavez Avenue. Years prior, conservatory founder and board president Frank Acevedo became interested in the building’s historical significance and chose to restore the venue for the community.
Long before joining the BHAC, Ramírez-Sánchez was in conversation with Acevedo about bridging the gap between diversity and opportunity in the media industry.
Through her work, she had found there was a need to educate emerging artists on the business side of the industry, along with a space that would allow young people to explore creative workforce opportunities.
While the space first started offering free music lessons, with Ramírez-Sánchez at the helm, the conservatory transitioned to a variety of youth programming with a focus on workforce development in media and arts. Since then, it’s served as an arts and creative space open to youth and community members of all ages. Among its main goals is to promote equity and diversity in mixed media and creative arts-based careers.
Programming today includes music production, podcasting, and a mural academy, among many more creative opportunities open to the youth. It also hosts 101.5 FM KQBH L.A., a community radio station.
Giselle Contreras, 17, is a senior at Roosevelt High School and a working artist part of The Mural Workforce Academy, a paid opportunity for youth to create murals and learn from a crew of intergenerational artists. Contreras is currently working on a collective mural piece about the indigenous roots of chocolate.
“Here, we’re solely focused on art stuff. So it’s really cool to just work with artists and piece something that is going to go in our community,” said Contreras. “I really wanted to be in an atmosphere with a bunch of different artists and get more experience in the field.”
Fellow mural artist and Roosevelt High School senior, Kylie Mojica, who’s also part of The Mural Workforce Academy, says what keeps her coming back to the BHAC is the people.
“They are really nice and I thought it would be very serious, where we’re just sitting here doing our job but… they take us out, give us food. It’s like a little home here, a little community, a little family,” said Mojica.
Among the working artists are also some of the dedicated individuals who teach programming in their respective mediums.
Teaching artist Monica Tamayo, 27, a podcast instructor, shares that working with the youth and promoting these creative career paths is empowering.
“It’s really nice to help motivate [youth], especially the young women, who are thinking about being in this industry and just kind of being a force for them to encourage them to continue or pursue that dream that they have,” said Tamayo.
Jordan Maldonado, 34, a music producer who also teaches podcasting, says that learning about technology and music in a similar program when he was younger later solidified his career path as a music producer.
“I feel like any opportunity that we have to show the community that the industry can be a viable employment opportunity for them, I think it’s a big win,” said Maldonado.
So what’s next for the BHAC? Ramírez-Sánchez says she also hopes to expand the space and programming to other cities.
“I think that should be every nonprofit’s purpose…sharing the skills and then training a team that’s going to be able to take over,” she said.
This year, the BHAC will resume its annual event, the Boyle Heights Youth Festival, following a COVID-19 hiatus. The block party on Boyle Heights’ 1st Street is meant to kick off the summer with an itinerary that is curated for youth and by youth. The free event features activities, games and entertainment, plus appearances by comic book movie stars Xolo Maridueña and Xochitl Gómez.
Check out the details here:
Boyle Heights Youth Festival
3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 8
1st Street from Breed to St. Louis
READ THE ORIGINAL:
In 2016, then youth reporter Samantha Olmos wrote this BHAC feature:
Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory builds confidence in area kids
The neighborhood hub hosts a variety of different workshops, programs and events for local youth to become more engaged in the arts
