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Photos by Eddie Ruvalcaba

Spoken word poets and musicians collaborated last Sunday to celebrate the diverse cultures of Los Angeles at Boyle Heights’ Breed Street Shul.

The event was part of Voices of L.A.: The Krupnick Festival of the Arts, a collaborative series bringing Jewish artists together with musicians, dancers, visual artists and poets from diverse communities across Los Angeles to create original works.

Voices of LA kicked off July 13, with a number of shows across the city, including Grammy-winning L.A. band La Santa Cecilia. Its series continues through August and concludes on Sept. 14 at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Koreatown. Visit the festival website for a schedule.

My background: I was born in Mexico and raised in Boyle Heights, where I got my start in journalism by launching a community blog. Most recently, I worked at the Los Angeles Times and have spent most of my career covering local news in LA, with a focus on community-centered stories, Latino communities and mentoring emerging writers.

What I do: I lead coverage of Boyle Heights and East LA across all platforms to inform, connect and uplift our community. I spend my days listening, planning, editing and coordinating to make sure our stories reflect the community fairly, while supporting and mentoring my team of reporters and freelancers so they can grow along the way.

Why LA?: It’s home. It’s the sounds of Spanglish and other languages, the smell of tacos and kimchi, the way street art tells stories and how, even though I hate traffic, I love how the freeways can take me to the beach or the mountains on a whim.

The best way to contact me: My email is jessica.perez@boyleheightsbeat.org.

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