Olmeca—a renowned multidisciplinary artist, activist, and scholar who has been featured on BBC London, Complex Magazine, Noisey, Huffington Post, NPR, and more—will be speaking at ¹ú²ú̽»¨ on Thursday, February 12, as part of the university’s Brown Cultural Event Series.
Olmeca is known his unique blend of hip-hop with traditional Latin American rhythms, and uses his music and presentations to explore the multifaceted and evolving concept of Latinx identity, hip-hop and social justice, Indigenous futurisms, and the transformative and healing power of art.
As an adjunct lecturer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the Interdisciplinary Gender and Ethnic Studies Department, Olmeca teaches Latin American history, Latinx in the U.S., and hip-hop courses. He founded, Raow Raow Arts Collective, a visionary collective dedicated to providing cutting-edge exhibitions, immersive performances, and community-driven initiatives for a more equitable and inclusive future. He has received numerous accolades for his unique genre-blending musical style and bilingual lyrics. He has also been recognized by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as an Artist Citizen Fellow, by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as a Music Ambassador for the rights of workers, and has partnered with universities throughout the U.S. for his unwavering dedication to critical art and innovation.
Olmeca, who grew up in Los Angeles and Mexico, has experienced homelessness, food insecurity, and violence as part of rural life in Mexico. Today, he uses the challenges he’s faced to shape his art and his lectures. He will speak about Latinx futures, delving into the historical, social, and political dimensions and examining how Latinx individuals navigate issues of representation, agency, and societal influence, as well as how the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, and class plays a significant role in shaping their experiences.
The lecture, which will be followed by a meet-and-greet, is scheduled for Thursday, February 12, at 7 p.m. in Jackson Auditorium. This event, sponsored by the Jessie S. and Jack Harold Upton Brown Cultural Enrichment Endowment Fund, is free and open to the public.