10th Annual Latina Voices

The “Latina Voices” program celebrates its 10th anniversary with a special event from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, September 25 at Library 21c.

Presented by Friends of the Pikes Peak Library District, the event showcases the successes and talents of southern Colorado Latinas.

This year’s presenters include the following:

Adriana Jones Rincon grew up in Missouri and has played musical instruments all of her life. She played the viola in Missouri State University’s symphony, but was a piano major who got her degree in music education. Adriana also has studied hoop-dance and belly dance, which she currently performs and teaches. She began playing piano and guitar as well as singing and dancing in a Latin-Gypsy-Cabaret band named Moonhoney in 2006. Since arriving in Colorado in 2010, Adriana has not only been a local musician and dancer, but also became general manager of the Smokebrush Foundation for the Arts in 2017. She says she “strives to continue being a driving force and positive influence for other upcoming Latinas in the region.”

Juliana Aragón Fatula’s ancestors, indigenous to Aztlan, migrated from New Mexico to southern Colorado. She is the author of The Road I Ride Bleeds, Crazy Chicana in Catholic City, and Red Canyon Falling on Churches (winner of the High Plains Book Award in 2016). She has been a Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities ambassador and Director of Creative Writing for las mujeres unidas de CSU Pueblo. Juliana has conducted writing workshops in various K-12 schools. She performed in the 1990s with su teatro Chicano Cultural Arts Center and, after Operation Desert Storm, she toured in the Persian Gulf for the Department of Defense with the Latin Locomotions. She believes in the power of education to change lives.

AliciaRose Martinez currently serves as the Summer Programs & College Access Specialist at Colorado College where she develops programming and works with high school students in the Pre-College and Stroud Scholars Programs. Since 2017, she has served as a board member for Adelante Mujer, a nonprofit dedicated to the inclusion of Latinx students in pursuit of higher education, professional career growth and leadership development. She is also currently the co-director of the Mariachi Tigre Music Ensemble at Colorado College. AliciaRose earned a BA in Romance Languages from Colorado College, where she also earned a Masters in Teaching (secondary foreign Language).

Doors open at 9:30 a.m. and refreshments will be served. There also will be a sale of books by Hispanic authors and a video with highlights from the past 10 years. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit ppld.org/friends.