Our Team
Work I’m Proud Of
I’ve been an artivist, organizer, and storyteller since my youth, more than twenty years of my life.
In that time, I’ve been a part of dozens of organizations, campaigns, networks, and projects of all sorts.
I’ve met and learned from countless people, and have collaborated with hundreds.
All of it has lead me here to my work with Lupe & Michelle at Voces - of which I am immensely proud.
Inspirations
My friends and family. My community. The RGV landscape. Artists, activists, truth tellers, shit talkers, people who play music loudly, people who are fashionable, queer people, funny people, sex workers, poets…
Dreams
I know it’s cliché, but I dream of world peace—a world without prisons or borders, where we are all free.
What Makes The Valley “Magic”
The people. The culture. The land.
Ruben (they/them)
Co Director
Work I’m Proud Of
I am proud of the work I did as cultural organizer in the past as founder of Brownsville Artists and Musicians (BAM) and I believe it’s because of this that we have a solid base of public support for the cultural organizing Voces Unidas does today.
Inspirations
DIY punk organizers, Jean-Michele Basquiat, Henry Rollins, Alice Bag, the Rio Grande Delta and all the beings that dwell upon it.
Dreams
Liberation for all beings is my number one priority.
What Makes The Valley “Magic”
The coastal breeze that moves across the lomas and prairies, whispering through the trees of our thorn scrub forests.
The meandering waterways and riparian forests that instantly cool our bodies when we shelter beneath them.
Friday night gatherings and Saturday nature strolls.
Barbacoa Sundays under a backdrop of relaxation.
That’s what makes the Valley magical to me.
Michelle (she/her)
Co Director
Work I’m Proud Of
I’m proud of the nebula of organizational work that has lead me to this position, including:
transformative justice work with Divest/Invest RGV specifically documenting instances of police harm in our Police Misconduct Database
cultural organizing with Trucha on their ‘Roots Break Walls’ campaign
the Sembramos y Florecemos fellowship that ultimately connected me to Voces Unidas and the project that grew from my time with SYF
Never-Before-Zine, an autonomous artist collective based here in the RGV
It's all one in the same struggle and spawns from my love of community and creativity.
Inspirations
My family and friends, creatives, dissidents and troublemakers. People who think deeply and feel deeper.
Dreams
I dream of liberation, love and creative fulfillment for everyone.
What makes the Valley “Magic”
local legends (the chupacabra, johnny canales, q tacos)
the señora/vecino mutual aid network
unwavering resistance in the face of constant threat (border militarization, immigration narrative etc.)
when you’re alone on a trail/off-road somewhere on the banks of one of our local waterways/observing nature in your front yard and you stop and you let yourself really see what’s in front of you, you’ll recognize our magic is inherent
Lupe (they/she)
Program Manager
Work I’m Proud Of
I’ve always been a “Nepantlera,” like Gloria describes, though I didn’t always have the language to articulate it.
For me, I’m most proud that I’ve never let myself be boxed in by any “traditional” role or organization.
I’ve moved through many different spaces in this lifetime, from journalism with the Pulitzer Center to research on community colleges with the Project on Workforce at Harvard.
Through all of it, though, my “work” has remained the same: creating opportunities for those of us at the margins to actively shape our futures and our livelihoods.
Inspirations
My ancestors (blood and not)
mis abuelxs
younger Ram
Gloria, adrienne maree brown, Ruth Wilson Gilmore
all of the folks who have labored before me, and whose memory and livelihoods shapes how I move through this world today
Dreams
I dream of a future where no one is forced to leave their home—their land and water—in search of a “better” life, and where all of us can find belonging, love, and community from the moment we become kids.
What makes the Valley “Magic”
los cuirs
the taste of ocean and salt when you accidentally bite your lip
the creak of the palm trees in my backyard at night
the bats that come out to fly at sunset near the walking trail at the Old Hidalgo Pump House
