EAT SHOP TALK

Ashlie Andrade | Ashlie is a local artist/activist from San Jose whose mission is to sustain a vision of creativity community involvement here in the Bay Area focusing primarily in San Jose. As an artist, each medium that presents itself to her is a new challenge to stretch her creative capacity. Joining CVC has enabled her to connect on an interpersonal level with her love of music and community. Being able to play a variety of music from the oldies, freestyle, and salsa that she was raised on, to new wave, punk, and hip-hop that shaped her adolescence has been an amazing experience for her. Being able to share space and play music with other mujerxs of color who self-identify as gender-non-conforming, non-binary, LGBTQ+ in a male dominated music scene has encouraged her to take on new roles and strive to show her community that creating platforms for marginalized groups is necessary.

Estrellita Muños | Hija Del Volcán is a Bay Area vinyl DJ whose music selection pays homage to her roots that stretch from San José to Colima, México and beyond. Her vinyl collection includes: cumbia, rancheras, baladas, funk, soul, hip-hop, R&B, 80’s and freestyle. She plays musica del recuerdo to invoke feelings of healing and liberation on the dance floor through celebration in times of political, emotional and spiritual uncertainty. Hija Del Volcán is member of Chulita Vinyl Club, a collective of women, gender-non-conforming, non-binary, LGBTQ+ and self-identifying people of color utilizing music and vinyl as a form of resistance against the erasure of culture.

Crystal Mendoza | Crystal, aka DJ Sin Amores, is a queer latinx papi that was born in el desierto de Indio, Califas and was raised in the barrios of el Este de Los Angeles y Boyle Heights. Durante el dia, you can find Crystal in community spaces providing case management services to our jente y youth. Durante la noche, you can find Sin Amores on the decks providing ritmo y sabor! Crystal’s musical pallet consists of all vinyl CUMBIA sets (sonidera, colombiana, chicha, tradicional, techno, dub, y mas). Crystal’s musical taste is influenced by her lived experience which is represented by the borderlands of Califas y Mexicali, Baja California. For the past three years, Sin Amores has played with Chulita Vinyl Club, an all mujerx collective of vinyl loving dj’s.

Mayra Ramirez | Mayra, aka Hella Breezy, is a Bay Area vinyl DJ, curator, activist and entrepreneur whose vinyl collection ranges includes funk, soul, oldies, freestyle, cumbia, hip-hop and R&b. Born in Mexico and raised throughout California, her taste in music is heavily influenced by her Xicana heritage and culture, cruising lowriders on the weekends and listening to oldies on the radio. The majority of her youth was spent consuming all the hip-hop and R&b that MTV, VH1 and CMC (California Music Channel) had to offer this true 90’s brown babygirl. When not spinning records or curating art and music events, she spends her free time with her two chihuahua dogs Bernie and Carnitas and tending to her 80+ house plants. Mayra hopes to influence more women to join the male-dominated music scene because representation matters.