Yollolicious Magazine- Issue 1, Spring 2021 by Yollocalli Arts Reach

earest Reading Baddie, This is THEE YOLLOLICIOUS MAGAZINE FIRST EDITION, HOES! Brought to life by the amazing people at Yollocalli Arts Reach! Although you barely readin’ this thang in the summer, this magazine exhibits Yollocalli Spring 2021: the cans sprayed, the canvases painted, the photos snapped, the plants planted, the pods casted, the asses thrown, and the checks cut; all of what makes Yollo, Yollo. At the moment in which your fingertips grace these corner pages, you will experience a beautiful ride of photography, artwork, stories and QR-codes galore. Although it’s been just over a year since we have stepped foot inside our Yollo home, it has felt like an eternity. Yollocalli functions best when it’s powered by human connection, and the pandemic has definitely put a strain on that. We've hit rock bottom yaw. Despite being away from each other, we’ve all managed to do what we do best: express our thoughts and ideas through beautiful art. While it couldn’t possibly encapsulate the magic of Yollocalli in its entirety, hopefully this magazine can be a testament to the endurance and love we all have for our home and, more importantly, the love we have for the people in it. *cries cryingly* A special thanks to Stephanie Manriquez who pinned this work on us, and a shoutout to ourselves, the “Your Story, Your Way” Interns: Emmanuel Ramirez, August Abitang, Melissa Regalado, and Antonio Salazar, who helped develop and gather the whole meaning of this magazine. Damn dats sum deep shit. And an extra-special thank you to Whitney Ross.... who helped design this breathtaking, astonishing, mouthwatering magazine. Keepin’ it Yollolicious, The Spirit of Yollocalli. PERIOT.

CONTENTS STREET ART WITH ARTURO FRESAN................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Antonio Salazar GRAFFITI MURAL WITH LIZ “BEL” REYES............................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Emmanuel Ramirez CAMERA FLUX WITH TODD DIEDERICH.............................. . . . . . . . . . . . .10 August Abitang DCASE MURAL................................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Nayehli Alvarez, Alejandro Colunga & Whitney Ross YOUTH COUNCIL WITH WHITNEY ROSS.......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 August Abitang RADIO CLUB WITH CHARLY GARCIA................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Melissa Regalado WATTZ UP! RADIO SHOW: 5TH ANNIVERSARY................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Emmanuel Ramirez YSYW WITH STEPHANIE & CHARLY.................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Emmanuel Ramirez LA MESITA WITH CHARLY & GERRY..................................... . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Emmanuel Ramirez YOLLO LAB WITH JOSEPH MORA...................................... . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Melissa Regalado YOLLO GARDEN WITH HANANNE AND CARLOS.................. . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Emmanuel Ramirez CREDITS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1

T E E R T S T R A uro t r a sa n e r f H T I W

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Yollollicious Magazine spoke with Arturo Fresán, graphic artist, about the virtual challenges and learnings on teaching at Street Art Studio Class this Spring 2021.

Arturo Fresán: We are an advanced apprenticeship program, so we show the teens kind of by example, except that now with the COVID-19 lockdown we had to rely on the theoretical aspect of it, so we talked about not just street art from the graffiti perspective, but rather from a counter culture perspective: what media was used by who, what aesthetic qualities each one of theses use and such. The purpose is to get the teens connected with a plethora of art forms they can use to express themselves and communicate when words just don't say it loud enough.

gabriela cruz Yollollicious Magazine: Can you mention some of the things you taught and spoke about throughout the program? AF: We took a wild tour of different street art styles, mediums and skills, we talked about the history of different countercultures and their aesthetic preferences; their motives, their context and their correlation, and how they relate to "fine art". We talked about using critical thinking and learning to recognize factual information over hearsay, discussed personal responsibility and delved a little into the mysteries of the tarot deck and the games where it originated, mind maps, the importance of allowing for a safe space to be able to create freely. And Being able to guide the teens through the different art styles and media that can be used to create, their aesthetic values and their connection with neighborhoods and communities is one of my favorite things about doing this program.

GRACE RODRIGUEZ 5

YM: Describe for us the project your class worked on this time around. AF: I have encouraged my students to work thoroughly on their sketchpad, and they have come up with some really interesting work. The tarot card was a favorite of many and they did their takes. I have a profound interest in their drawings, not just from the technical point of view and my responsibility to guide them towards a more confident and consistent hand, but to look at their work and observe how their version of reality starts to shape from their little doodles. We also got a 12x12 cradled wood as their personal project. I'm always very interested in what they created for this piece and push them to try to get out of their comfort zone to

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work on this one. We also planned a series of small drawings and characters for a larger collective piece.I truly believe that the skill of being able to reinterpret, synthesize, reduce, or simply visualize organize data is very useful, it helps understanding and remembering complicated concepts, it helps understanding space, measurements, dimensions and volume. From there, it's all up to them to develop in whatever direction they want to, I'm gonna try to lead them in the right direction technically speaking, but their vision must remain as true to their own as possible.

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nayehli alvarez YM: Can you share your experience teaching Street Art virtually during a pandemic? AF: Overall, I feel the response is positive, although there are always a thousand distractions going around at home and that seems to be an issue for some. very interesting pieces have been created in relation to multiple topics, but the tarot cards were very appealing to many. There was general feeling of exhaustion, which could come from the past year alone, each school has different rules and each grade has different days, and everybody expressed and very obvious feeling of discontent with the current situation, but at the same time, to a degree, there is a general numbness, I suppose. YM: What are you most excited about as the Street Art Program comes to an end this season? AF: I can’t wait to see what the street art studio teens were able to create, if it’s anything like what they have been sketching I think it’s going to be a very interesting collection.

interview by antionio salazar

i t i f f a r G l a r u ” m “bel z i l es y e r H T I W

a t e e n a p m

@ka

Graffiti Mural Project is taught out of Community Links High School and instructed by none other than Elizabeth Reyes! For those kids out there that vandalize the school bathroom with sharpies and paint markers, just come write on our walls instead. Students learned the graphic basics and different graffiti techniques like lettering and building up your tag to create their final graffiti piece. Each week, they focused on a different technique; how to pick color, creating letter flow, 3D's, backgrounds, drawing textures, and character studies.The class has remained completely virtual throughout the pandemic, so students were provided with supplies to sketch and practice their craft at home while connected through their virtual class.

“Although students had a hard time turning cameras on and coming off mute, I was able to teach with new tools and give workshop style classes out of my studio. I was able to show all that I've accomplished to my students and express that they could make something out of their passion and hard work as well.” -Reyes

julisa blas

adrian ibarra

anthony perez

jasmine moreno

Alexandra Cabanas

written by emmanuel ramirez

a r e m a c x u l f d d o t erich d e i d H T I W

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Todd Diedrich: Camera Flux is about using the camera to make art with no limits. The class allows students the privilege to wig out on whatever resonates with their spirit. Often we have in depth discussions about esoteric ideals and ancient civilizations. To make great art you must be a great thinker and we make space for those conversations. Light is magic, so using a camera makes you a practitioner of magic. We pay tribute to that part of the world and learn to harness it ourselves.

1. eric king 2. Kevin balderas 3. amy roman 4. roy olazaba 5. aerin mcgee 6. Jordan Lewis 7. kevin balderas 8. isabella demateo 9. kamilli dugarte 10. avery sims

photos curated by august abitang

e s a c d l a r u m

On display at The Chicago Cultutral Center, 78 E Washington St, 4th floor

The Yollocalli Youth council was commissioned to design a mural for the DCASE (Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events) offices at the Cultural Center. The mural showcases the large breadth of work that DCASE is responsible for in Chicago, including public art, festivals, grants for artists, and neighborhood events.

Nayehli Alvarez, Alejandro Colunga, & Whitney Ross

h t u l o i y c n u o c y e n t i h w s uncil o s c h t o u o r #yolloy H T I W

Yollollicious Magazine spoke with Whitney Ross, Yollo’s Youth Development Advisor, about a year of virtual programming for the Youth Council, and reaching young people during a pandemic.

Yollocalli’s Youth Council is a special internship that provides teens the opportunity to play an instrumental part in the development of classes, workshops, and special events for young people at Yollocalli. This term, teens focused on planning special in-home art activities as well as fundraising through making & selling merch.

Yollollicious Magazine: What was the purpose of the art kits? Whitney Ross: For the art kits, we were looking to fill the need that we usually fill through our classes and special events: providing interesting & unique programming to young people. The Youth Council brainstormed ideas that were fun, unique, and easy enough to do at home. YM: What were the contents of the art kits? WR: Each kit had a theme. The first (fall 2020) was mail and stickers, we wanted to “Save the USPS!” and encourage young people to stay connected with friends as the weather and Covid locked us all down again. For the winter we chose photo keychains with a beaded strand. In this one we included enough to make 3 in hopes that youth would share them as Christmas gifts. Next was Valentine’s Day, where we teamed up with other orgs to provide sexual health information and freebies, plus stickers and paper to make Valentines. Finally, as we approached spring, we provided planters to paint. We also added dirt and seeds of native plants. And, of course, each kit was also filled with our favorite snacks like ramen, RC, popcorn, and candy. YM: What’s up with Yollo merch? WR: The WNDR Museum invited us to sell merch in their gift shop as part of an initiative to be more community-based. We're excited to be included! Our PARTY PACK includes random temporary tattoos, buttons, and vinyl stickers. You can also buy merch online and in person at the National Musuem of Mexican Art and Buddy in the Cultural Center. YM: What are some upcoming plans for YC? WR: My summer class is getting iPads (!!) so we'll be making some digital drawings and learning Illustrator for the iPad. Going to play with digital sharing and exquisite corpse drawings, and tying that back into the idea of alebrijes (which are kind of exquisite corpses on their own). Hopefully these will become a weird an amazing zine at the end. ALSO! Our Day of the Dead installation entitled Brown People for Black Lives will once again be featured in the museum's DOD exhibition. It's a really beautiful and powerful piece done in piñata form and with the museum being closed last year, no one got to see it in person! We're excited that it was chosen to be showcased again.

interview & artwork by august abitang

o i d a r b WITH u l c rly a h c cia r ca s o i p o c s o r i g

Cardenas Elementary School Radio Club is a program instructed by Charly Garcia at the elementary and middle school level.

Meeting every Tuesday and Thursday after school, the children learn and practice skills in communication, teamwork, and scriptwriting. The class is flexible and allows students to talk about various topics like favorite ice cream, shows, or life as a middle schooler. The Cardenas Radio Club highly encourages students to express their interests by allowing them space to do so.

written by Melissa Regalado

Wattz Up! is a youth produced and hosted talk show broadcast live from Studio Y in Little Village (although since the pandemic it has been broadcast from the comfort of the youths’ couches!) Young people share their thoughts on current events, plus curious factoids, and their favorite music jams sprinkled with some sass, wit and giggles. This season, Wattz Up! celebrates their 5th Year on the air waves! Season 16 will deliver more deliciousness than EVER with special musical guests, very educational podcasts, and even a lil throwback to some of the best and favorite productions in WATTZ UP HISTORY!

WAT TZ UP! r ad i o sho w 5TH A

NNIVE RSARY

Listen to Season 16 of Wattz Up! every Saturday from 12-2pm on 105.5FM @lumpenradio

written by emmanuel ramirez artwork by august abitang

ysyw step WI TH han & ch ie a r @fani l y ta_ ba nan @gi

The Your Story, Your Way! Class, instructed by Charly Garcia and Stephanie Manriquez (with the occasional guest appearance by Yollocalli Director Vanessa Sanchez), teaches students creative writing, journalism, audio editing, and radio production. This season, the YSYW students took radio to a whole new level, with only 4 interns producing five unique radio shows ranging from investigative podcasts, historic Wattz Up! audios, discussions on police brutality, and conversations with members of the Chicago music scene on post pandemic effects. They also challenged themselves to create the first edition of Yollolicious Magazine.

“The most important thing I learned from my students was to be empathetic and patient. Everyone was going through something whether that was finishing school, work, going through things at home, dealing with our mental health throughout the pandemic. So we were able to accomplish so much as a team and work together throughout the entire season.” - Garcia “In youth I trust. The youth are the next generation, and we are here to pass the knowledge down.” - Manriquez

written by emmanuel ramirez artwork by august abitang

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a t i s e m l a rly & a h c ry r s e o i p o G c s o r i g o @ z s . r @ge

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NPRs “Tiny Desk” remastered, reimagined, totes fab! Dándole un poco de sabor. La Mesita introduces students into the world of artist interviews, audio manipulation, and live music production. Co-taught by Charly Garcia and Gerardo Salgado. Salgado instructs one half of the class that is made up of the beginners, teaching them the basics in audio editing, using the tools, and writing scripts for smaller productions, while Garcia further pushes the skills of the more advanced students to create full radio productions.

“There is a word that I use with my youth: eunoia. It means well mannered speaking or having beautiful conversations. So essentially aside from it being just a word, it's a practice: How can you have wonderful communication? How can you have a beautiful conversation? And in the world of journalism, radio, and reporting, we are meant to express love, presence, and giving the voice to our people. We try to remove any stigmas, anxiety, or nervousness to break these students' shells in an effort to create wonderful conversations and great connections for the future youth that are going to lead our communities. I've been teaching them how to utilize their voice to bridge opportunities into their world, into their horizon.” - Salgado

written by emmanuel ramirez artwork by august abitang

O L L o H y T I W B A L EPH S O J A R a r o O m e u M@josephjos Located in the heart of Barrett Park, Yollo Lab is a way youth can explore the visual art process of zines, printmaking and other alternative ways of storytelling. Taught by Joseph Josue Mora, the instructor of the program, where he focuses on educating the students in Chicago’s vast zine history and culture. Yollo Lab’s ambiance not only encourages students to create their own forms of art but to collaborate and build community through thoughtful discussions and prompts. Also, get the opportunity to publish your own zines, comics, and sketchbooks to share with friends!

aajaylah patrick

Anisha Bansari

Bertha Espinoza 25

Jontavia Strickland

Fareeha Shaik

dominica 26

Servando Hernandez

kendell rasco

Nelly Ejiamu written by melissa regalado

O L L o y DEN R E A G ANN N A S H O L R A C & H T I W

i f a n a h . d e n n a n l a _ n e a v i @h t a n _ z i a m _ s @ma

YOLLOCALLI GARDEN (also known as Ridgeway Garden, Yollo Garden, Yollo Garden Project, Meet us at the Corner of 28th and Ridgeway, tbd) Organized by Hananne Hanafi and Carlos Terrazo, the garden located in front of Yollocalli Arts Reach on 28th and Ridegway began in 2018. The 1,875 square foot lot is surrounded by colorful murals, filled with rich soil and beautiful plant babies, and is a safe space for community members to bond with each other and become one with nature.

Hananne Hanafi, programs coordinator at Yollocalli Arts Reach since 2016, is very passionate about educating and uplifting her community, involving herself in the Public Spaces Committee and Violence Prevention Collaborative in Little Village. Since forever, Yollocalli had thought about how the space looked neglected and Hanafi mentioned a garden was a good way to collaborate with all the different organizations around the block. Look at ha doing God's work PERIOT. “It led to us talking about how we could use this space and repurpose it from an empty trashed lot, going beyond just weed wacking and cleaning up to make this space comfortable for yollo students and neighbors to just sit here and enjoy time and the space with one another. It was about bringing the community together.” - Hanafi

As for Carlos Kasper who has been building community gardens since 2010 in an effort to unify blocks with mother nature, Hanafi invited him to collaborate in the garden when initially starting the project. However, this was not the first time he had built a garden at this location. “There was a really beautiful garden here a long time ago that another gardener and I came to work on with students from Universidad Popular around 2011”. Unfortunately, the garden was a casualty of a demolition poorly done by the city. “The current garden space is a two city lot and there used to be an abandoned building on one of the lots. Then, when the city eventually came to demolish the abandoned building that was there, they sadly demolished the garden that was here along with it.” - Kasper

As for Yollocalli intern Alejandro Colunga, volunteering at the garden is not only a therapeutic form of stress relief from work (like me writing this right now), but also allows you to bond with other students and create a family throughout the experience. “It's an extension of my home and I've been really lucky to be a part of this space in multiple ways. Not just with the garden, but I assisted with both murals; the first mural in 2017 and the second in 2019. I helped when we first laid down all the cardboard and mulch, and I'm still here today working with Hananne and Carlos. I've always been surrounded by people I love here, so it's just home.”

Yollocalli began painting murals in the lot since 2017, imagining the several possibilities for the outdoor space. Starting with the idea to collaborate with local organizations and neighborhood residents, the process of building the community garden took off in different forms like remediating the land, reintroducing native plants back into the space, and even community events with volunteers from several city, local, and veteran organizations, all in an effort to beautify the community. For Olympia, a community member and volunteer, the garden represents a connection to a happier and healthy lifestyle.

“I think it's a way of reclaiming land in a healthy way. It's about creating a relationship with mother nature while also creating a relationship with your community members. Taking care of the land while taking care of each other which is a really cool dynamic within itself. Ultimately, a new appreciation for the earth and our neighbors is what a community garden gives you, and I love that.”

Hanafi’s hope is that one day they can step away from the garden and it becomes a collective care where the neighbors take charge, come and tend to the flowers and plants living in there or they just make their own project; a community garden, a public space where kids are jumping around playing on the logs, families gathering and having block parties, as well as continuing to do programs and popup events to really utilize it. This space is really important to Kasper and the whole neighborhood. The block is a gang division, so beautifying it changes the perception of how our community not only looks but also how it may benefit our mental health on a daily basis. “We live in a city that often forgets and takes away natural spaces, not allowing for reconnection with mother earth and a safe, beautiful space for community residents to gather and love one another. It's more than just making the community pretty but reflecting how we see our own communityand that’s why I do it.” - Kasper

written by emmanuel ramirez

CREDITS MAGAZINE STAFF:

ISSUE #1 | SPRING 2021

EDITORIAL August Abitang, @cr_c_ll Emmanuel Ramirez, @letspassnotes Melissa Regalado, @catholic.666.guilt Antonio Salazar, @tonyro2671 CREATIVE DIRECTION & DESIGN August Abitang, Emmanuel Ramirez, Whitney Ross

YOLLOLICIOUS MAGAZINE is a seasonal publication produced by the ‘Your Story, Your Way’ Interns with the power of pizza, unicorns, and booty bouncin tunes for the community and youth. Giving a platform to those undermined, outcasted, and too weird for the rest of society. Celebrating euphoric artistic expression and freedom.

YOLLOLICIOUS MAGAZINE DICTATORS Stephanie Manríquez, Vanessa Sanchez COVER DESIGN August Abitang YOLLOCALLI STAFF: DIRECTOR Vanessa Sanchez PROGRAMS COORDINATOR Hannane Hanafi YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR Whitney Ross

YOLLOCALLI ARTS REACH Yollocalli Arts Reach is the award-winning youth initiative of the National Museum of Mexican Art. Keeping it weird since 1997. www.yollocalli.org

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Alejandro Colunga Jr.

SOUNDCLOUD yollocalli

INSTAGRAM @yollocalli

AUDIO & RADIO, JOURNALISM INSTRUCTOR Stephanie Manriquez

FACEBOOK yollocalli.arts.reach

ISSUU yollocalli

WE WANT JUSTICE FOR ADAM TOLDEDO. WE WANT JUSTICE FOR ANTHONY ALVAREZ. WE WANT JUSTICE FOR DAUNTE WRIGHT. WE AGREE WITH OUR YOUNG PEOPLE- WE WANT TO DEFUND THE POLICE! AS WE MOURN ANOTHER LIFE KILLED BY THE POLICE, WE ASK- ARE YOU LISTENING TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE? THEY ARE DEMANDING POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY.THEY ARE DEMANDING TO DEFUND THE POLICE. TO “BE THERE FOR YOUTH,” WE NEED TO LISTEN AND ACT ON THEIR DEMANDS. WE SEND OUR LOVE TO THE FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE LOST LOVED ONES.