Wisconsin Conference on Latino Arts & Culture

Welcome to the Wisconsin Conference on Latino Arts & Culture! Join us for a day filled with vibrant performances, insightful discussions, and engaging workshops celebrating Latino arts and culture. This in-person event will be held at the Centro Hispano of Dane County, a hub for Latino community activities. Connect with fellow enthusiasts, artists, and scholars to explore the rich tapestry of Latino heritage. Immerse yourself in music, dance, visual arts, and more. Whether you're a seasoned professional or simply curious, this conference offers something for everyone. Come be a part of this colorful celebration of Latino creativity and expression!

Info: In this active workshop, we focus on heritage and everyday language. Using sensory memories as anchors, you’ll learn to map family histories.

Info: Dana Maya proposes that odes–or praise poems–can serve as portals through which writers become enchanted by everyday things. When Latinx/Latine people, especially, write odes to celebrate ordinary objects, we form a powerful solidarity with the unseen and give it voice. Today, we will read a Neruda ode, an ode to cheese fries, and another to Frida’s eyebrows, and you'll leave with both a poem and an ode-writing practice. A poet, essayist, and educator, Dana Maya descends from a line of single mothers. Her background is in Mexican-American literature and culture, immigrant literatures, and gender and queer studies. Her work with painters, animators, video artists, and community organizations crosses nations, genres, and languages. She founded POEMA [] PINTURA and was the 2025 DANE Arts/Starting Block Artist in Residence. Her poems, essays, and multimedia work appear in anthologies, journals, museums, and other public sites. She is writing a memoir entitled Linaje/Lineage.

Info: Mixed-media artist, Seso Marentes, is a Chicano born native inspired of his Mexican-American roots. He brings a certain commentary of being a Native Chicano living in Des Moines, Iowa. He is helping youth find their own way to express what is uniquely theirs and ensure the voice of the Latino artist is amplified. The most important aspect of his work is to create “a footprint for others to follow.” “I’m very passionate about that,” he shares. “I want to see more Latinos comfortable with the idea of becoming an artist.”

Info: Born in Mexico, he moved to Chicago as a teenager. Co-founded Galeria Ink Works (1984-87) and the Taller Mexicano de Grabado (1990-96). An arts administrator at the National Museum of Mexican Art (1986-99) and as an art instructor for Chicago Public Schools. Arceo is an artist/printmaker who, in 2005, established Arceo Press & Studio to publish binational limited-edition print portfolios featuring original prints by artists from Mexico and the USA. In an effort to document local art history and create a memory for future generations, he publishes art catalogs and books about Raza printmakers in connection with Mexican-Chicano communities in Chicago.

Info: Experience fifteen dazzling quinceañera dresses—each telling a story of love, pride, and community from Green Bay to Madison. Celebrate the dreams and heritage of Wisconsin’s Latinx families at this unforgettable exhibition.

This community-curated Crowned in Tradition Quinceañeras in Wisconsin is dedicated to the Latinas and Latinos who call Wisconsin their home and to everyone who wants to learn more about the traditions that enrich all our lives.

Info: Ivonne Simmonds-Fals, is a Colombian artist and graphic designer who co-founded the Dubuque Area Arts Collective (DAAC). She studied painting and graphic design at Clarke University and currently works as a senior graphic designer at Gigantic Design. Besides her involvement in community work with the DAAC, she is also part of the executive board of Dubuque Unidos.

She’s passionate about supporting emerging artists in the Dubuque area and advocating for the greater arts community in Dubuque with the belief that art can have a positive impact on individuals and communities.

Info: The Jesuit Mission of Chiquitos were erected in the 17th & 18th centuries and preserved by local residents. until the mid 20th Century, when new generations began to feel less tied to long standing community obligations to the missions. Due to their artistic qualities and cultural importance and integrity, in 1990 the six Jesuit missions of Chiquitos were inscribed on UNESCO"s World Heritage List. Website: https://www.patriciocrooker.com/about/

Info: Marlene De La Cruz-Guzman will read and discuss her poetry as Latina writers and educators actively engaged in writing Spanish poetry the midwest.

Info: Wisconsin’s premire Latin Jazz Band for over 20 years, Tony Castañeda and his band have been honoring and keeping alive the music of what some call the Golden Age of Latin Jazz. Winner of 14 Isthmus Madison Favorite Jazz Band annual awards The Tony Castañeda Latin Jazz Band has opened for legendary latin jazz artists such as Poncho Sanchez, John Santos, Giovanni Hidalgo and John Benitez. https://tonycastanedalatinjazz.com/

Info: Ambassador Claudia Franco Hijuelos is Head Consul of Mexico in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, since April 2022. Her career as a Mexican diplomat spans over three decades. She was promoted to the rank of Ambassador in 2017. Previously, she served as Director General for Asia-Pacific Affairs, which coordinates 12 embassies, 3 consulates, and 1 liaison office in the region (2019-2022). Ambassador Franco obtained a Master's degree in United States Foreign Policy from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C., and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from El Colegio de México.

Info: Oscar Mireles and guests will read poetry and discuss the upcoming poetry collection.

Info: During a time of political injustice, violence against our communities, and collective resistance, Las Curanderas: From Ashes, We Rise calls Latina artists across Wisconsin to come together as healers, truth-tellers, and agents of transformation.
This exhibition centers Latinas as powerful healers and bearers of transformation. We are each beautifully unique and collectively powerful. Through art, we alchemize destruction into hope, grief into power, and ashes into bloom.

Info: Leigh anchors the 4 and 6pm newscasts on WMTV 15 News, where she has worked since 2003. Leigh has won numerous awards for her work, including a National Edward R. Murrow Award and four regional Emmy Awards, including one for best news anchor. Leigh got her start in broadcasting at The Government Channel in Athens, Ohio. She also worked for four years at WOUB-TV before moving to Madison.

Info: Dinorah Márquez was born in Mexico City. At the age of 10, she immigrated with her family to El Paso, Texas, where she began her musical studies with violinists James Angerstein and Abraham Chavez. Marquez completed her undergraduate studies in American Studies, at Northwestern University, with a minor in International Studies at the University of Florence, Italy. Marquez founded an ethnomusicology project, which continues to this day. It focuses on the preservation of indigenous violin traditions in Xico, Veracruz, Mexico. She received a master's degree in Viola Performance and String Pedagogy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She also received a Certificate in Chamber Music from the Leonard Sorkin International Institute of Chamber Music .
Marquez established the national award winning Latino Arts Strings Program (LASP). The LASP has given her the opportunity to provide immigrant children with the type of musical training she received as an immigrant child.

Info: Artist Diego Florez-Arroyo is a Colorado-based poet, artist, and musician whose works span various mediums. From large-scale installations to multimedia theatrical performances, Diego is a force within the Colorado community.

Info: Born and raised in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, Madera lived in an environment where it was impossible to ignore music.
“Music is in the life of everyone,” he says. “It’s hard to stay away.”
Madera studied in Puerto Rico for his undergraduate degree, however his pursuit of a master’s degree brought him to Madison. As an undergraduate, he was in university choir. His involvement inspired him to learn more and explore more types of music.
“Though my education brought me to Madison, I still wanted to pursue music,” says Madera, an assistant dean in the College of Letters & Science.
To bring his percussion talents to the Midwest, Madera assisted in the formation of Grupo Candela and has been involved ever since.
For almost 20 years, Grupo Candela has been devoted to preserving the musical traditions of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The ensemble performs myriad types of music from mambo and bolero to merengue to Latin jazz.

Info: Angela Puerta is a seven-time MAMA Award winner, Wisconsin’s Most Influential Latino Leader 2024, and Best of Madison Latin Artist (2019 & 2020). A Colombian-born singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Madison, Wisconsin, Angela blends her deep Latin American roots with global influences to create an eclectic musical style she calls Latin Rock. Her sound draws from Alternative Rock, Rock en Español, Pop, Reggae, and a rich variety of Colombian and Latin American rhythms, including bambuco, merengue, and bolero.
Hips Don't Lie brings together a diverse group of talented musicians, each with their own unique background and passion for Shakira's music. Led by the powerhouse vocals of Angela Puerta, a native of Colombia, the band delivers an authentic and captivating rendition of Shakira's greatest hits.

Info: Learn the basics of grant writing and applying for local funds from governmental sources.

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Photos courtesy of Destination Madison : https://share.crowdriff.com/Lu0xuq8Et-s2wXQH?searchType=shareLink&searchFilters=%7B%22qualityScore%22%3A%22any%22%2C%22sortOrder%22%3A%22added_at-dsc%22%7D

Info: https://madison365.com/inaugural-wisconsin-conference-on-latino-arts-and-culture-highlights-a-range-of-electric-artists-performers-speakers-and-scholars/

Info: https://www.channel3000.com/video/loud-to-host-wi-conference-of-latino-arts-and-culture/video_25834b18-dd21-5537-a284-a24e7dce0f7d.html

Info: https://www.wmtv15news.com/2025/04/19/latino-artists-set-reunite-cultural-conference-next-month/

Info: https://www.ibmadison.com/business-report/loud-hosting-wisconsin-conference-of-latino-arts-and-culture-at-centro/article_d64f2600-035f-11f0-8d9d-1f462f5332af.html

Info: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/magazine/summer-2024/essay/path-belonging

Info: https://www.madtownjamz.com/event/wisconsin-conference-on-latino-arts-culture/

Info: Here is the link to the 2021 Conference videos:

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Centro Hispano of Dane County, 2403 Cypress Way, Madison, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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