Cielo Oscuro Featured at ¡Presente! Conference Friday Opening

Cielo Oscuro will join the ¡Presente! Conference this Friday, March 1 to share her story. She will screen the short film Kiki and the MXfits at 8:30pm, following a talk by Bitter Brown Femmes, This event is free and open to the public, and will be held in HUB 302 on the UC Riverside campus.

Cielo Oscuro is a Non Binary Trans Femme from South Central Los Angeles. She is the lead actress in the short film "Kiki and the MXfits," where she stars as Kiki. The story follows a group of Queer and Trans Latinx high school students from LA and their fight for justice after Kiki (a Trans Femme) gets detention for using the women's restroom.

Cielo is also a model, photographer, and creative artist overall! Her fashion style is unapologetic and authentic. She is intentional in creating a more inclusive space for QTPOC from low socioeconomic backgrounds within popular fashion. Her grassroots organizing is centered on representation, safe visibility and opportunities for QTPOC (Queer Trans People of Color). Cielo is also a ¡Presente! Alumni from 2017, we are proud to have her join us Friday evening to highlight her journey where she reminds us to always stay presente for our community. ¡Gracias Cielo!

Friday's Opening Schedule

6pm - doors open to HUB 302, check out artivismo, art gallery, and vendors.
7pm - Bitter Brown Femmes podcast conversation
8pm - Bitter Brown Femmes Q&A
8:30pm - Cielo Oscuro talk
9pm - Open Mic for Poesía Peligrosa

Workshops Announced for 3rd ¡Presente! Conference

On Saturday, March 2, the 2nd ¡Presente! Conference will offer 18 workshops to registered attendees. Full descriptions are found by clicking here.

Session 1 – 11:15am – 12:45am

• Collaborative Practice: Envisioning a non-discriminatory Art Praxis
• Consent Matters: Everything I Know About Consent I Learned From BDSM
• Decolonizing Gender
• LGBTQI+ Latinx Survivors Healing from Child Sexual Abuse Praxis
• VOGUE! THE OLD WAY! THE ONLY WAY! LOVE IS THE MESSAGE!
• Where Does the Garbage Go?: On Cancel Culture and Disposability

Session 2 – 2:15pm – 3:15pm

• Anti-Blackness: It’s Not Only White People & Let’s Stop Pretending There’s Anything Micro About Micro-Aggressions
• Challenging Transphobia in Feminist Organizing
• Identity Document Support Workshop
• Latina Punks in Higher Education
• TU ME DICES NACA, OSEA SOY REINA DE LAS NACAS!
• Written in the Stars: On Chosen Family and Platonic Love

Session 3 – 3:30pm – 4:30pm

• Cruising Academia
• Fat. Femme. Fashionable: Beyond Body Positivity
• Issues and Solutions for the Salton Sea
• QTIPOC Magic
• The Revolution Starts at Home: Outreaching to Latino Parents of LGBTQ+ individuals
• Tequio: Planting Seeds Across Generations