Mundo de las Mujeres 2025

Paulina Ramírez (She-Her)- aka Lapaushi is an Ecuadorian, Portland based multidisciplinary artist, DJ,event /music curator and art educator. During her early 20s she moved to Mexico City to study a Master in Public Art at the Autonomous University of Mexico City,  where she further developed her passion for urban culture, She collaborated with Sonidero DJS and hip hop artists while also working alongside other visual artists, painting murals, and creating community street art projects and soundscapes. After she finished her studies in Mexico, she moved to Portland, Oregon, where she started to collaborate with radio programs to highlight the wide diversity of latinx culture. Her current  work  is centered in  community focused  spaces , educational programs, and her personal experimentation  that reflects the intersectionality between land, memory, and movement  through printing, painting ,collage, sound and video.

Maya Malan-Gonzalez is known for her work as storyteller, performer and teatrista. Her writing centers Latina voices and Latine culture. Her theatrical productions commissioned by Milagro include “Blast Off”, “Huelga”, “Worry Dolls”, and “A Xmas Cuento Remix”, which had a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere; “A Christmas Treat” commissioned by Cleveland Public Theatre was produced in 10 Minutes to Midnight: 9 Quirky Plays for the Holidays. Her stories are featured in “Not So Merry and Bright: A Christmas Mixtape by Studio Luna”. Her piece, “Sunshine” is in “The Inbetweens” presented at El Centro Del Sur: Latinx Theatre Festival and her story “Down the Side of the Mountain” is featured in the Audible Original, “Talking While Female and Other Dangerous Acts”. She is a lifelong member of Milagro in Portland and an ensemble member with Studio Luna in Los Angeles. Maya received her B.F.A in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University with a concentration in Latino Studies and she is a graduate of the NALAC Leadership Institute. Visit www.mayamalangonzalez.com to learn more. 

Alexandra Meda (she/Ella) is known for her groundbreaking work in collaborative artistry and ensemble praxis. She is a director, deviser, facilitator, and architect of immersive theatrical experiences that bring joy, confront hard truths, and foster internal restoration. Rooted in deep collaboration and requiring vulnerable self-examination from all involved, her work transforms the theatrical space into a sandbox for innovation, an arena for individual-driven social change, and a sacred vessel for healing. Through her art-making she cultivates meaning by engaging with contemporary cultural phenomena and exploring them within her emotionally-charged and unapologetic performances. She serves on the interim leadership team for the Network of Ensemble Theatres, the Impact Assessment Director for National New Play Network, the Artistic Director of Studio Luna and the founder of Culture Change Lab.

Savina Monet is a Chicana collage artist who seamlessly melds vintage magazines, found images, and vibrant colors to explore the intricate layers of her identity. With masterful skill, she transforms forgotten fragments into contemporary expressions of Mexican culture, infusing each piece with a palpable energy that resonates on a visceral level. Savina’s collages serve as a visual metaphor for the resilience of Chicana identity, where bright pops of color breathe new life into aged narratives. Through intentional juxtaposition and a dance between the traditional and the modern, her artworks invite viewers to reconsider and reinterpret the stories embedded in each composition.

Joeanally González (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist, teaching artist, and advocate for social change through the arts. With a background in fashion and graphic design, she worked as a costume design assistant at Walt Disney World® before moving to Portland, Oregon, in 2017. There, she dedicated herself to community-based art, empowering Latinx and immigrant communities through creative workshops and storytelling. She is the author of Nico, la babosa de plátano and a contributor to Historias de Crecimiento. As a teaching artist, she uses art as a tool for healing, empowerment, and inclusivity, fostering connection and self-expression through creativity. 

Julie Lopez (she/her) is a fine art photographer, born and raised in Portland, Oregon, with a Bachelor of Arts from the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. Her work has received local and national awards, featured in national magazines, books, literary journals, and on HGTV.  Julie’s photographs have been exhibited in solo and group shows across the U.S., Japan, and England. These self-portraits embody a state of transition, where time, memory, and perception converge in a delicate equilibrium. Through layered imagery, I convey the experience of existing between opposing forces, where identity is constantly in flux. Each piece carries a familiar yet uneasy tension—a self simultaneously unraveling and reassembling—reflecting the fluid and ever-evolving nature of being.

Marilyn Shawe from Jazzy’s Design is a Yaqui-Mexican-American artist raised with traditional art and culture values. Her artwork is influenced by her indigenous heritage, that has been passed down from her mother and grandmother. Marilyn is dedicated to advancing diversity and equity initiatives as she pursues her Master’s degree in Communication. Under her artist name, Jazzy’s Creation & Design, she leverages her artistic and graphic design talents to develop educational women health resources and eco-friendly crafts for children. With extensive experience collaborating with nonprofit organizations and programs in the Pacific Northwest, Marilyn serves as an artist, designer, and educator. Over the past few years, Marilyn has contributed to her community as an Art Teacher in public schools, where she imparts cultural traditions through art to her students. For more information on Instagram

Mia Arvizu uses vibrant acrylic colors while blending cosmic forms with symbols from nature to explore themes of internal transformation, identity, environmental justice, and a rooted sense of interconnection. Mia views painting as a vessel to strengthen ancestral roots, as a medium to connect with your subconscious, and as a visual gift they offer to further healing. Their latest muse is grief. So far their paintings have been published in a review journal, been shown in several solo and group exhibitions, and have inspired a handful of community art gatherings. Most recently their work was shown at The Residency in LA. Most importantly, they have used their artistic skills to teach adults and youth patience, getting out of your comfort zone, creative power, emotional processing, and more through the act of painting.

Monica Catalan Prado / Mona was born in Mexico City, where her rich cultural heritage profoundly shaped her artistic voice. Rooted in resilience and connection, Mona’s work explores identity, emotion, and spirituality as transformative forces. Emotion is the catalyst for her creativity. She begins with free-flowing alcohol inks on synthetic paper, where fluidity mirrors life’s unpredictability. From this organic base, she intuitively layers acrylics, oils, and digital tools, allowing each piece to evolve naturally, balancing spontaneity and intention. Portraiture plays a key role in her practice. Using photographs as a foundation, Mona weaves organic and imaginative motifs with watercolors and Photoshop, crafting expressive compositions. These portraits capture the essence of each subject, interlacing emotion, fantasy, and nature. Additionally, Mona creates narrative illustrations, blending traditional watercolors with Procreate to tell evocative visual stories. Intuition is her guide, shaping her process through organic emergence. Colors, patterns, and forms surface instinctively, reflecting her inner journey of self-discovery. “Art is my sanctuary—a space where time dissolves, and I lose myself in creation. It is my medicine, my spiritual path, and my offering to the world, a way to channel energy, transform emotions, and connect deeply with others.”

Orquidia Violeta is a Salvadoran-American textile artist. Growing up in a dirt-floored farmhouse in Central America, she remembers the embroidered pink dress her mother sent her from the US. Orquidia crossed the US border as a six-year-old refugee and went on to earn an Associate of the Arts degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Living in Portland Oregon, Orquidia continues to challenge herself as a textile artist, exploring new methods and mediums, such as machine and hand embroidery, knitting, weaving, appliqué, beadwork, fabric dyeing, soft sculpture, painting, and drawing

Yannie Alvarez (she/her) is a bilingual Mexican-American artist who recently graduated from Western Oregon University with her BFA in Art in Design. She has been in constant search to balance both digital and traditional art but has ultimately decided to combine them. She takes the flat shapes and bold colors used in contemporary graphic design and translates them into a physical piece through acrylic paint. Always inspired by her community, she has been focusing on creating paintings that tell the stories of immigrants, life as a Mexican-American and her experience with mental health. Her paintings are semi-abstract with purposeful clean lines that allows an escape to the chaos in her mind.