"As a 2021 Creative Ambassador of the Office of Cultural Affairs, I will be offering Palabras & Poetry: A Community Poetry-Writing Event Series. The series of workshops will be offered in collaboration with several non-profit organizations and community groups. The events are based on the guided poetry workshop series that I began offering during the pandemic. The themes included "Empowerment Through Identity," "Peace in Chaos," and "Love is Empathy." I am excited to share my passion for poetry as an art experience for the community. The first event is planned for March 2020, in collaboration with Eastside Magazine and Kooltura Marketing. The theme is “Esperanza” (Hope). Participants will be encouraged to submit their writing to Eastside Magazine. We will also consider submissions from the Palabras & Poetry Series to be included in an online exhibition or published in the next issue of Culture Counts Magazine by Culture Counts Reading Series at San José State University. My poetry is available at: ejmontelongo.com/poetry The public can sign up for events in the Palabras & Poetry Series at: ejmontelongo.eventbrite.com."

"Many of my favorite cultural experiences in San José are based on the arts, heritage, and food. Before the pandemic, I used to attend South First Friday art gallery openings in the SOFA District every month. I enjoyed the exhibitions and meeting community members. The WORKS Gallery is a great place to enjoy unique artwork and poetry events. It is an honor to be on the Board of Directors of Poetry Center San José, an organization that makes a wonderful effort to provide and support poetry events for the community. My daughter and I love attending community events that take place at the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. These events are always full of music, color, friendly people, and amazing food. They always make sure to have children’s activities, and I’ve occasionally had the pleasure of providing these activities. The School of Arts and Culture has a great theatre with unforgettable plays such as Macario and La Llorona, which I’ve enjoyed with friends and family. The food in San José is amazing! One of my favorite meals is tortas de milanesa from Mexico Bakery, with pan dulce for dessert. There are excellent food trucks, restaurants, and food stands throughout East San José that I’ve enjoyed over the years. San José introduced me to mangonadas, quesabirrias, and churros with filling. The gorditas de milanesa at Fausto’s (on King Road) taste like home and happiness! I’m grateful to have all this beautiful culture in the City of San José."

"For me culture is not just about art, music, clothing, and food, but also the “culture” of how people interact with one another. A beautiful example of community culture is at the School of Arts and Culture at MHP, particularly during the summer camps. For seven years, I taught sculpture workshops in the summer camps and both the students and teaching artists had a wonderful time. Workshops were assigned small groups of fifteen students or less, so that students could receive individual attention. The projects allowed plenty of room for personal expression and creativity. We also had group projects and collaborations between students in other workshops which included: music, visual arts, dance, and theatre. Students were always treated with respect, kindness, and patience. Any behavior issues were resolved by talking with the student, adapting the project to the student’s interests, allowing for play breaks, chats with camp counselors, and group discussions about issues that arose. What I most appreciated was that decisions were student-centered first, and secondly addressed the needs of the teaching artists. We received plenty of support during our service. The summer camp culmination was a public recital with an art exhibition where students could perform and exhibit their impressive skills for the community. For me, these interactions were a great example of the culture we should have in all of our community and educational spaces."

facebook: /ejmontelongo instagram: @elizabethjimenezmontelongo website: ejmontelongo.com

Visit San Jose 2021