We're excited to share our short film, What The Hands Do, with our community. We'll have complementary drinks available before the film starts with all proceeds from drink sales going to our featured nonprofit, Asian Climbing Tribe. We will also have members of the non profit Brown Girls Climb present to engage with event participants.
Here's our run of show for the evening:
Mariana Mendoza and Miguel Casar are attracted to proud, challenging boulders and approach the sport with passion and dedication.
At the same time, they believe that climbing hard is not the only thing that matters. As lifelong social justice advocates, they ask: How can we use climbing to cultivate joy and connection in our communities? Can climbing create opportunities for meaningful growth? How can we use climbing to shape the world we want to see?
Born and raised in Mexico, currently living in the US, Mariana (she, ella, mariana) is a climber, organizer, narrative nerd, and popular educator. She comes from organizing with movements for carceral abolition, harm reduction, migrant justice, and the intersections of just transition. Mariana started her climbing journey 15 years ago, building community, growing muscles, and finding a different form of somatic power.
Miguel Casar Ph. D. (he/him/el) is a Mexican activist scholar, climber, educator and professional dabbler in many things, including trampoline jumping and building legos.
In his movement work and scholarship, Miguel explores how research can honor the right of marginalized communities and those resisting oppression to ask critical questions about our realities, build power, and become protagonists of history as we imagine, author and cultivate just and humanizing futures.
Carizma Brown is a 26-year-old African American who grew up in South Central Los Angeles, a community heavily impacted by the war on drugs, gang and police violence, and historical and ongoing injustices. Directly impacted by many of these issues, Carizma was in an out of prison between the ages of 14 and 17. At 17, after getting out of juvenile hall, Carizma enrolled in a program to support youth impacted by incarceration. Since enrolling at the program, Carizma has graduated from high school and is in College studying business administration. In addition, Carizma currently works as a youth navigator at the Homeboy Art Academy. Carizma is also an artist, a deep thinker, a community healer, and when possible, spends time outdoors climbing and hiking. Carizma is also starting her own streetwear brand.
Luis Angel Fierros is a first generation Mexican American. Born and raised in South Los Angeles to immigrant parents from Jalisco and Zacatecas, Luis experienced the violence of a world structured to oppress him and his people since his early days. As a person impacted by the carceral and punitive geographies of Los Angeles since youth, Luis is committed to a future where youth are free and supported. Luis currently works as a youth navigator at Learning Works, an independent study high school for young people that have been pushed out or have left traditional schools.
Laura Wagner is an award-winning filmmaker and producer of Patagonia films THE SCALE OF HOPE and ARTIFISHAL. Her films have premiered at top-tier film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, Seattle, Rotterdam, Melbourne and many more, and have enjoyed success worldwide in theatrical markets, on television and on digital streaming platforms.
Brown Girls Climb (BGC) is a national non-profit that strives to facilitate mentorship, provide access, uplift leadership, and celebrate representation in the outdoors and climbing for People of the Global Majority*.
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( We use "people of the global majority" (PGM) interchangeably with "black, indigenous, and people of color" (BIPOC), since black, indigenous, and people of color represent over 80% of the world’s population. This wording points out the demographic inaccuracy of the euphemism "minority" and can feel more empowering for some people. )
