Listen: We continue rolling in our week exploring cultural fusion with the super talented and delightful Milwaukee Mijas! I sat down with Nicole Acosta and Celesté Contreras, co-founders of this Latina art collective and I could immediately feel their energy and eagerness. As their stories unfolded in our interview, they could barely contain themselves -- their passion for the work and sisterly relationship with each other were a perfect living document of what the Mijas are all about.
In this first piece, Nicole and Celesté take us with them from high school to their first collaboration together as artists -- exploring their roots together, building an ofrenda for a Day of the Dead show:
In this piece, we hear the next chapter in the story -- how the Milwaukee Mijas went from idea and impulse to reality (this piece was written by 88Nine Producer Benjamin Wick):
I loved how close Nicole and Celesté felt with each other, which made me feel immediately familial. Maybe someday, I'll be a Milwaukee Mijo...
Also! Check out this video on last year's Día De Los Muertos parade in Milwaukee, a collaboration between a ton of groups, including the Walker's Point Center for the Arts, Latino Arts Inc, and of course, the Milwaukee Mijas!