In his native country, Ecuador, Javier Jara fell in love with music as a young child when relatives would bring their guitars to family gatherings, playing and singing Latin American folk music. Inspired by this experience, Javier now writes his own music using Latin rhythms from all over Latin America. He counts as influences such iconic artists as Victor Jara, Mercedes Sosa, Silvio Rodriguez, Chico Buarque, and Atahualpa Yupanqui, among other popular Latin American musicians. In most of his music, Javier both sings and plays the guitar.

An outstanding Mexican composer and musician, Yahir Durán has been influenced by Mexican and Cuban folklore. Yahir studied sacred music at the Escuela Superior de Música of Guadalajara, and has performed at Palacio de Bellas Artes, CENART, and Festival Cervantino, among others. He has worked as a musician for over 30 years and has toured extensively throughout Mexico and through select cities in the United States including Brownsville, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco). He has also written music for several musicals, published a book of poetry, and recorded eight albums. He has collaborated with such esteemed musicians as Eugenia León, Laura Murcia, and Mauricio Diaz Hueso.

Alejandro is an art teacher, an independent photographer and a painter. He has exhibited at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in San Francisco, Intersection for the Arts, SF. His photographic work has been selected and published in two collaborative books by the ‘Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana’ in Mexico City that are part of their permanent collection. He has photo-documented social movements like the Occupy Movement since its origin in Austin, Workers Defense Project, Black Lives Matter, Women’s Rights, UT Dreamers.

Jane O'Brien holds a dual master’s degree in Latin American Studies and Journalism from the University of Texas in Austin. During her graduate studies, she wrote her master's thesis about the media’s coverage of immigration and helped Austin's Tan Cerca de la Frontera with their oral history project, conducting several oral histories of Latin American immigrants independently. Since 2016, she has written several grants and helped with marketing and production of more than a dozen events at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center.