Felicitas Mendez

I am Luis Arevalo. If I could describe myself in three words they would be: Artist, Activist, Entrepreneur.

Currently, I am a senior Chicana/o Studies major and Business Administration minor at Loyola Marymount University. I enjoy dancing as a form of ethical activism through the visual language of body gestures and movements. Everything from the way that I walk, talk and dress is a performance and a statement about who I am, at that particular moment in time. Culturally and ethnically speaking I am a borderlander with multiple identities.

As a passion of mine, breakdancing has served as an avenue into a larger community of hip hop culture. Not the commercial hip hop, which is only one forms of hip hop culture and lifestyle. I am referring to the urban struggles for social revolution and self-determination that are the fundamental elements of the hip hop movement. Historically speaking, hip hop identity is understood as one of four identities: DJ's, MC's, Breakers, and Graffiti Artist. I argue however, that hip hop identity is best understood through the legacy of urban decay and the survival tactics by its urban inhabitants. This allows for the development of liberatory struggles like the hip hop movements and the differing punk scenes to create identities of resistance.

My biggest joy is sharing my passion and inspiring a love for dance in others. The largest struggle in the hip hop community is decolonizing ourselves from oppressive subjectivites and getting ride of the internalized racism, homophobia and gender inequalities we perpetuate in the name of justice. By creating awareness and a commitment to our ethics we can achieve community solidarity grounded in a love for dance and respect for others. The following youtube video is one of many events I have hosted to bring dancers, community activists and guests from all around the world for a breakdancing competition. The most important thing is the opportunity for people to experience hip hop culture as alive and in a radical and real space that is often misunderstood or alltogether unacknowledged. In conclusion, I want to say that love is revolutionary. Enjoy!