Curator Ginette Rondeau responds to last week’s La Bloga-Tuesday, in a comment you can read in whole at this link. Rondeau’s insightful selection of artists and arte reaffirm her statement, "I believe—deeply—that art must become the place where we return to ourselves. Not to escape, but to remember who we are, what we value, and how we hold each other up with dignity and truth.
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| Curator Ginette Rondeau |
For Women’s History Month, I envisioned the exhibition as a tapestry of women in Los Angeles—spanning generations from 15 to 80, across cultures and artistic mediums—each expressing her voice, her story, and her truth.
What you witnessed at El Tranquilo was exactly that intention. A gathering of voices, of women, of stories—each one carrying strength, vulnerability, and light. I am profoundly grateful, and deeply honored to present the work of such extraordinary artists, whose voices embody strength, beauty, and truth.
I am especially grateful to Jennifer Baptiste, Rio Diaz, Andrea Lee, and Lupe Montiel for bringing that spirit into the space with such honesty and power.
She Rises, Women of Strength and Beauty was created as a sanctuary—one that honors resilience, womanhood, and the quiet force of beauty that persists even in difficult times."
Jennifer Baptiste
If You’re Lucky Enough
One day,You’ll get the pleasure of aging.
To pose in the mirror, just to say you’ve still got it.
Savor the taste of a drink,
Smell the memories of youth,
And wear wisdom in the crevices of your face.
One day you’ll embrace the peaceful moments,
Give grace to others in chaos,
Release grudges that weigh upon you
As you brush gray strands while losing others,
And have the pleasure of marveling at the sights of generations of change.
One day you’ll matter to yourself
Instead of longing for other people’s lives
You’ll treasure and live your own.
Embers In The Flame
I was fire and shine and stare stopping chill.
Exuding confidence in the face of fear because I didn’t know it yet.
I remember her now.
Reacquainted with the woman I was before.
Speaking without a care,
Dressing for myself, reading harlequins by the meadow under dragonflies.
Existing courageously on the other side of the societal shaping of a tame woman I came to be.
I am not small.
I am the remnants of embers in my former flame, radiating from yesterday’s shine, on the cusp of something better
rising from the ashes.
A greater version of me.
A phoenix in the flame.
Jennifer “Miss B” Baptiste
Jennifer “Miss B. ” Baptiste is an L.A. based writer, librarian, and actor from Houston, TX. She creates lyrical introspective pieces to promote healing, mindfulness, empowerment, and curiosity.
Andrea Lee (Coach A. Lee) - Ms. Drea The Poet
A Love Letter to the City That Still Believes in Dreams
I rise with the palms that stretch like giants reaching for the sun,
with the sirens and the silence,
the traffic and the poetry,
the grit and the glitter living side by side.
A place where every sidewalk crack has a story,
every mural is a love note,
every stranger is a question mark waiting to become a sentence.
It grabs you by the soul and whispers,
“Who are you becoming?”
Because here, identity is not fixed
it is painted, reinvented, broken down, rebuilt, renamed.
I’ve watched dreamers walk into auditions, shelters, classrooms, and open mics
hoping for a yes
and I’ve watched them learn to survive the no.
LA teaches you: the only thing stronger than struggle
is the one who still wakes up the next morning.
I awaken in the middle of possibility,
in a mosaic of cultures, colors, languages, neighborhoods, recipes, rhythms, and prayers.
A city where tamales taste like gospel
where the ocean baptizes the tired
and the mountains remind us we were never meant to stay small.
where homelessness and Hollywood share the same sky
where wealth can live across the street from wounds
where sunshine doesn’t mean safety
but hope still shows up every day anyway.
Los Angeles loves us without apology.
She gives us sunsets so dramatic they feel personal
street performers who sing like they’re saving the world
neighbors who water the sidewalk just to cool the day
old men playing chess outside donut shops,
artists making futures out of recycled dreams.
this city is not just where I live
it is a mirror.
A reminder that healing is not quiet
success is not simple
love is not tidy
and growth is not always gentle.
Here, we remember that even concrete can bloom.
Here, we understand that belonging is not found
it is built.
Dear Los Angeles
thank you for the lessons wrapped in palm trees,
the sunsets that refuse to repeat themselves
the strangers who feel like future friends
and the way you hold both pain and possibility in the same palm.
I awaken in a city that demands I rise
that dares me to dream louder
that teaches me love is work
but worth it.
Los Angeles loves me
And I will love you back,
not for who you pretend to be
but for who you are
an unfinished masterpiece
still shaping the people who dare to call you home.
Ms.Drea_Thepoet
Coach Andrea Lee, affectionately known as Ms. Drea The Poet, is a dynamic author, professional poet, certified life and relationship coach, emotional intelligence facilitator, and community leader based in Los Angeles, California. With over 20 years of experience in social services, Andrea blends creativity, lived experience, and professional training to empower individuals to discover self-love, emotional resilience, and personal transformation. As the author of the transformative book series "The Power to Change the Way You Love Yourself", Andrea has created a 10-step self-love framework that is now taught through workshops, classes, and speaking engagements across communities. Her work lives at the intersection of poetry, healing, emotional intelligence, storytelling, and mpowerment.
Rio Diaz
Resilience in Bloom
A quiet laugh at the edge of a well
That runs deeper than joy, deeper than pain,
A well that fills, empties, then fills again.
I’ve seen the strain others carry inside,
I’ve watched their journeys, and have watched mine collide
With the storms, the sorrows, the heavy cost—
But somehow, in it, nothing is lost.
Changing course with the winds that blow.
Because growth is never steady, it’s a twist, it’s a bend,
It’s a spiral of beginnings that never end.
I’ve learned to be tender, I’ve learned to be strong,
To bend with the branches that lead me along,
And in that bending, I find my grace,
A quiet resilience, a steady pace.
Blossoming into a new kind of world.
I’ve been the bud, tight in its shell,
And felt the pull from the earth as I fell
Into light, into rain, into moments unknown,
Where I learned that growth was to be overthrown
by the forces I cannot predict or decide—
But still I stretch, I reach, I rise.
Each breath, each tear, each open door
Shifts the soil beneath my feet,
Tells me where I’ve been, what I might meet.
The future calls, but softly now,
In whispers that taught me to trust somehow
That the constant change, the endless sway
Is the rhythm of living, a dance we obey.
The pieces of self that never stay the same.
I wear my past like a coat of thread,
Woven with memories of the lives I’ve led.
But in this moment, I shed that skin,
Grateful for the new bloom within.
That presses the heart, that makes us alone.
But gratitude, like roots, digs deep,
Holds me fast while the winds sweep.
And in that holding, I find the sun,
The light that tells me, my day is not done.
In the soil of loss, in the air of despair.
It grows slow, but it grows strong,
Reaching for the sky where it belongs.
For if I can find, in the darkest place,
One thing to love, one thing to embrace,
Then I can stand, I can bloom, I can rise—
In the garden of hope, under changing skies.
But with a heart that knows its pace
It’s the turning, the shift, the change,
In the constant bloom, however strange.
For life is a flower, always in bloom,
Even in shadow, even in gloom.
And I, like the petals, will open wide,
Grateful for the journey, wherever I stride.
Río Díaz bio
Rio is a poet, curator, and muralist dedicated to amplifying underrepresented stories through art and cultural narratives. Beyond poetry, she has curated exhibitions at UCLA’s Powell Library, the Venice Family Clinic, and the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles, as well as Judith F. Baca: The Great Wall of Los Angeles at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery. As Curator of SPARC at Bergamot Studios and the Durón Gallery, she creates immersive, community-driven experiences, including the ongoing multi-year open studio chronicling The Great Wall of Los Angeles mural expansion, where she also serves as senior painter, sketch designer, and project coordinator. Her contributions to Judy Baca: Painting in the River of Angels at LACMA helped transform the Resnick Pavilion into a working studio, extending her commitment to art as collective storytelling. A proud Los Angeles resident, Rio continues to use poetry and visual art to foster dialogue, representation, and connection across communities.
Lupe Montiel
Heart of Gold
To be the one who takes one for the team
To bend your knee
To wash the feet
To clean the wounds
To heal yourself
By knowing thyself
To Thine Own Self Be True
Heal your community
Heal your family
Heal the world
Teach the world
Share your time
Talent
And treasure
It’s not always about the money
It’s about seeking Joy
In the little things
In the things that truly matter
Do onto others as you’d have them do onto you
Practice the golden rule
Lead by example
Leave things and places
Better than you found them
Inspire
Transform
Relate
Gold is tested in the fire
Money comes
Money goes
When you’ll have it
Nobody knows
Hope against all hope
Even if the odds are not in your
Favor
Grow your soul
Be a giver not a taker
Tell stories
Write a poem
Paint
Make art
Make love
Fight the good fights
Be the bigger person
The better person
The classy person
The new and improved personAlways show your hearts of gold
Tomorrow might never come
Live life
like everyday
is your last
6/10/21
Ella
She gives everything up for love
Ella
She gives her heart to her craft and yet for her home, for her children for her husband, she’ll set
her passions aside to bring forth life
Ella
She forgives infidelity for a moment
She believes in forgiveness
In rekindled love
Ella
She pacifies, the madness, the chaos, the anger, even the loss of her second child
Ella
She prays to heaven for help constantly, in faith looking for healing, for forgiveness, for strength
Ella
The womb that carried death, soon made space for new life, new hope, new love, healing
Ella
She did everything she could to make it work, but marriage is a two way street you can’t do it
alone
Ella
She found new eyes, she found new “love” she found a man who cared who showered her with
attention, she was transformed
Ella
The secret was out, she was in love again, with her life and with her future, no ordinary love
lived in her heart, the energy spilled on to hundreds of pages of poems, stories, song lyrics,
plays and film scripts
EllaShe did all that. She wanted to heal,
From a broken heart, mind, body and soul, she knew the violence would lead to sure death, the
window of opportunity was tiny, she ran for her life, without shoes and torn flesh on her feet
towards a new life, then she never looked back
Ella
She is climbing a mountain with clear instructions from the Divine; always look forward, NEVER
LOOK BACK
Ella
She keeps fighting the good fights, she builds, she creates, she gives, she receives, she dances
in the night,
She makes confessions to the moon
Ella vive, Ella es libre, Ella ama
Ella somos muchas, vivimos, sobrevivimos y seguimos
Ella
Esa mujer soy yo.
Lupe Montiel is a poet, playwright, filmmaker, actor, and interdisciplinary artist Lupe is a founding member of The Show & Tale Film, Play, and Arts Festival in Hollywood, California. She curates films and art exhibitions Her latest film releases and credits include the films; Outed, Backburner, Della, Transition, Reunion, Confessions to the moon and Rocketship. All films are currently screening throughout the United States at multiple film festivals. Her poetry is included in the award-winning book, Inficciones (published by Ediciones Aguamiel) her poems and photographs were published in Acid Verse Vol. 2 ( by The Los Angeles Poet Society Press) She curated art by 23 painters in the forthcoming anthology, Anger Is A Gift (published by Flowersong Press) the book includes her poetry. Book release date is August 2026 Lupe recently premiered her play, Queen Of The Rude Girls at Artshare LA, March 14th 2026 She was awarded certificates of recognition from the City of Los Angeles by Mayor Karen Bass and also by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado for her dedication and meaningful contributions to the city’s arts community as an artist, writer, poet and producer.
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| Lupe Montiel is honored by the City of Los Angeles |
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