Angélica María is an internationally touring Chicana poet & musician originally from Los Angeles. Her work focuses on blending literary and musical landscapes to heal intergenerational wounds and reclaiming ancestral feminine power. This work has brought her across the country as a Tedx speaker, and as a finalist for the National Poetry Slam 2018.

Her work has been featured in the L.A Times, The Breakbeat Poets Anthology: LatiNEXT (2020) on Haymarket Books and Puma. She has been invited to bring poetic and musical presentations to countless universities across the U.S including Harvard University and Yale University, amongst others.

Wearing multiple hats as a producer, writer and composer, her music is a healing modality, combining a poetic lyrical style, storytelling and smooth soundscape to create a powerful listening experience.

Empower Keynote

Theme: Reclaiming Our Stories: How We Can Author Our Own Lives

Overview:
An uplifting keynote on the power of storytelling as a tool for empowerment and self-definition. Drawing from Angelica’s journey as a Chicana artist—from humble beginnings in Los Angeles to teaching poetry workshops at Harvard and Yale—this talk reminds audiences that they are the authors of their own destinies.

Ideal For:
Universities, youth programs, women’s leadership events, and creative conferences.

Includes:

• 45–60 minute keynote speech
• Optional 15-minute Q&A
• Customization for event theme or student audience
• Reflection prompts for continued engagement

Key Takeaways:

• How stories shape identity and possibility
• Tools to “re-author” limiting narratives
• Inspiration to transform adversity into agency

Keynote + Performance

Theme: Unbound: The Power of Voice

Overview:
This dynamic offering merges keynote storytelling with live spoken word and original poetry performance that speaks on themes of culture, identity, and empowerment. It creates an immersive journey through narrative, emotion, and rhythm—illustrating how creativity becomes a vessel for healing and resilience.

Ideal For:
Arts and culture events, literary festivals, leadership summits, and wellness programs.

Includes:

• 60–75 minute keynote-performance hybrid
• 10–12 curated original poems interwoven with talk
• Optional Q&A or short writing reflection
• Event-specific customization

Key Takeaways:

• The healing potential of performance and story
• Reclaiming voice and visibility through art
• Emotional connection as a catalyst for change

Keynote + Workshop Experience

Theme: Storytelling as Resistance and Renewal

Overview:
A transformative keynote followed by an interactive writing workshop. Participants learn to use narrative therapy by separating themselves from the problem, developing narrative agency, and writing from a place of truth and possibility.

Ideal For:
University residencies, educator trainings, community arts programs, and leadership retreats.

Includes:

• 45–60 minute keynote speech
• 90-minute guided writing workshop
• Custom poetry or journaling prompts
• Digital toolkit with slides and discussion guide

Key Takeaways:

• Storytelling as a form of self and community healing
• Easy to follow writing prompts for writers of all levels
• Building resilience through creative practice

Performance & Workshop 

Theme: Voice, Rhythm, and Renewal

Overview:
A compelling spoken word and musical live performance followed by a guided writing workshop. Participants move from witnessing art to creating their own—using prompts and exercises designed to help them reclaim their narratives and reconnect with personal truth through poetry.

Ideal For:
High schools, universities, creative festivals, and community wellness programs.

Includes:

• 30–45 minute live performance (spoken word + music)
• 60–90 minute interactive writing workshop
• Custom poetry prompts for self-expression and healing
• Post-event Open Mic for students to share their work

Key Takeaways:

• Using creativity as a pathway to empowerment
• How artistic expression opens emotional honesty
• Tools to transform lived experience into poetry

Artist-in-Residence Experience

Theme: From Story to Stage: Cultivating Creative Empowerment

Overview:
A multi-day immersive experience combining performance, workshop facilitation, and one-on-one mentorship. This residency allows participants to explore their narratives through writing, music, and movement—culminating in a final showcase or reading.

Ideal For:
Universities, arts organizations, and community centers seeking deeper engagement.

Includes:

• 2–3 day residency (customizable)
• Opening keynote or performance
• Multiple workshops across storytelling, poetry, and voice
• Optional final student performance and showcase
• Pre- and post-event consultation with organizers

Key Takeaways:

• Deepened connection between art, identity, and empowerment
• Skill-building in creative writing and performance
• Confidence and community through shared storytelling

Workshops 

Say My Name

Theme: Identity, Language, and Belonging

Overview:
How do we say our names—and what do our names say about us? In a society that often reshapes names for convenience, participants examine how language, colonization, and assimilation shape identity. This workshop invites writers to trace the origins and meanings of their names, exploring their linguistic and cultural roots. By reimagining their names not as burdens but as symbols of heritage and pride, writers reclaim the power of their identities and their right to be spoken fully.

Key Outcomes:

• Reflect on the historical and cultural weight of names
• Explore personal identity through language and lineage
• Transform shame or discomfort into empowerment and self-honor

A Pledge to the Body

Theme: Healing, Self-Love, and De-Colonizing the Body

Overview:
People of color often carry generations of shame, hypersexualization, and violence in their bodies. In this workshop, writers examine the narratives imposed upon them—particularly those surrounding gender, beauty, and cultural identity. Participants select one part of the body they’ve been taught to resent and write a pledge of love, gratitude, and reclamation to it. Through this ritual, the body becomes a site of healing, pride, and liberation.

Key Outcomes:

• • Recognize and release inherited body shame
  • Practice radical self-acceptance and body sovereignty
  • Reclaim language around beauty and identity

Storytelling as Resistance

Theme: Legacy, Empowerment, and Cultural Survival

Overview:
Across generations, storytelling has served as both shield and sword—a way to preserve truth, resist erasure, and reimagine the future. This workshop explores storytelling as a form of resilience and activism, drawing from examples in music, literature, and oral traditions. Participants learn to wield story as a tool of power: to heal, to challenge injustice, and to celebrate the endurance of their communities.

Key Outcomes:

• Understand storytelling as a historical form of resistance
• Connect personal narrative to cultural and political movements
• Develop writing that embodies both truth and transformation