Building Community Bridges… Strong fusion of art and activism from a professional cultural broker.
Our story
Laura Soto, the founder, has engaged in community organizing for social justice since adolescence to uplift the disparities found in her local community. She is an ARTivist who is a former DACA recipient born in Chihuahua, Mexico and raised bi-cultural in the U.S. Her ARTivisim, which uses the power of words to transform the world around us, confronts the realities that the BIPOC immigrant community lives on a daily basis. Her work has taken many forms and her collaborations have ranged widely over the years of advancing social justice. All the while proving that bridges of understanding can be built where the spirit of trust is nurtured.
Laura studied Mexican Culture at the Universidad Autonoma de Bellas Artes in Chihuahua, MX and Cultural Anthropology at Linn-Benton Community College in Oregon U.S.A. She has performed at various cultural community events and has worked as a professional Bilingual Cultural Broker for many years in Colorado. Laura co-founded local grassroots projects Voces Unidas of Boulder County and Colectivo Cultura to provide platforms for local immigrant youth voices and Latinx cultural identity in the Boulder County area. She is a current member of the Latinx Advisory Committee to Congressman Joe Neguse.
We have learned that the more light we shed on the reality of marginalization, the more we “tell our story” and disclose with an open heart where the injustices lay; the more understood our experiences are and the more unified our community becomes thanks to understanding these experiences. The truth will always set us free.
You can now contract our services to moderate community dialogue, discussion forums, give JEDI workshops on Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, to do a keynote address, cultural identity workshops, or artistic presentations that center healing through our shared human experiences.
ARTivist Experience
Our work is deeply rooted in civic engagement and grass-roots community organizing. Currently serving on the Latinx Advisory Council to Congressman Joe Neguse advising our Congressman on issues of concern for Latinx community in his district. The professional experiences that led to this influential role come from years of activism, uplifting immigrant concerns to Colorado State Representatives, defending equitable policies and lawful protections for Colorado's vulnerable populations. They also come from being a facilitator for local grassroots community groups in Boulder County Colorado, where constituents address issues of equity that impact the county's most under-represented and under-served communities.
Master of Ceremonies is a beloved role that brings great joy. From the annual Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition state-wide assembly to the Longmont Museum’s Impressionism Art Exhibit, where a show of original impressionism paintings was combined with storytelling, impressionism piano and poetry performances; any time serving in this role is memorable. Co-founding the grass-roots project Colectivo Cultura, has also been a memorable experience, that has built bridges for more local spoken word performances in the Denver-Metro area. Public speaking roles that highlight BIPOC contributions, community unity, culture and leadership like the holiday celebration of Dia de Muertos in Longmont, CO are especially savored.
Keynote Speaker at Latino Advocacy Day, with opening and closing performance for our statewide event that weaves grassroots community organizing with lobbying to state representatives to support legislation and policies that protect the BIPOC and immigrant communities has been a pivotal experience. Professional experiences that led to this honor were being Keynote Speaker for the Parents Involved in Education End-of-School-Year Celebration; being Co-founder of the grass-roots project Voces Unidas of Boulder County, uplifting immigrant students' experiences in Boulder County school districts, and being a Spoken Word performer for the Hispanic Access Education Foundation, for their scholarship fundraising conference benefiting immigrant students.
