Lunch Break: Yara & Fabiola presented by HipStory

About this event

Enjoy a free ice cream sandwich in the sunshine while supplies last!

About the artists

Yara Liceaga-Rojas is a mother, poet/writer, artist, and consultant in the art sector. She is a 2021 Letras Boricuas Fellow, 2021-2023 Boston Neighborhood Fellow, and a 2019 Brother Thomas Fellow. Her work and art projects have been supported by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Flamboyán Foundation, Mass Cultural Council, Cambridge Arts, NEFA, Boston Center for the Arts, The Boston Foundation, Kindle Projects, Midas Collaborative, Assets for Artists, the MGCC, Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, and The City of Boston. She has curated or led the art projects Poetry is Busy; Acentos espesos/Thick Accents; El Despojo Project; and her latest, Encarnar/Embody. Yara is also the author of 5 poetry books. Most of her work is based on the visibility of marginalized subjects.

Fabiola Méndez Quiñonez was the first musician to receive a BA from Berklee College of Music with the Puerto Rican cuatro as principal instrument. She has won several cuatro competitions, including being selected as the winner of the “National Cuatro Player Competition” in 2011 by the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture. In addition, she has participated in multiple recordings, including: Al Otro Lado del Charco (2019), which was considered one of the TOP 20 albums of 2019 by the PR National Foundation for Popular Music, and her latest release Afrorriqueña (2021), listen here. Fabiola has collaborated with artists such as: the Puerto Rican Symphony Orchestra, Totó la Momposina, Pedro Capó, Victoria Sanabria, Cucco Peña, Eddie Palmieri, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Danny Rivera, Edwin Colón Zayas, Los Rayos Gamma, among many others. She has also had the privilege of receiving acknowledgments such as the dedication of the Mapeye Festival 2011, the Quincy Jones Award 2016, ambassador at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC 2018, and a commendation from the PR House of Representatives for being the first Puerto Rican cuatro player to graduate from Berklee.

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