In collaboration with The Epicenter of Monterey, Palenke Arts is hosting an Open Mic Night, centering youth, people of the global majority and LGBTQ+ community! Featuring Performances by Yosimar Reyes & Bianca Zamora, DJ Luna will be spinning into the evening. Hosted by River Navaille

Bianca Tonantzin Zamora, M.S. (she/her) is the Associate Director for Stanford University's School of Humanities and Sciences. In her role, she serves as the lead strategist for DEI initiatives for H&S staff. Bianca leads national diversity, equity, and inclusion workshops with education, technology, and government organizations. As a proud queer Latina poet and organizer for grass-roots coalitions, Bianca has spoken at Monterey Peninsula Pride, Women's March, Latina Leadership Gala, Sonoma State University Queer Lecture Series, Women's Global Leadership Initiative, University of South Carolina, and LGBTQ+ Latinx Film Festival and was recently recognized as an LGBTQ+ Latinx Honor 41 honoree.

Yosimar Reyes is a nationally-acclaimed Poet and Public Speaker. Born in Guerrero, Mexico, and raised in Eastside San Jose, Reyes explores the themes of migration and sexuality in his work. The Advocate named Reyes one of "13 LGBT Latinos Changing the World" and Remezcla included Reyes on their list of "10 Up And Coming Latinx Poets You Need To Know."

His first collection of poetry, For Colored Boys Who Speak Softly… was self-published after a collaboration with the legendary Carlos Santana. His work has also been published in various online journals and books including Mariposas: An Anthology of Queer Modern Latino Poetry (Floricanto Press), Queer in Aztlán: Chicano Male Recollections of Consciousness and Coming Out (Cognella Press), and the forthcoming Joto: An Anthology of Queer Xicano & Chicano Poetry (Kórima Press). Reyes was featured in the Documentary, "2nd Verse: The Rebirth of Poetry."

He is a LAMBDA Literary Fellow as well as the recipient of the Undocupoets Fellowship. Reyes previously served as Artist-in-Residence at the media and culture organization, Define American.

Reyes has toured and presented at university campuses across the United States. He is currently working on his one-man show, "Prieto," to premiere in the near future. Reyes holds a B.A in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.