jorge ‘cano cangrejo’ dÍaz ortiz

Jorge co-founded AgitArte in 1997. Since then, he has been Co-Director of the organization. He also co-edited the book, When We Fight, We Win! He has 20 years of experience as a puppeteer, DJ, popular educator, and bicultural activist. Jorge is deeply committed to the struggles of the working class against systems of oppression such as colonialism, patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism. He is also a founding member of Papel Machete, a collective of radical artists, theater makers, and puppeteers dedicated to educational, solidarity, and agitation work in 21st-century Puerto Rico and its diaspora. Although difficult decisions are made collectively, Jorge’s sharp analysis and political knowledge is the compass that guides much of AgitArte’s work. Similarly, he has served as a political and ideological mentor to the team. For this reason, he strives to be a rigorous and comprehensive intellectual. Jorge earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. He lives in his hometown, Santurce, Puerto Rico..   

IG: @canocangrejo

deborah hunt

Deborah Hunt is the founder of Maskhunt Motions, a nomadic laboratory for experimental theater focused on animated forms. She is a mask maker, puppeteer, and performer. Since 1972, she has carried out her cultural practice by creating and presenting original theater and performance works. She has worked with communities in collaborations, festivals, and gatherings in the Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Born in New Zealand, she has lived in Puerto Rico since 1990. According to Hunt, “My practice focuses on the creation and exploration of puppets and masks in both public and private spaces. I am interested in presenting my work in unusual places and to audiences who do not necessarily visit the theater. I describe my work as a theater of the useless.” Hunt has published the books Más caras con máscaras (More Faces with Masks) and Títeres, titererías y Gogmagog (Puppets, Puppetry, and Gogmagog).

IG: @maskhunt

YouTube: DeborahHunt/MaskhuntMotions

dey hernÁndez vÁzquez

Bicultural worker, interdisciplinary artist, puppeteer, permaculturist, educator, and designer. She is project director at AgitArte, a member of Papel Machete, and curator, co-producer, and director of the book and podcast, When We Fight, We Win! and the recent exhibition, in collaboration with Mijente, De Aquí Nadie Nos Saca. Her work focuses on collaborative practices and projects such as the parchment project, “End the Debt! Decolonize! Liberate Puerto Rico!” and the cantastoria, “If All Lives Matter Cause We Are All Created Equal, Why Are Some Lives More Equal Than Others?”, a piece created in collaboration with Brooklyn-based quilt artist Sylvia Hernández. Dey is a member of the AgitArte board and, since 2008, has designed and directed workshops and artistic projects at the organization. Through a myriad of formats, she creates counter-hegemonic narratives in her work, while finding delight in simplicity and the everyday. She holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Puerto Rico and lives and works in constant flux between Boston and Puerto Rico.

IG: @arkitectita

tina orlandini

Tina is a photographer, cultural worker, and AgitArte’s Development Director. The intersections of culture, community, and solidarity are central to her work and how she moves through the world. From 2012 to 2016, she worked at El Puente, a community-based youth, arts, and social justice organization in Los Sures (Southside of Williamsburg), Brooklyn. Tina first engaged with AgitArte and Papel Machete through a collaborative exhibition in NYC of artwork and creative strategies produced during the University of Puerto Rico student movement of 2010-2011. Tina received her BA in art history and writing from Ithaca College and her MA in Art and Public Policy from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Tina is a student of the Tamburello (Italian tambourine) and practices traditional songs that come from and honor the lands of the mezzogiorno (Southern Italy). She is from Altadena, CA, and currently lives in New Orleans, LA.

IG: @t.orlandini

marian annette rodrÍguez morales

Marian Annette Rodríguez Morales is a multidisciplinary visual artist, puppeteer, set designer, costume designer and PhD student in Literature at CEAPRC. She obtained her B.A. in Sculpture from the University of Puerto Rico and her M.A. in Arts from CEAPRC. She has been part of the Papel Machete collective since 2007. She worked as a humanities professor for 8 years.The Museo de las Américas has several of her art pieces in permanent exhibitions. She has distinguished herself as a set designer and costume designer for the Centro de Bellas Artes de Puerto Rico. In 2022, she performed at the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum in Miami. One of her puppets, “Doña Yeya,” was part of the Puppets of New York exhibition (August 2021-April 2022) at the Museum of the City of New York. Marian was selected for a Mellon Foundation scholarship as a visual artist in the CEC’s Maniobra program. She is currently the Gallery Director of the Museum of Saints and National Art (MUSAN). 

IG: @rojo_mandarina

yamillex montaÑez lugo

Yamillex is a Puerto Rican dancer, mother, and choreographer. She is a student and teacher of the body and its movement. Yamillex was part of the modern dance company Hincapié directed by Petra Bravo and has collaborated with other artists in the world of dance, music, theater and the visual arts in and out of Puerto Rico. She works as a yoga instructor and ceramicist, among other things. She directs collaborative video-art projects that combine music and dance to create visual poetry.

IG: @yamiheyy

lizbeth ‘liz’ romÁn

Puerto Rican interdisciplinary queer artist. Storyteller, theatermaker, and Caribbean singer. Birthing music, song, storytelling, and theater since 2006. Currently, they study and deepen themes of grief, sonorous-creative accompaniment, and diverse techniques of energetic, emotional, spiritual, and physical care. As part of their practice, they share tools to amplify voices and navigate grief and transitions. Together with diverse communities, they create a song and story archive- using live storytelling as a decolonizing medium. Their artistic practice revolves around liberation in all its forms. They have performed their musical and theatrical project in local and international venues: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Chile, Argentina, Spain, Netherlands, Colombia, United States among others. Their record productions, singles, and visual work are available on all digital platforms. Román is currently creating sound accompaniment/sound therapy and is working on their next production.

IG: @lizbethromanmusica

peter kamal mukuria (“pitt panther”)

Peter Mukuria, better known by his artist name “Pitt Panther,” is currently incarcerated at Jessup Correction Institute in Maryland. While imprisoned, he vocalizes the blatant racism in his correctional facility: he has been threatened, not given the haircut service offered to white prisoners, and denied proper facilities such as access to water. He has also been placed in solitary confinement as retaliation for his self-advocacy. Mukuria was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and is currently the Minister of Labor for the Revolutionary Intercommunal Black Panther Party (RIBPP). He is also on the steering committee with the Industrial Workers of the World Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWW IWOC). Mukuria writes on various topics, from abolition to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mukuria is also a brilliant artist whose work will be featured in The Healing Project’s exhibition. He draws and collages with paper, pencils, and materials he can find, given his incarceration. 

IG: @pittpanther_art