La Artisteada | Filmmaking Through the LGBTQIA+ Lens: Advocacy, Access & Building Sustainable Careers in Entertainment | Josslyn Glenn, Edwin Soto, and Roma Murphy

La Artisteada | Filmmaking Through the LGBTQIA+ Lens: Advocacy, Access & Building Sustainable Careers in Entertainment | Josslyn Glenn, Edwin Soto, and Roma Murphy

In this episode of Filmmaking Through the LGBTQIA+ Lens, we sit down with producer, writer, and entertainment journalist Josslyn Glenn, DEI professional and community organizer Edwin Soto, and TV and animation writer Roma Murphy for a candid conversation about navigating the entertainment industry as people of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Roma shares her journey as a writer, opening up about the early lessons she learned in self-advocacy and how she’s shaped her career today. Josslyn breaks down the realities of financing and fundraising for short films, offering insight for creators trying to bring their projects to life. Edwin discusses his work building sustainable systems designed to help more people of color advance and thrive in their careers long-term. Together, we dig into what it really takes to create opportunity in entertainment spaces, how to navigate hard conversations with executives, and how community and mutual support can help filmmakers rise together rather than alone. Tune in for an honest discussion on representation, resilience, and redefining success in film, TV, and animation!  Make sure to stay connected with us on IG or Tiktok at La.Artisteada !

La Artisteada | How a Family Legacy Built West Adams' Most Iconic Spaces | Jasmine Maldonado

Jasmine Maldonado is the youngest of seven siblings, and growing up watching her mom build a restaurant business in West Adams shaped everything about how she sees entrepreneurship. That influence became the blueprint for her own path. Jasmine followed her mom's entrepreneurial drive and created Persona the Shop, a space that started as a pop up and grew into something much bigger. Over time, the shop became a true community hub, expanding into Midcity Mercado and eventually the Dia de los Muertos Festival Block Party, two initiatives that brought West Adams and the broader LA community together in ways that went far beyond retail. In this episode, we talk about the real struggles behind building a business, including the moments of doubting yourself and figuring out how to push through them. Jasmine breaks down her step by step process for landing partnerships and working with bigger brands, all while staying rooted in community. We also get into what it actually looks like to grow a business alongside the people who supported you from day one, instead of leaving them behind. If you're an entrepreneur, small business owner, or creative trying to figure out how to scale without losing what made your business special in the first place, this conversation is for you. Subscribe for more conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, and community builders shaping LA culture.

La Artisteada | How creative block turned a rapper into the people’s professor | Jay Taj

What happens when a rapper runs out of words? For Jay Taj, it led to something bigger than music. Jay Taj grew up in Santa Ana, California navigating a multicultural identity that never quite fit into a single box. That experience of belonging to many worlds at once became the foundation of his artistry as a rapper, storyteller, and multidisciplinary artist. His visibility exploded when he appeared on Season 2 of Netflix's Rhythm and Flow. But after the cameras stopped rolling, something unexpected happened. The creative block hit hard. The art he had dedicated his life to suddenly felt out of reach, and he had to figure out what to do with that silence. What came out of that silence was "Putting the PI in AAPI History Month" a one month digital series where Jay Taj turned his gift for storytelling into a conduit for hidden histories and underrepresented voices within the AAPI community. Through self-learning and deep research, he became what we want to call the people's professor. In this episode we talk about growing up in Santa Ana, building a multicultural identity, the Rhythm and Flow experience, what a creative block actually feels like from the inside, and how leaning into storytelling gave his career a whole new direction and purpose. If you've ever felt stuck in something you love, this one is for you.

La Artisteada | From Making Doll Clothes to Dressing the Biggest Pop Stars | The Story of Eddy's Online

What do you do when no one will hire you and the world shuts down? If you're Eddy, you pick up a needle and thread, and start dressing dolls. In this episode we sit down with Eddy, the designer and stylist behind Eddy's Online, whose story begins during the pandemic when, unable to land a job, he turned to sewing as a hobby and quickly became obsessed with corsets. He had the skill, he had the vision, but the industry still wasn't calling back. So instead of waiting, he did something different: he applied everything he learned from his master's degree in digital strategy to himself, built an audience online by teaching people how to sew, and let the work speak for itself. It did. Sugar and Spice were the first to take a chance on him, opening the door to a career that now includes The Two Lips, Dulce María, Kenia Os, and many more! We talk about: • Why he started sewing dolls clothes as an adult during the pandemic and what that unlocked in him • How he built a following by teaching sewing online while building his styling career simultaneously • What rejection taught him about betting on yourself • Charging & negotiating as a creative Subscribe and stay connected on social media: IG: @La.Artisteada Tiktok: @La.Artisteada #EddysOnline #FashionDesigner #Fashion #KeniaOs #DulceMaria #SugarAndSpice #HowToSew #FashionStylist #CorsetMaking #LatinCreatives #PandemicHobby #CreativeEntrepreneur #LatinxFashion #StylePodcast #SewingCommunity

La Artisteada | How Latine Artists Get Into Museums 🎨 | Yulissa Mendoza on Grants & Community

In this interview, we chatted with Yulissa Mendoza, artist, creative director, and photographer all about their journey from Muscoy, CA, to exhibiting their art at The Cheech Museum 🎨We talk about how they apply for artist grants, get their work into museums, and why they define success through community, not money. Yulissa describes themselves as a “community-made artist”, building with and for their people.For creatives looking to break into museums, find opportunities, and grow their practice, this one’s for you.#YulissaMendoza #ArtGrants #ArtCareer #ContemporaryArt #LatinxArtists #CreativeCommunity #TheCheech #SanBernardino #Muscoy #ArtistInterview