Rebel Betty is an AfroIndigenous Puerto Rican poet, multidisciplinary artist and cultural worker based in Chicago. Through facilitated dialogue, poetry, music, education and the arts, she depicts the preservation of culture in Black and brown communities.
We’re bringing you this Podcast series from Urban Plains, where we’ll be highlighting the experiences of the Latinx community, who’s been here in the Midwest since the early 20th century. From artists to educators, our guests will talk about the struggles and successes of laying down the foundations for the next Latinx generations to continue to dream and to prosper.
Transcription
REYNA AUYON-ESCOBAR, HOST:
Hello, everyone, and thank you again for tuning into the LatinXperience with Reyna…
KAILI JIMEI, HOST: Kaili
MAGGIE LITTEL, HOST: Maggie
HARRISON FUTRELL, HOST: And Harrison.
REYNA: We are bringing you this podcast series from Urban Plains where we will be highlighting the experience of the LatinX community who’s been here in the midwest since the early 20th century. From artists to educators, our guests will talk about the struggles and successes of laying down the foundation for the next LatinX generations to continue to dream and to prosper.
Introduction Music
REYNA:
Here with us for the launch of LatinXperience is Rebel Betty. She’s an AfroIndigenous Puerto Rican poet, multidisciplinary artist and cultural worker based in Chicago. Through facilitated dialogue, poetry, music, education, and the arts, she depicts the preservation of culture in Black and Brown communities.
REYNA:
Thank you for joining us today.
REBEL BETTY, GUEST:
Thank you for having me.
KAILI: So of course, to your radical people study hall. How has your identity. What made you kind of what ignited you to start that and participate in host that? And how do you hope that that affects multiple communities?
REBEL:
Well, radical people study hall is a free political education. Project, but it’s actually work that I’ve been doing for probably the past five or six years. It never had a name for the series. We would just name whatever the topic was and we would just release the workshop. But we decided to kind of visualize it and make it something that people could recognize and know what it was going to be. And so we have a particular topic that we talk about every month, and we have special guests from people who have experience as organizers, educators or artists, and they come in the other of a full workshop, or we do it like a panel discussion where people can ask questions and be sure about their history. And the purpose of it really is for people to I love teaching, so I just feel like we should never stop learning. I’ve never stopped going in class, no matter whether I was in high school, college, or even at my age. Now, if you will, opportunity to sit and learn like classroom style, because not everyone goes to college. Not everyone has a paid organizers job, but we still have to keep learning because people are still working in the community, whether or not they have a degree or some kind of position of power. So we just want to make an accessible space for people to learn and be better community members.
KAILI:
So you dance, you can paint, how do you balance everything? All of your passions all in one?
REBEL:
I feel that we speak from a better place now that I’m ten years into working on organizing. But I really have had to rid myself of that grind mentality or that like productivity or like this, seeking of like status. And I just go with what I’m comfortable with, what I have time with and when I don’t have time for and doesn’t spark me joy, I love it. So I just don’t do it. And it just makes it a lot easier saying that and for younger people listening, there definitely is a grind period is just real. Like you just have to establish yourself. You have to create that work. that’s going to caring you through the later parts of your career. But I would just say like it’s okay to relax a little bit and to not feel like you have to do every single thing or get every single award of recognition.
REYNA:
So what are your favorite ways to relax?
REBEL:
I love to listen to music I love to listen to music, and I just love to make art whatever kind of art, clay. But aside from that, yeah, I love to be in community. I think it’s like one of the ways that I kind of like ground myself of all the art and stuff. That’s very personal. But I feel like my community work is where I feel like the most peaceful or grounded or like affirmed in who I am.
KAILI:
Do you commission your art organization? That’s been one of your favorite close to heart projects?
REBEL:
There’s so many organizations that I work with that I just love so much in Chicago. One of my favorite ones is called Good Kids Mad City, and they’re currently working on trying to get a peace ordinance in Chicago so that there will be restorative justice programs, more afterschool programs for young people, and more resources in general.
I also really love to work with a group called Self-defense, and so they work around providing aid and support to women who are escaping domestic violence situations. And then I also love Chi-nations Youth Council, which is one of Chicago’s, I would say, most vocal Native youth groups in Chicago they also have a garden. So they’re super dope, and they’re people that I’ve worked with over many years to do a whole bunch of different projects.
HARRISON:
And I know you do a whole bunch of different projects, is there like one specific one that’s just your absolute favorite?
REBEL:
I think my absolute favorite is the open mic that we do have been doing for like five years. It’s one of my favorite spaces we had. We took a break for a while, obviously during quarantine. But yeah, it’s been one of the most consistent spaces, and we call it an open by my foot.
Really what it is, is a space for discussion. And again, we usually have like a topic because I’m always in teacher mode no matter what it is. But yeah, it’s been like the most raw space where I feel like people in a short amount of time, like really build intimacy with each other and we’re able to like make deeper connections than just like going to a party or some other event where people aren’t looking at each other or offering like that, that support and intention.
KAILI:
How did the open mike start? I mean, you said you’ve gone on this for about five or six years now, so how did how small was there when it first started and how do you think it’s been able to network around this huge thing?
REBEL:
It’s started really small, and I’m remembering like the first space. And like I think the hardest thing for us has been like having space to do the work. But we used to have like a small room that maybe was so good with like space and dimension. It was like really maybe like 400 square feet. I just pulled that from the air. But it was super small and we run it circle style. So it was really tight. But it’s shocking to me and I’m always shocked by it because from the beginning we, we always had like a good 25-30 people show up and that’s pretty much what the space allows for.
With the time that we have is a good amount of people. But it’s consistent. We say that we recently brought it back in person for the first time in two years and really we are nobody’s going to show up. But yeah, we have a good 35 people and so people are looking for these spaces where they can connect on a human level and build community in. So yeah, people, will, people show up. So I’m, I’m a firm, but it’s stayed really consistent in its size and in a manageable way. So think, yeah, that’s one of my favorite ones. The Open Line.
REYNA:
Going back to your DJ, where did “Rebel Betty” the name come from?
REBEL:
Okay. So we’re asking this the other day, I was like, I condensed it down super short. So there used to be this show in Latin America called the De la Fair, and I think they had an America it was called Ugly Betty, which came out saying I was calling it ugly, but when she takes off her glasses, you look does a transformation. So for a while I have a nickname Betty because then glasses and two of my glasses, I’m really different.
And then later when I started organizing, somebody was like, No, you’re not just Betty, you’re Rebel Betty. And so I stayed with the name.
REYNA:
Pretty good way to get a name, actually.
REBEL:
It was like a series of events.
KAILI:
Where are some of these DJ’s and nightclubs that you perform at?
REBEL:
I have mean, it’s been like a good five years before I really nightclub deejay that for a while. I usually try to do for community events like if somebody has a block party or someone who’s doing a fundraiser for an organization. Cause, yeah, I’m not really like a nightlife type of person. I’m really good at daytime block party, like, you know, a community deejay, then a nightlife like big and all. But I have a few big venues in Chicago, none, which I’d like to promote, but I’m open for bands and stuff like that. But I like to remain pretty community based and all of my work this is more comfortable for me.
REYNA:
What’s your favorite food? Latino food?
REBEL:
Latino Food? Because the first thing I thought was pizza like spicy food like it’s a stereotype, but like I definitely did. Aside from that, like I really am obsessed with soyrizo and eggs with like avocado salsa on it. So it’s so good. I feel like it’s even better than the real rizo- you should try it. And then pizza.
REYNA:
So like, to wrap this up, what words of encouragement to have four letter next people in the Midwest who know who are either are in their middle age or really young, who are still working things out and figuring out what they’re passionate about? I mean, you’re an inspiration- what you do. So do you have any words of encouragement for people out there?
REBEL:
Yeah. I mean, I would just say that the earlier you can start your journey to like learning about your family history The I think the the better things will be. And also, you know, we still there is so much work to be done. So I would just say be okay with dedicating time to your community because the truth in situations like we are not living in like comfortable times and honestly, like we never really have been able to. So things are not always going to be easy. But if you are dedicated to community, you get so much love back from that and affirmation.
So whatever you do whether whatever you go on to go, I feel like you should dedicate time to working within your community into learning about it, whether that’s through your family line or taking classes. I know it sounds weird when I take classes to learn about some of my traditions, so I would just dedicate that time, not study the way nobody could tell you about who you are. Because you’re going to be grounded in what your reality is.
Outro Music
MAGGIE:
And that’s all we’ve got for this episode of LatinXperience. Thanks for listening and tune in to our next episode with guest Angie Monterroso, Spanish professor at the University of Nebraska, Kearney who guides heritage speakers in fortifying their Spanish linguisitic abilities.
