Today we’d like to introduce you to Claudia Hernández-Ponce.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’d like to start by thanking VoyageBaltimore for making space to showcase the beautiful talent here in Baltimore.
Humbled to stand alongside other creatives.
So, how did I get started? Well, I live in a constant space where I am always seeing opportunities. Whether it’s to collaborate or celebrate through cultural events and experiences. My formal background is in higher education, and I moved to Baltimore almost 5 years ago to work at Johns Hopkins University. After moving here, I looked for ways to get engaged in the community and found ways to do that through the arts. Born and raised in Mexico, I’ve always believed cultural artistic spaces provide an avenue for people to identify and share lived experiences. I found the live music scene in Baltimore, however, noticed the lack of diversity and representation of Latino music in places like Fells Point.
It wasn’t until I was invited to attend a live show at the former Red Boat restaurant that I found a community.
From a block away, the sound was music to my ears as I could vaguely make out what I believed to be a Spanish song and walked (ran) a little faster. The BAD HOMBRES band had the venue packed! The people, some friends, and other perfect strangers were loudly singing along from the top of their lungs and would turn to each other with knowing glances and smile because, at that moment, they were sharing the same excitement and connecting with one another over their love for rock en español. The rest, as they say, is history.
A year later, after leaving my job in higher education I started Charanga Productions, LLC, and began to collaborate with other creatives and host cultural events throughout the city. For my first event, I collaborated with BAD HOMBRES to put together an event celebrating music, art, and food at Sandlot. The first of many. Our most recent event, ¡PONTE LA CAMISETA! was another fun and successful event as we gathered en comunidad to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been fun but not a smooth road. Some struggles are similar to those other creatives experience, like lack of funding, space to host events, and balancing this work with my full-time job.
A lesson I’ve learned along the way is the need to be confident and persistent. I’ll also mention the lack of representation in leadership within the music space is something I noticed. Decision-makers have the power to control which content or events are represented and sometimes it’s not reflective of the Latino community.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Charanga Productions?
My focus has always been to create immersive and cultural experiences. Through these events, we provide a space for people to have the opportunity to reunite or get together with friends or connect with other Latino creatives to continue to build community. It has been my way of giving back to the community that welcomed me with open arms. And to everyone who has purchased a ticket to any of our events – gracias!
I want to thank the following creatives and businesses for being one of the first to take a chance on me and used their platform and spaces to support this work. Be sure to follow and support!
• BAD HOMBRES
• Julian Whitley – Justjuwit
• Rye of Baltimore
• Sandlot
• Cocina Luchadoras
• Old Line Spirits
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I’m currently reading For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez. I also follow several other folks whose work I find interesting and love to read about what they are up to. Some of them include:
• @wearegrow Latina
• Baltimore Creatives
• @Highlandtownarts
• @latinasenbaltimore
• Baltimore Magazine
• Made In Baltimore
• Creative Alliance
Contact Info:
- Website: CharangaProductions.
com - Instagram: @
charangaproductions - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/ lacharangaproductions/ - Linkedin: https://www.
linkedin.com/in/charanga- productions-llc-13b340229/ - Youtube: https://www.youtube.
com/channel/UC86r_ UQBq1TrUw5yIKCbzeg/videos
Image Credits
Spencer Grundler and Charanga Production
