Content Magazine

#61 - Danny Sanchez - The City Peace Project

Danny Sanchez is the Founder and Executive Director of The City Peace Project. Pastor Danny serves our community as a passionate Youth Violence Prevention Activist and Latino Leadership Advocate. He is the volunteer Lead Chaplain for the City of San Jose Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force and Lead Chaplain for Santa Clara County Valley Medical Hospital Peer Intervention Program, Trauma to Triumph. Danny works as an ally for students and schools through his coaching, mentoring, and conflict resolution and leads inspiring tech tours in Silicon Valley. He is a San Jose native with deep roots in the local community.

In our conversation, we talk about Danny's transformation that led him to found the City Peace City Peace project as well as discuss his book "Post Traumatic Quest: From pain to purpose, purpose to peace, his memoirs, which is accompanied by three songs he had written and remastered for the May 2021 release.

Post Traumatic Quest: From pain to purpose, purpose to peace.

In 1999, Danny Sanchez was an inmate in San Quentin Prison. In 2012, he was commended for his work in youth violence prevention and named a Champion of Change by President Barak Obama. Experience his journey through the trauma that shaped his childhood, his spiral in self-destruction, then his radical transformation and quest to serve the community he loves. Danny grew up in the juvenile incarceration system and lived a violent life, including police brutality, suicide attempts, and surviving multiple stabbings. Today Danny is a city chaplain and the founder of The City Peace Project non-profit organization in San Jose, California, where he inspires youth through his innovation as a social entrepreneur.

The City Peace Project (https://thecitypeaceproject.org/) IG: thecitypeaceproject (https://www.instagram.com/thecitypeaceproject/)

Purchase at Post Traumatic Quest: From pain to purpose, purpose to peace on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Post-Traumatic-Quest-Transcend-Purpose/dp/1736777912) IG: posttraumaticquest (https://www.instagram.com/posttraumaticquest/)

The music for this episode is by Danny Sanchez. Listen to all three tracks on Spotify (http://bit.ly/PTQDSanchez)

Danny was featured in issue 8.4 "Profiles."

Fil Maresca - the owner of Filco Events

Whether they realize it or not, anyone who has been to an outdoor festival in San José in the past 20 years has probably encountered Filco Events, the aptly-named production company headed by Fil Maresca, one of the city's most significant drivers of cultural community events since he moved here in 1989; and one of the original DTSJ pioneers who provided us with the South First Street arts area known as SoFA.

In our conversation, Fil talks about how he ended up in the Bay Area after a car breakdown during a road trip which eventually led him to open the famed FX (currently, The Ritz). And how Filco began to assist local organizations in producing their event including San Josè Jazz Summer Fest, Music in the Park, the SoFA Street Fair, and our Content Pick-Up Parties.

Find more about Fil in our 2015 interview in issue 6.5 "Dine"

Follow Filco and their events at filco.com and IG: filcoevents

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This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond. Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

#59 - Doug Hughmanick - ANML Design

Doug Hughmanick is the founder and creative director of ANML Design that has work with clients like: Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, Roads & Kingdoms, JennAir, Yummly, and Whirlpool.

anml.com

dribbble.com/anml

Instagram: anml & douglas_hughmanick

Read more about Doug's journey in issue 7.4, "Phase" 

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This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond. Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

#58 - Maryela Perez - Visual Artist, DJ, and Curator for MACLA

Maryela originally came to San José after graduating from UC Santa Cruz. She was looking to gain experience and develop a resume to become an urban planner. Through AmeriCorps and a program called Public Allies, she landed an internship with the Park and Recreation Department of San José. Once in the city, Maryela began to connect with the creative community, which led her to become a curator at MACLA.

In our conversion, Maryela explains how moving to Downtown San Jose and opening her home to artists and musicians changed her career path and exposed her to more artistic opportunities in the South Bay, including learning to DJ.

"It wasn't with the intention of playing in front of folks, and even like being taught how to DJ was never with that intention, but it was really like I was propelled by the community itself." _ Maryela Perez

Follow Maryela and tune into her Twitch channel every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at 7:00pm.

Follow Maryela and tune into her twitch channel 2nd and 4th Thursdays at 7 pm.

Instagram: mare.e.fresh and dearrrdj

Twitch: twitch.tv/velvetcloudradio

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This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond.

Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

McEwan-Upright has a bachelor's degree in art history from the University of California Santa Barbara and a master's degree in art history from the San Jose State University, an education that fostered her love of research facilitates her quest for a variety of female voices.

In 2019, McEwan-Upright took over a 1,200-square-foot storefront in downtown Gilroy to act as the home base for her feminist-minded art gallery. McEwan-Upright's Gallery 1202 opened its doors that October, and by the end of November 2019, it was hosting its first group exhibition, "Show Me Your Neon: A Feminist Dialogue."

In our conversation, Emily shares her mission for Gallery 1202 and her large aspirations to provide the South Valley arts community affordable creative spaces to pursue their dreams through the recently formed non-profit 6th Street Studios and Art Center.

"I definitely have a mission for the gallery. I want to elevate the artists in Gilroy, but also elevate these marginalized voices that haven't been able to be represented because of either sex, race, or materials. That's my big thing—do that while exposing people in Gilroy to more artists." - Emily McEwan-Upright

Find out more about Gallery 1202

Gallery 1202

And, follow the progress of new Artist Community space, The 6th Street Studios and Arts Center  at https://www.6thstreetartstudios.org/

Instagram: 6thstreetartstudios_95020

ORDER ISSUE

https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

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This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond.

Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

Chris Jalufka is a Bay Area-based artist and writer focused on the world of design, illustration, and limited edition posters. His articles have appeared in Content Magazine, HOW Magazine, Print Magazine, Juxtapoz, and various sites and his venture, Evil Tender.

He started Evil Tender, an online arts magazine, to focus on the working artists, to help promote their work. After explored screening writing, sound engining, and marketing, he finally found his niche.

In our conversation, Chris discussed the meaning behind the name "Evil Tender" and his commercial and fine art realms journey.

Follow Evil Tender  (https://eviltender.com/)

And, on Instagram at eviltender_ (https://www.instagram.com/eviltender_)

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This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond.

Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

Like locking puzzle pieces, Scott and Shannon Guggenheim—or "Stannon" as their staff fittingly knows them—are the producing entity and owners of 3Below, the new home of Guggenheim Entertainment since the closing of the Retro Dome, San Jose's previous realm of movie and sing-along fun. 3Below delivers top-quality surround sound as you view an indie film or enjoy a classic flick in the cozy Theater 2.

3Below is also the home of the ComedySportz show and provides acting classes, sing-alongs to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and a variety of theater productions. No matter what you come for, your experience is curated by creators driven by the need to provide entertainment that promotes joy.

Shannon shares her own experiences through SIP and announces a new production series they are dreaming about called "San Jose Stories," a series of interviews of locals that are then developed into an improv interpretation.

3BelowTheaters.com

Social Media: 3belowtheaters (https://instagram.com/3belowtheaters)

3below if featured in issue 11.0 "Discover" 2019. (https://www.content-magazine.com/articles/11-0-3below)

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This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond.

Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo is visual artist, poet, teacher, and 2021 Creative Ambassador with the Office of Cultural Affairs for the City of San Jose.

Her work addresses themes of identity, transformation, and empowerment. Her work is influenced mainly by her indigenous Mesoamerican ancestry, Mexika (Aztec) artwork and philosophy, Mexican culture, Chicano history, and her experiences as a woman in the United States.

 Join our conversation as we discuss her influences and her work that addresses themes of identity, transformation, and empowerment

Follow Elizabeth at ejmontelongo.com (https://ejmontelongo.com/index.html)

Instagram at elizabethjimenezmontelongo (https://www.instagram.com/elizabethjimenezmontelongo/)

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This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond.

Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

For being the 10th-largest city in the United States, San Jose's local news offerings are startlingly sparse. In recent years, The Mercury News has reduced its staff reporters, even while buying out many of the surrounding community newspapers. Metro fills some of the holes in local coverage, but as a free weekly paper, its scope is limited. Online publications like Patch have struggled with readership, while TV news outlets spread their resources across the entire Bay Area. All of this leaves Silicon Valley residents with few opportunities to read about local politics, community issues, and other important news affecting their lives. In 2019, Josh Barousse and Ramona Giwargis set out to change the news landscape and launched the nonprofit news outlet, San José Spotlight.

San José Spotlight is a digital-only publication with a completely free website, no paywall, and no pop-up advertising. Funding comes from individual memberships, business partnerships, foundation grants, and special quarterly paid events that will feature educational opportunities, panel discussions, and community engagement. "For years, newspapers have relied on advertising to sustain themselves, but I personally feel that model is no longer working," Giwargis explains. "People just aren't buying print ads anymore; newspapers are reducing the size of the paper and the coverage, and yet they expect to be able to continue selling ads." She also adds, "Looking to other [nonprofit publications] that have cut out ads and are relying just on those revenue streams we've mentioned—they've been able to make it work."

In this episode, we discuss San José Spotlight's mission and the role it plays in our community.

Follow them at, San Jose Spotlight (https://sanjosespotlight.com/) 

Instagram at SJSpotlight (https://www.instagram.com/sjspotlight/)

Read more our Ramona and Josh in our 2019 interview. 

Now on our website at https://www.content-magazine.com/articles/podcast-sj-spotlight/

FEATURED in  Issue 11.1 “Sight and Sound”

Written by:  Nathan Zanon | Photography by: Daniel Garcia

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This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond. 

Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

#52 - Peter Hsieh - Writer for the stage and screen

San Jose writer and director Peter Hsieh premieres his first feature film at Cinequest.

Shot at Redwall Studios, Miniboss, and around Downtown San Jose.

Peter Hsieh is a writer and director from San Jose, California, who has written over 30 staged-plays. His full-length play Tangerina was a finalist for the 2015 Orange County New Play Festival, and the short play A Room with Modern Furniture won 3rd place at Playwrights CageMatch 2013 at Douglas Morrisson Theater. His feature film, Drive All Night, which he wrote and directed, is premiering at Cinequest Film & Creativity 2021 online festival and was shot in San Jose. 

In addition to the film, Peter, executive producer Sam Chou, and producer Jonathan Quesenberry developed a mobile app game to gives you trans-media experience. (Available in App Store)

In our conversation, we talk about writing, producing, and directing his screenplay. The lessons he has learned from making Drive All Night and insights into writing and the film industry.

Find out more about Peter on his website peterhsiehwriter.com  (https://peterhsiehwriter.com) and on his Instagram @peterh.exe (https://www.instagram.com/peterh.exe)

And, watch Drive All Night, March 20 - 30 at creatics.org (https://www.creatics.org/cinejoy)

Drive All Night Trailer (https://vimeo.com/512019385)

This episode's music in "Tang" by Chris Emond. Follow Chris on Spotify, http://bit.ly/ChrisEmond Featured in issue 13.2 "Sight and Sound" 2021 https://www.content-magazine.com/issue/issue-13-2/

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https://www.instagram.com/redwallstudio/

https://www.instagram.com/sjminiboss/

#film

#filmmaking

#indiefilm

#filmakerslife

#filmfestival

#sanjose

#downtownsanjose

#cinequest