This week, Features director Jessi D spoke with Jannese Espino, Christian Ovalle, Yeshi Regalado, and Zach Riedler of Chicago's own La Rosa Noir at Riot Fest in September 2025. La Rosa Noir was one of three up-and-coming local artists from the Little Village and North Lawndale neighborhoods selected to be added to the Riot Fest lineup by community submission. They discuss the emotional process from submission to acceptance to finally playing the stage at the festival, their self-made genre "midwest surf," and their cultural heritages shining through in their art. 

"Being Hispanic, Latino, Latin American, Chicano - we're such a prideful people naturally. And I feel like it's always going to bleed through whatever we create." - Yeshi Regalado

Produced by Jessi D.

Photo Credit: Jessi D