about us
our mission
Bringing together Colorado Black, INDIGENOUS and People of Color musicians and local businesses to celebrate collaboration, creativity and commerce!
where it all began
Celesté Martinez was inspired when Alicia “Bruce” Trijullo shared about a national virtual music festival, where musicians were partnering with small businesses from their home cities to provide monetary relief during the beginning COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Immediately, Celesté reached out to Alicia and the two virtually met up to dream up what this might look like as a local project centering Black, Indigenous and People of Color in our own state.
This idea that originally started as a creative branding campaign, is now one of the best ways to celebrate BIPOC musicians, small businesses and entrepreneurs in our Colorado community.
our team
alicia
Alicia "Bruce" Trujillo is a Chicana feminist from occupied Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe land, in what's now called Colorado - raised on the Western Slope, and currently in Denver. Bruce has been working in the community and public media since 2012, with a mission to uplift and amplify the voices of those who are currently under-heard and underrepresented, with a focus on independent and locally made music and art.
She currently hosts nights on Colorado Public Radio's new music service, Indie 102.3, and is the creator of Especial, a weekly, hour long dive into new and independent Latiné-made music from around the 'Americas' and en Colorado.
She's also the founder and host of Whiskey, Women and Song, which pairs local female-identifying musicians with locally crafted whiskies for performances, interviews, and whiskey tastings. She sometimes writes for Denver Westword, with a focus on local art.
You can see her weekly Band Shirt of the Week and more on her Instagram @surlybruce.
Along with being our Host for all of our collaborations, Bruce serves as our Executive Director.
Celesté
Celesté Martinez is una hija de Aztlán - born in Santa Cruz, CA, raised in San Antonio, TX and now calling Denver, CO home for the past decade. Celesté identifies as a Queer Chicana Womxn of Color.
She is the jefa of Celestial Alegría, where she works with individuals and organizations to igniting joy through transformation. Her experience from working as an organizer to nonprofit director has taught Celesté invaluable lessons, which she often calls upon to meet the needs of her clients and create innovative programs through her business. Her services include life coaching, facilitation, racial equity training and so much more.
In addition, Celesté is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist of Denver’s favorite QTPOC banda TúLips. She is also a poet and you can often find her sharing her work in Denver’s local scene.
Celesté was featured entrepreneur in our first ever Colorful Colorado Collaboration with Lolita and Lady Justice Brewing and continues to play an important role behind the scenes as our Promotions Director.
Nicole
Nicole identifies as a Multicultural Womanist of Nigerian, Scottish, English, Cameroonian, Benin and Togo, Western Bantu, Norwegian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent. Nicole was born in the occupied Sauk nation area located along the Mississippi River currently known as Illinois and has made her home in occupied Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe land known as Colorado for more than 20 years.
Nicole is the owner of Compassionate Counseling of Denver. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she weaves ancestral healing and clinical psycho therapeutic modalities. Her focus on mental health and holistic healing practices offer a unique combination of education, mobilization, and liberation through creative expression, world travel, and music. In addition to her private practice, she currently collaborates with Swallow Hill Music, blending music with social emotional curriculum for their Little Swallows Outreach Program.
She is the daughter of an entrepreneur and watched her mother escape poverty by tirelessly building an empire starting from her kitchen table.
Outside of work, Nicole is an abstract visual artist and percussionist. You can find her praying through dance anywhere there is music or water. Nicole joined our team for Season 2 and serves as the Operations Director.
Demi
Demi is a social media maven that has been in the digital marketing game for nearly 9 years. She has worked in media from The Colorado Springs Independent to Ultra5280 and now Colorado Public Radio. Passionate about creativity, Demi has dabbled in photography, video editing, creative direction, podcasting, and journalistic writing. You can catch her with her phone in hand at all times, ready to catch a perfect moment for the many social channels she runs.
Currently, Demi is the Digital and Social Media Editor at Colorado Public Radio where she manages and creates content for Indie 102.3 and CPR Classical's digital platforms.
Demi has always been passionate about the Colorado music and arts community and has dedicated her skills to serve organizations like The Underground Music Showcase, Meow Wolf, Youth on Record, and Westword Music Showcase.
She hopes to continue to build relationships across Colorado and uplift the BIPOC and queer communities through collaboration and promotion.
about our fiscal sponsor
SISTERS OF COLOR UNITED FOR EDUCATION (SOCUE) is Colorado’s Oldest Promotora (community health worker) program, currently operating from a culturally responsive shared space called HEAL Denver. Founded in 1989, SOCUE’s holistic health education utilizes an original, culturally responsive curriculum of Mind, Body and Spirit to address intergenerational cycles of health disparities rooted in historical trauma and train the next generation of community leaders that break economic, cultural, health and social barriers.
