Today we’d like to introduce you to Mayra Vargas.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Mayra. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It is difficult to pin-point where I started – but it all centers in utilizing music as a medium of storytelling and activism. I went to school to pursue my passion for both music and media (with an emphasis on Film, Radio and TV) and somehow landed helping songwriters fulfill their dreams through placing their music in visual media as well as creating space for women of color to perform and find an inclusive community to fully express themselves. My career path started late as I am an immigrant who had to learn the language first, gather money and resources to then be able to pursue my dreams. It’s been a long winding road, but I am here feeling that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Many struggles. Not only language barriers but financial. Being an immigrant without my parents at a young age was extremely challenging. I had to work intense hours and study the same amount to survive and make my college dreams come through. But if there is one thing that immigrants are at heart is being resilient. Sometimes I just wanted to throw the towel, but in the end I always figured that my success meant much more than a personal goal. I did it also to represent those who could see themselves in me and to prove that even though sometimes things seem so far away, we can find a way to get there (many a times with the help of the community)
Please tell us about Women Fuck Shit Up Fest / Undocumented Tales.
Women Fuck Shit Up Fest is an inclusive music festival happening in Los Angeles once a year which hopes to make a safe space for female-identifying, trans and gender non-conforming folks to perform while raising funds for a cause we are fired up about. I founded this festival with my friend Merilou Salazar from the band WASI. Next year we are coming back with our 6th iteration of the fest to continue serving our community and making inclusive, intentional space focused on highlighting women of color.
Undocumented Tales Season 3 – I was honored to join the production team of this amazing web-series as the music supervisor and composer for this season. This is an important, pioneering and historic series that follows the life of an undocumented queer character and his journey through good and bad moments, displaying the power of community and the tenderness of queer love. The creator of the show Armando Ibañez is a visionary who is shifting the way the undocumented community is portrayed in the media. I am proud to have contributed my creative musical ideas to this remarkable project through a collection of songs from amazing (mostly L.A. based) artists using their lyrics and feelings to emphasize the series’ narratives as well as composed songs and pieces of my own to go along with the overall focus of the show.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have challenged my self to embrace the uncomfortable more. There is so much growth in getting out of your comfort zone.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @luciveedoesmusic
Image Credit:
WFSU Organizing crew – M Vargas
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