Karim & Mara are soulmate homies that met in their late youth and quickly discovered that Cairo and Miami culture bleed into each other in magic ways. Discoteca 3ala Mars presents explorations of musical lineages between Masr, the 305 and the broader musical traditions of the surrounding regions and cultures. The intention is to explore and enjoy sounds that shape the experiences of third culture kids outside of the places they’re from.

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Walela Nehanda (they/them) is the author of critically acclaimed Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir (Penguin Teen). They are a fellow for Ford & Mellon’s 2024 Disability Futures cohort & a member of Out 100’s 2020 Class of “ripple inducing change makers” alongside Janelle Monae & Andre Leon Talley.

Walela provides workshops, keynotes, hosting, performances, and lectures across the country ranging from academic institutions like University of Iowa to UCLA.

Their writing has been featured in TIME, The Poetry Foundation, SELF Magazine & they have been featured by publications such as: The Cut, Nylon Magazine, The Guardian, and more.

Walela currently resides in their hometown of Los Angeles, California and is typically fixated on astrology, killer whales, figure skating, researching archival practices, and cultural commentary.

This month we were joined by poet and writer Walela Nehanda to discuss topics spanning their involvement in LA’s various cultural scenes as a rising poetic force, the need for conflict in the development of revolutionary love and the use of culture to ground folks in a sense of place. 

References:

Amilcar Cabral, National Liberation and Culture: 
https://www.jpanafrican.org/edocs/e-DocCabral3.5.pdf

Frantz Fanon, Wretched of the Earth:
https://monoskop.org/images/6/6b/Fanon_Frantz_The_Wretched_of_the_Earth_1963.pdf/ 

We invite you to visit the are.na board Walela made to commemorate this episode here