Erika Guadalupe Núñez

“Being a strong leader also means taking responsibility, being accountable, and having a commitment to lifelong learning.  True leaders never stop growing.”

Erika Guadalupe Núñez (she/her/hers/ella) is a queer immigrant, artist, and cultural organizer. After emigrating from Mexico at a young age with her mother, Erika Guadalupe grew up sin papeles and eventually sin miedo and began working as a community organizer for various local and national campaigns for immigrant rights in 2011. She found her way into the movement as a young person looking for community and found that the creative practice of utilizing her art for social change was how she could stay for the long haul. 

Erika currently serves as the Executive Director of Juntos, a Latinx immigrant rights organization based in South Philly that fights for the rights, well-being, and liberation of immigrants locally and nationally.  As the former resident artist of Juntos, Erika Guadalupe's public work centered around creating art for rallies and protests with members of her community, in order to highlight issues of inequality as they pertain to the immigrant rights movement. 

As an adult, she has always aspired to be the person she needed when she was younger - an example of leadership that would have helped guide her poor, queer, and undocumented self out of what felt like a dark and endless tunnel. She believes that the use of many tools - arts included - are critical in the movement and for securing a future grounded in resiliency, healing, and expression for new generations.

What does leadership mean to you?

“As an adult, I have always aspired to be the person I needed when I was younger - essentially, an example of leadership that would have helped guide my poor, queer, and undocumented self out of what felt like a dark and endless tunnel. A big part of being a leader for me is being kind, doing the right thing and remaining steadfast with my values and ideals in times of crisis. Lately, I've learned that being a strong leader also means taking responsibility, being accountable, and having a commitment to lifelong learning. True leaders never stop growing.”

Biography:

Erika Guadalupe Núñez (she/her/hers/ella) is a queer immigrant, artist, and cultural organizer. After emigrating from Mexico at a young age with her mother, Erika Guadalupe grew up sin papeles and eventually sin miedo and began working as a community organizer for various local and national campaigns for immigrant rights in 2011. She found her way into the movement as a young person looking for community, and found that the creative practice of utilizing her art for social change was how she could stay for the long haul. Erika Guadalupe currently serves as the Executive Director of Juntos, a Latinx immigrant rights organization based in South Philly that fights for the rights, well-being, and liberation of immigrants locally and nationally. As the former resident artist of Juntos, Erika Guadalupe's public work centered around creating art for rallies and protests with members of her community, in order to highlight issues of inequality as they pertain to the immigrant rights movement. She also institutionalized Juntos’ yearly Dia de los Muertos celebration, which honors folkloric tradition while also highlighting migrant border deaths and deaths in detention caused by systemic injustice, border militarization, and government failings. She believes that by utilizing art as a social justice tool, we are able to build power and critical awareness of the world around us in order to secure a future grounded in resiliency, healing, and expression for new generations.