User:Kjponce3/Sandra "Pocha" Peña Sarmiento

Sandra “Pocha” Peña is an Media Arts professional and is best known for her award-winning filmmaking and visual arts projects. Pocha identifies herself as Bolivian-American, half Chicana and is an Indigenous artisan. She adopted the moniker, “Pocha”, which is a term used by Mexican and Mexican American people to describe Chicanos and those who have left Mexico, they typically speak Spanglish but lack fluency in Spanish. However, this name is meant as a term that expresses pride in having both Mexican and American heritage and her work is influenced by this and is firmly rooted in the Chicano experience.

Biography
Pocha’s work revolves around making creative concepts and finding the best ways to turn those abstract concepts into a visual reality and she does so by expanding on and connecting concepts such as Film, Technology & Art with Civic Partnerships, Advocacy & Diversity Efforts.

Currently, she is residing in SoCal and has been featured on "American Latino TV" as well as many other national media broadcasting networks such as: ABC, NBC, Univision, Telemundo, Fox Latin, Flama, KPCC, KCRW, NY Times, La Opinion, OC Register, OC Weekly, MiniOndas, Para Todos, Tu Ciudad. Furthermore, Peña has put more effort into her Writing & Video Arts project in much closer analysis of the local lore in her hometown, as well as intercultural mythologies and the unjust systemic structure of America’s democracy.

Early Life
Pocha Peña was born in conservative Orange County and spent most summers on a ranch with her grandparents in the Andes. The striking contrast between these two polar opposite locations showed her that social systems in place matter when trying to understand the cultural histories and trajectories of the land and people.

Sandra Peña Sarmiento is a native Santa Ana resident and grew up in and resides in Ward with her husband, retired mother, and her chihuahuas. Sandra has spent years teaching the art of video and the silent cinema to youths across most of the nation and is working hard at getting certified to become a foster parent to Unaccompanied Refugee Minors. She does so because her lifelong passion has been to provide children and families with the tools and opportunities they lack but are vital for them to succeed. She teaches film in her hometown and is an active part of her community as Chair of the Arts & Culture Commission.

Education
1986 - 1988 Universidad Complutense de Madrid for Art History, Propaganda and Philosophy.

1988 - 1990 Chapman University for Communications with a specialization in Film & TV.

1990 - 1993 UCSD B.A. in Visual Arts and B.A. in Sociology.

1993 - 1995 UCLA Master of Fine Arts Candidate in the School of Film, TV and New Media.

Selected Works

 * Bulleted list item One of Pocha Peña’s earliest works is an MTV music video she aired for The Vandals, a late 1980s punk rock band. She shot this music video while she was in Spain, Universidad Complutense de Madrid for Art History, studying video art with renowned artists Bill Viola and Nam June Paik.
 * Bulleted list item Pocha Peña has worked for over a decade on various Spanish-language television shows and promos for Spanish-language networks such as Telemundo, Fox Latin America, as well as Univision.


 * Bulleted list item She currently manages a seminal named the “Pocha Manifesto” which she published in the following groups; Jump Cut film journal, Chon Noeriega’s Chicanos & Film and Mackenzie’s Film Manifestos and Global Cinema Cultures anthology.


 * Bulleted list item Pocha Peña also penned articles that reviewed films and art car shows as well as La Opinion’s Day of the Dead article and penned many written works for Tu Ciudad, OC Register and the Chicano Art Magazine.


 * Bulleted list item Pocha Peña is a co-creator of Aztec Gold, which is a series of episode videos that are broadcasted in both live and graphic treatments of the beloved Mexican character Lucha Libre.


 * Bulleted list item She is the 2010 Co-recipient of the Warhol Foundation supported IdeaFund.


 * Bulleted list item She aided in the establishment of Santa Ana’s first Arts Commission organization and has served as their Chair since, she also ran for City Council in 2018.

Awards

 * Bulleted list item City of Santa Ana - Various, presented by Santa Ana City Council, 2009 – 2016.


 * Bulleted list item Woman of the Year, 46th Congressional District, presented by Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, 2014.
 * Bulleted list item National Conflict Resolution Center Peace Award – Member of the resolution team that ended the 7-year Boycott on the Centro Cultural de La Raza, presented by the Mayor of San Diego, 2008.