Flor de Nopal

My Name is Bea Velázquez and I am a queer brown person from the border and musician. Music has forever been the way I express/process emotion and the way my family communicates. In 2015 I began to delve into original composition. That year I bought my first synth and learned how to manipulate sound waves to expose and create new layers. When my music has lyrics, they are in Spanish and English; I live in both languages. Some experiences are easily shared in Spanish, while others are connected to English. You can hear this duality in my music and compositions. My experience living in the Borderlands is like this as well - two worlds in one experience. My "stage name" is Flor de Nopal or cactus flower, a metaphor to describe the beauty I have found between the thorns.
Second to my identity as a musician, I consider myself a community organizer and advocate. In many ways, I did not choose this identity, but rather it chose me. As an Immigrant, Indigenous, and Two-Spirit/Trans person there are many barriers I have faced and have seen my peers and family face.