La RaNa Muñoz

Born and raised in the Lower Valley of El Paso, TX., La RaNa, Griselda Liz Muñoz has taken the Southwest Spoken Word Scene by storm, debuting as first place winner of the Texas Street Rasquache Festival Slam in 2005, judged by Bruce George, co-founder of HBO's Def Poetry Jam and Various Def Poets from all over the country. This led to opening for nationally touring hip hop group, The Visionaries, as well as performing Chuco-Style for Dolores Huerta, famed mujer civil rights activist. "I am La RaNa because I croak the injustice", she says.

La RaNa was recently published in the current issue of Mujeres de Maíz, a once yearly publication of female artists and poets out of Los Angeles, and featured in a short documentary chronicling El Paso ' s social justice struggles through the arts. Muñoz has performed countless times for city events, marches, art shows and for students from all over the Southwest and was recently commissioned by the City of El Paso Arts and Culture Department as the resident Spoken Word Artist in a collaboration of six local artists and mediums in "Expresión Creativa", a series of public workshops at various locations all over the city.

"La RaNa ' s performance poetry celebrates what it is to be Latina, and what it is to be human. Her words weave a tapestry of her history, her struggle, her hopes and self-determination into one Urban Vernacular. She' s a healer of lost souls."
-Bruce George, Co-Founder of Def Poetry Jam