ILI Fellows in group exercise on opening day of ILI Intensive #3 in San Antonio, TX. All Photos: Melisa Cardona
Get a glimpse into the ILI intensive experience through this day-by-day look.
Goals for the ILI San Antonio Intensive
- Articulate the purpose, origin & intercultural approach of ILI as a grounding for the overall cohort experience.
- Offer curriculum across all 4 core topics (Who We Are, Where We Are, How We Work, Why We Matter) and the range of communities that anchor ILI.
- Offer intentional space for relationship-building & connection with the cohort balanced with intellectual & skill-building work.
- Offer a deep-dive experience into the Latinx connection to the place and people.
- Offer opportunities for local community and others to engage with ILI cohort & content.

THURSDAY, MAY 2
- Opening: ILI Vision & Goals
- Reflections on Shared Histories: Community Altar & Ofrendas
Suzy Gonzalez, ILI Fellow & Delilah Montoya, Printmaker & Educator - Reflections and Values
- Latinidad & Interculturality: Facilitated discussion will explore the experiences and challenges of what Latinidad means within our intercultural work and artistic practice.
- Intersectionality: What Makes a Good Intercultural Ally?
- Welcome Reception at Presa House Gallery
Rigoberto Luna, Co-Founder, Presa House Gallery & Jenelle Esparza, Co-Founder, Presa House Gallery & NALAC Team
FRIDAY, MAY 3
- Citizenship, Migration and Immigration
Maria Lopez De Leon, NALAC President and CEO; Justin Tullius, Immigration Attorney ; Habiba Noor, Adjunct Professor, Trinity University & Researcher ; Karla Aguilar, Development Coordinator, AIT-SCM ; Juliana Horn, Program Management Director, Catholic Charities ; Josué Esau, Multidisciplinary Artist - POD 1: Working Across Differences
- POD 2: Intersectionality / Showing Up Interculturally
- Fellow Ignite Talks
- Visit to Esperanza Peace & Justice Center
SATURDAY, MAY 4
- POD 3: The Decolonization of Education
- The History of Texas Mexican Food and How it Impacts Identity & Community: A Cooking Lesson & Demonstration; Adán Medrano, Chef and Author of Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage in Recipes
- POD 4: Alternatives to the 501c3
- Intersectionality in Art, Culture and Political History
SUNDAY, MAY 5
- Healing Ceremony Rooted in Latinx Tradition
Laura Yohualtlahuiz Rios-Ramirez, Cihuatltohki, Kalpulli Ayolopaktzin - Intercultural Perspectives from the Eastside San Antonio ; Yonnie Blanchette, Executive Director, Carver Community Center ; Maria Stevenson Greene, East Side Community Elder ; Tbow Gonzales, Independent Artist & Founder of Hibu Productions
- Intercultural Praxis: Building a Methodology and/or Framework
- Closing Celebration at La Fonda ; Featuring Azul Barrientos and Los Nahuatlatos

MONDAY, MAY 6
- Closing & Gratitude Space