Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Omar Torres-Kortright has contributed regularly to the Chicago arts scene in different capacities since his arrival to the city in the early 2000’s. He founded Agúzate, an organization dedicated to promoting independent Latin music with a strong emphasis on Afro-Latin culture. Through Agúzate, Omar collaborated with government agencies, long-standing local institutions, and organizations with an eye on international music, such as the Old Town School of Folk Music, Sound Culture, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and Hothouse.

After gaining extensive management experience in healthcare language services at Lurie Children’s Hospital from 2004 to 2015, Omar shifted his focus to the cultural sector and the Puerto Rican community. In 2015, he became the Executive Director of Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center (SRBCC), having previously served on its Board of Directors for five years. His journey with SRBCC is profound, evolving from music student to volunteer, Board member, and now Executive Director.

Under his visionary leadership, SRBCC has navigated significant challenges and achieved remarkable milestones. The center spearheaded the Chicago Hurricane Aid for Puerto Rican Arts and served as a leading organization for the Puerto Rican Agenda’s 3R’s for PR Campaign (Rescue, Relief, Rebuild). During the pandemic, SRBCC produced the Abrazo Virtual Series to sustain community engagement through the arts. The organization has been honored with the MacArthur International Connections Fund award in 2016 and 2019, and was recognized as one of Chicago’s Cultural Treasures in 2021. This new funding has enabled SRBCC to enhance its facilities in Hermosa and launch arts apprenticeships for youth and transformative opportunities for professional artists of color through artist-in-residence and international exchange programs.

Omar’s contributions extend beyond SRBCC; he is a member of the Mayor’s Cultural Advisory Council and a 2022 Chicago Peace Fellows cohort member.

Torres-Kortright is co-director and producer of the upcoming documentary Alive and Kicking: The Story of Chamaco Ramírez. With a list of appearances that includes Gilberto Santa Rosa, Tego Calderón, and Cheo Feliciano, for the first time ever, the film discovers the story of Chamaco Ramírez, one of salsa’s most influential soneros whose 1983 murder in the streets of the South Bronx is still unresolved today.

José Guzmán Borrero, a native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, is a multi-genre guitarist who has performed with jazz ensembles, chamber groups, and rock bands. As a jazz guitarist, he has recorded on albums by Dimijtre, Vasiljevic (released on Rope a Dope Records), KASA String Quartet, and Mr. Chair’s Better Days. He leads the Latin jazz group, The Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective, which has released several albums on Spotify. Guzmán has performed as an artist in residence at the Caroga Lake Music Festival as both a classical and jazz guitarist. He has received grants from the city of Chicago’s Department of Culture and Special Events, Urbana Arts, and the Mykytyn Composition Award for his composition “Isochronal: A Suite for Big Band.”

He holds an undergraduate degree from the Puerto Rico Conservatory in Jazz Guitar and Afro-Caribbean Music, a master’s degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Theory and Composition, and a doctorate degree (DMA) from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in Jazz Guitar Performance with a minor in Composition.

A native Venezuelan, Norma Nuñez-Ruch brings over two decades of dedicated involvement with programs and organizations that secure equal access to creative youth development, embodying a profound understanding of their philosophy, mission, and vision.

Fluent in both Spanish and English, Norma holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and a Master’s in Cultural Management.

She stands out as a trailblazer, being the first Venezuelan recipient of the Ford Motor Company International Fellow of the 92nd Street Y in 2011, and a graduate of the 2018 Cohort of the Global Leaders Program, an innovative nine-month professional certificate in Civic Leadership, Teaching Artistry, Cultural Agency, and Social Entrepreneurship.

The impact of her work has been extensive, as she has held pivotal roles in renowned organizations including Fundamusical Simón Bolivar (Venezuela), Grupo Concertante Talía (Spain), Allentown Symphony Association, and Ravinia Festival Association (USA). Emphasizing her commitment to transforming lives through music and civic leadership, Norma has served in several Boards of Directors as both member and consultant, such as the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts in Pennsylvania, and the Ismael Cala Foundation, in Florida.

Currently, Norma serves as Manager of Operations at Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, the longest-standing Latino cultural center in Chicago, Illinois, as her focus and commitment remains on creating vibrant and nurturing environments for youth development through community engagement, artistic performances, and cultural exchanges.

Born and raised in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, Wendy Navarro has been working in the customer service field in Chicago for over two decades. Wendy is energetic and passionate about the work of local non-profits, and has extensive experience in coordinating and supporting operations for grassroots organizations. She joined the SRBCC team in January 2023.

Brittany is a teaching artist with a background in building, supporting, and leading programming in green spaces centering community vision, needs and interests. She has over nineteen years of hands-on experiential education work. She thinks that nature and art go hand in hand in a way to help us get to know ourselves, one another and the world around us more deeply. She enjoys building and working towards goals on teams that can continue to live on and thrive for years to come.

She holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree Geography and Environmental Studies Degree from Northeastern Illinois University with an Education Concentration, and a Master of Urban Farming Certification from the University of Illinois Extension.

Michael Rodriguez, Jr. has over 25 years of experience as a Latin Percussionist who hails from the Logan Square and Hermosa areas of Chicago. As both performer and teacher Michael is intentional about spreading the love of music, culture and learning.

Adrian Ruiz started playing piano at the age of 16 in his high school Jazz Band which is where he discovered his passion for music. He won the Ravinia Jazz Scholar award his junior and senior year in high school.

A student of piano giant Willie Pickens, from The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine, Adrian started playing professionally at the age of 19. His young career includes a 2006 recording with internationally-renowned Chicago trombonist Vincent Gardner.

In the last 15 years, Adrian Ruiz has shared the stage as pianist for the top tier of Salsa and Jazz, including Frank Catalano, Von Freeman, Luis ‘Perico’ Ortiz, Ernie Adams, Frankie Vázquez, Frankie Negrón, Alison Ruble, The Drifters, Tony Vega, Pedrito Martínez, Víctor Miranda, Grammy-Nominated Angel Meléndez and his Mambo 911 Orchestra, and Grammy Winners Roberto Vizcaino, and Raul Pineda.

Denita Inez is a dancer, choreographer, and instructor. Denita is the Artistic Director of Desueno, a Latin Jazz dance and private event company. She is currently on staff at Lake Forest Dance Academy and at Old Town School of Folk Music. She is an independent freelance dancer and has danced for Chicago Dance Crash, Noumenon Dance Ensemble, Modern Clave, and Civic Dance Ensemble. She has represented the United States at the World Latin Dance Cup. Denita Inez is known for her energetic style and dynamic musicality. She has various choreography credits including “The Chi” on Showtime.

Denita Inez received her Bachelor of Science in Dance at Wayne State University. She has also trained with Deeply Rooted and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She danced in works by Alia Simon, April Tornby, Rosa Mercedes, Samantha Shelton, Christopher Huggins, Kevin Jeff Iega, Richard Amaro, Lisa McCall and Raymond Robinson. As a performer, Denita Inez is revered for her musicality and unique movement style.

A Dominican-American pianist and composer based in Chicago and Baltimore, Julián´s journey started with the Caribbean rhythms of their childhood. A classically trained artist, their work found a home in jazz performance, improvisation, and collaboration.

Julián is a recent Jazz Performance graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where they studied with Warren Wolf as a recipient of the Merit School of Music’s Alice S. Pfaelzer Tuition-Free Conservatory Blue Ribbon Scholarship. As a solo pianist they have played at the Aspen Music Festival, Gijón Piano Festival, Brevard Music Festival and Colburn Piano Festival.

They have been named an inaugural member of the Center for Creative Entrepreneurship Music Cohort of 2024, as well as a Semi-Finalist awaiting final results for the 2024 Fulbright Award. They have held a three-year-long monthly residency at the Jazz Showcase with their project Julián and Friends, featuring prominent composer-performers in a collaborative compositional experience.

As a founding member of the Peabody Improvisers Collective, Julián has been creating experimental music since college now releasing music on the New York label Carrier Records, and as a dance accompanist they have been performing improvisational music for ballet, modern and West-African dance programs for the last three years.

Jose is a Latin percussionist with experience playing Latin rhythms and seamlessly lending these rhythms to different music genres. My motto is “Life never stops and so learning how to play percussion doesn’t either”. As a result, for me the epitome of percussion playing is taking a “folkloric” or “authentic” style and method and applying it to contemporary music… and vice versa. Teaching, learning, playing with a group or individually requires that as a percussionist I play and keep tempo by playing a beat that is rhythmical, and provides a swing which supports and complements other playing instruments and vocals.