Cameron Crowell

1 week ago | portlandmercury.com | Cameron Crowell

La Isla Electronica (L.I.E.) begins their self-titled EP by munching on some chips and declaring ‚ÄúVale vamos,‚ÄĚ (ok, let‚Äôs go), before every instrument in this Portland four piece enters at once on ‚ÄúNo Digas Nunca‚ÄĚ (Don‚Äôt Say Never). It‚Äôs as if your friends loaded a 24-pack into the basket on the back of your bike and are trying to see if they can fit any snacks too. You could be headed anywhere: a barbeque, a house show, a baby shower.

Mar 13, 2025 | portlandmercury.com | Cameron Crowell

For the past six years, Patricia Váz-quez Gómez has worked closely with youth and families in Oregon’s Mayan Indigenous diaspora. A multidisciplinary artist and educator based in Portland and Mexico City, she collaborated on cultural events, art workshops, and Mayan language classes. Neither she nor the children were fluent in Yucatec Mayan, an Indigenous language spoken on the Yucatan peninsula, but the kids had the sound of it, which Vázquez Gómez wanted to better understand.