Mosaic Atlas: Interview with Fego Navarro
Document Type
Interview
Publication Date
8-13-2024
Keywords
Lyrical Opposition, documentary filmmaking, engaged poetry for the people, social justice, spoken word performance, Salvadoran-American, cultural networks
Abstract
This interview with Fego Navarro, a spoken word artist and documentary filmmaker, was conducted by Milina Jovanovic as part of the Mosaic Atlas project. Topics discussed include cultural connections with El Salvadir and the San Francisco Bay Area, education of new generations, artistic influences, and community activism. As part of the Mosaic Atlas project, Mosaic Staff and Volunteers, SJSU students and faculty from the Anthropology and Film, Theater, and Dance Departments interviewed people who support and produce art throughout the Bay Area.
Recommended Citation
Fego Navarro and Milina Jovanovic. "Mosaic Atlas: Interview with Fego Navarro" Mosaic Atlas Interviews (2024).
Additional Files
Fego Navarro Audio transcript approved.pdf (242 kB)
Transcript
Network
San Mateo County
Participant Website
http://lyricalopposition.org/
Address
San Mateo County
Neighborhood
San Mateo County
Source: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/mosaic-atlas-interviews/50/
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Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
Abstract: This interview with Fego Navarro, a spoken word artist and documentary filmmaker,
was conducted by Milina Jovanovic as part of the Mosaic Atlas project. Topics discussed include
cultural connections with El Salvadir and the San Francisco Bay Area, education of new
generations, artistic influences, and community activism. As part of the Mosaic Atlas project,
Mosaic Staff and Volunteers, SJSU students and faculty from the Anthropology and Film,
Theater, and Dance Departments interviewed people who support and produce art throughout
the Bay Area.
Keywords: Lyrical Opposition, documentary filmmaking, engaged poetry for the people, social
justice, spoken word performance, Salvadoran-American, cultural networks.
Interview begins:
Milina Jovanovic (00:07):
Okay. Thank you again for agreeing to talk to us today. We are delighted. Could you first share
your first and last name with us? And start with, my name is because this is an oral history
interview for our ethnographic research.
Fego Navarro (00:31):
Yeah. My name is Fego. I'm from San Francisco, California.
Milina Jovanovic (00:38):
Very good. So Fe go, what cultures do you identify with? Is it just the culture of your parents or
ancestors, or would you say that your identity is tied to any other cultures?
Fego Navarro (01:02):
Yeah, no, I definitely identify with being Salvadorian, Salvadorian, Americans, what I say, my
family is from that region in Central America, tiny, small country that's been in the headlines
lately a lot because of some of the political discourse with the new president.
Milina Jovanovic (01:21):
Again, I'm
Fego Navarro (01:26):
Nayib Bukele. I want to go visit soon because it's safer now. And I lived out there as a kid, so
that's part of my experience too. I was born in San Francisco, but I lived in El Salvador as a kid
from seven to almost 10 years old. Like nine and a half. Yeah.
Milina Jovanovic (01:42):
Wow. So your parents went back and then again?
1Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
Fego Navarro (01:46):
Yeah, they went out there on an adventure. My mom was born in San Francisco. My father was
born in El Salvador. So I kind of have these two experiences with my mom being
Milina Jovanovic (01:57):
So deeply embedded in your experience and probably your art. We'll hear about that. So what
do you remember from the beginning of your career as an artist and how do these beginnings
relate to where you are now?
Fego Navarro (02:19):
Yeah, well, it's actually tied to my culture as well. I think one of the first times I remember being
kind of, as they say, catching the bug to want to be an artist or perform was in El Salvador. I
shared a poem in front of the whole school and something magical happened at that moment,
and I knew I wanted to continue doing that. And from there on, I went on to, when I came back
here to the States to join theater and do plays at the schools, music was always a big part of it
too. So hip hop, the influence of that building our own little home studio. I think I recorded my
first song. I was like 13 years old in a closet with egg cartons and kind of the home setup. And
then from
Milina Jovanovic (03:11):
There, an experience.
Fego Navarro (03:15):
And yeah, just from there, just kind of finding ways to make it happen, going to open mics, and I
am fortunate to still be doing it.
Milina Jovanovic (03:24):
Yeah. So sometime time flew, but you are,
Fego Navarro (03:32):
Yeah, I could tell you the exact year. 1997. I'm aging myself. I'm 34. Yeah, I was seven years old in
1997 in El Salvador. I shared a poem and from there on I was like, oh yeah, I love this. I want to
keep doing this.
Milina Jovanovic (03:46):
So you said it already, but for those that would be listening to at least snippets of this interview,
could you describe holistically what exactly you do? I heard poetry and music and even theater.
2Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
So how would you describe your art to someone who doesn't know you?
Fego Navarro (04:16):
Yeah, definitely. Well, I would say in the season of my life, I'm doing film and music. I've had the
opportunity to direct a full feature documentary, a poetic documentary. That's where the poetry
is still a part of it, titled Re-Entrification . It's a play on words, on the word gentrification. And we
got together with local artists from the Bay Area and told the story of five residents that have
been displaced and are seeking refuge in tiny homes. And we were very just grateful to capture
their story. And we had Jimmy Fails from the Last Black Man in San Francisco, a film that did. Oh,
Milina Jovanovic (04:56):
I saw that one.
Fego Navarro (04:57):
Yeah, you seen that movie,
Milina Jovanovic (04:59):
And I'm going to definitely make a point to see yours.
Fego Navarro (05:02):
Oh yeah, thank you. We hope to have it on some streaming platform, some point this year. But
having his story in it made sense because it's that same subject matter of feeling displaced,
feeling not seen. And so he shared his testimony on being an artist in San Francisco, so that
helps kind of bring attention to our film as well. Yeah. And from there on, we are now doing a
series of different episodes on the same subject. So we're doing one located in the Mission
District, which is a part of San Francisco, Soma downtown, and also Visitation Valley. So it's
opened new doors and opportunities to tell the story.
Milina Jovanovic (05:44):
Where is Visitation Valley?
Fego Navarro (05:46):
It's also, San Francisco. In between that Sunnydale area? Yeah.
Milina Jovanovic (05:57):
Wow.
Fego Navarro (05:58):
3Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
Excuse me. Yeah, so that's been fun. I mean, I started directing music videos, I perform as well.
So that gave me the opportunity to be able to do this documentary. And so yeah, this season is
a lot of film and music. I'm a creative director for a nonprofit lyrical opposition, or 5 0 1 3 C. And
we have been able to do shows throughout the years, once again throughout the Bay Area,
doing workshops at schools, sharing this film, sharing our music with different artists we
collaborate with. So a couple things.
Milina Jovanovic (06:35):
How do those workshops typically look like?
Fego Navarro (06:38):
Yeah, so we'll team up, for example, with an educator, a teacher, and they'll have to come into
the classroom. We'll do some spoken word poetry. We get introduced to the students, see what
they want to write about. So we'll put up different subject matters that we could write about
and explore. That way they get comfortable with the idea of just writing, because sometimes
with creative writing, it's very vulnerable. And I think being that our collective consists of artists,
it's easy to share what we're doing and then that kind of opens up
Milina Jovanovic (07:13):
It resonates with them. Yeah, exactly. So that they could see that they could be consider writers
as well.
Fego Navarro (07:23):
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
Milina Jovanovic (07:25):
I heard something similar a long time ago from Sima Reyes, I dunno if you know that name, but
he is a local artist here, and he went to schools and tutor kids for a long time. Just solo.
Fego Navarro (07:43):
Yeah, yeah. No, it's fun.
Milina Jovanovic (07:44):
Yeah. And so your whole organization does this workshops, right?
Fego Navarro (07:49):
Yeah, absolutely. We have different, everyone has their own strengths. It's kind of like the
X-Men. We all have our own powers and we are able to go, we have someone who's very
4Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
knowledgeable in the political sector and going to school for that. So talking to policymakers,
because our film deals with a lot of things that are currently happening with the homelessness
issue.
Milina Jovanovic (08:15):
So you streamed the film at schools?
Fego Navarro (08:19):
Yeah, we've done Berkeley. We've done SF State Skyline College. We've done some snippets at
some of the high schools here. So yeah, we are actually lining up on that SF State coming up, so
Milina Jovanovic (08:34):
Involved. And so students then engage in the discussion and
Fego Navarro (08:44):
Share their thoughts, what comes
Milina Jovanovic (08:45):
Up, and maybe even think about solutions?
Fego Navarro (08:50):
Absolutely. They're the future leaders. So that's always been a tool. And I mean, I reflect on the
Berkeley screening we had, and it was so thought provoking. It was just really cool to see how
they're taking in the content.
Milina Jovanovic (09:03):
So does your organization benefit from that feedback that you receive?
Fego Navarro (09:10):
Yeah, I think the two things that come up for me is understanding how it's being received.
Sometimes you're working on, it's almost like a, I don't know, like a painting. You don't know
what they're taking from it. And we benefit with grants too, because we get to say we are
sharing it at these schools, and the most important is to start that conversation to find
solutions. So these students are going to go on and be in roles where they could actually
potentially make a difference. And we hope that the film encourages them to do so.
Milina Jovanovic (09:45):
Yeah. Great. So have you noticed any differences, for example, if you do that in some big cities
5Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
like San Francisco or maybe some smaller areas, I saw that your organization works with the
Brisbane community and other maybe smaller communities along the coast, and what kind of
differences, if there are any differences?
Fego Navarro (10:20):
Yeah, it's funny. With Brisbane, we are located in our office space here, so that kind of got more
familiar with this area. And once again, I think it's a conversation that they've had around
affordable housing. So there's a lot of concerns around it too. And we've been able to bring the
mayor out and other community leaders to actually just ask some questions about it. What
would it look like to find affordable housing here? And is that something that the community
would be open to it, without this fear? I don't know if you heard the term nimby not in my
backyard. That's something in our film.
Milina Jovanovic (11:03):
I mean more like a whole, not an abbreviation.
Fego Navarro (11:07):
Yeah, yeah. It's a thing. A lot of people are like, yeah, let's save the homeless and let just not
have it in my backyard. And I think our film exposes that. So having those conversations with the
community here has been important.
Milina Jovanovic (11:21):
So again, thinking about the difference, does it happen, do these conversations happen in
smaller communities as more open because people know each other? Or is there any
difference?
Fego Navarro (11:43):
It's open to everyone. It's open to the entire public. If we do something in Brisbane, I think this
last time we did it in January, it was the first time we shared it. Mostly Brisbane citizens came
out. But yeah, it is for everybody. So we want to get, yeah,
Milina Jovanovic (12:02):
Yeah. So you don't exactly know who came from there in the audience?
Fego Navarro (12:06):
Yeah, we could eyeball it and see, okay, that's my neighbor. But
Milina Jovanovic (12:12):
6Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
Yeah. Okay. And what motivates you to do what you do? I see that your artist is highly engaged,
and there is advocacy in pretty much everything, poetry and documentaries and things, but
what's your primary motivation to do what you do?
Fego Navarro (12:37):
Yeah, I think it's a responsibility for us. Being that I'm born and raised in San Francisco and
seeing the impact that gentrification, for example, has had in my community and my friends and
my family, I feel like, yeah, we don't want to wait. I had a teacher, and I always kind of quote,
her name was Lauren Mueller. She taught at City College, this class called Poetry for the People.
Very influential. June
Milina Jovanovic (13:05):
Jordan.
Fego Navarro (13:06):
Yeah, she walked with June Jordan. Yeah, I worked at June Jordan, which was a full circle too, in
this path that we've gone on. And I share that. She said, you either write or be written about.
And I always felt like that was, yeah, I don't want to be able to tell our story, not wait for some
big company to come in and try to exploit our stories. It's important for us to document what
we're experiencing as a people here in the Bay Area.
Milina Jovanovic (13:36):
Yeah, thank you for saying that. It is very profound, and hopefully we'll ask you about quoting
these things somewhere.
Fego Navarro (13:49):
It's all
Milina Jovanovic (13:49):
Good. And maybe because I haven't seen the documentary, maybe there is some of that there
too. Right?
Fego Navarro (13:55):
Totally. There's connections there, for sure.
Milina Jovanovic (13:57):
So we already talked about your culture and how your art actually relates to your community.
And you said a few things also about doing things for the community and being grounded in the
7Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
community. So is there any specific piece of art that you would highlight that maybe even shows
more how you are grounded in your community and what that connection looks like or that had
even more power to do something for the community you identify with?
Fego Navarro (14:49):
Yeah. So are you asking specifically, is there a new project that, or
Milina Jovanovic (14:56):
Any project or maybe performance, or is it the documentary that you believe that shows
somehow maybe the power of your community or how the original idea started with your
interactions with your own folks from your own community? For
Fego Navarro (15:25):
Sure. No. Yeah. I think as I mentioned, the documentary has been kind of a life-changing
experience because it opened up so many opportunities to, I never imagined, actually, I did
imagine there's theaters that I would walk by as a kid that I'm like, oh, one day I'm going to
share something there. And yeah, I think it's important. I just have a memory of the Roxy
Theater in San Francisco. I don't know if you've been to it. I used to live on Albion Street, and I
would always walk by there. And when we had our screening there for one of the screenings
we've had, it was such a special moment because our community did come out and our friends,
our family and strangers also came out. And I like to mention that lyrical opposition throughout
this process has done free screenings. So it was always, well, we benefited from, it was beyond
making money out of it.
(16:22):
It was actually to tell our stories and tell it from local eyes. And now that we've completed that,
we're now, we've been doing a bunch of festival runs, and I wrote a screenplay, a short film
based on the early two thousands, once again tied to our upbringing in our neighborhood. And
it's based on an experience I had as a teenager. And we have actors and actresses that are part
of it, and we're in posts right now, so which we're editing everything. And once again, it's tied to
these stories that we experienced growing up, seeing the changes in our community that we
don't want to wait for HBO or a big company to come in and not do justice in our eyes. So yeah,
I think my goal is to keep telling stories. If I could sum it up, it's like we have Re-Entrification this
next film, it's a short film and it's called Deville. It's after the car, Cadillac Deville in Greek, it
means mischievous youth. So it deals with that kind of the adolescence growing up and
challenges that kids go through in the early 2007. So yeah, I'm excited about that. So yeah, I'm
always constantly finding ways to work on new projects.
8Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
Milina Jovanovic (17:50):
Is it going to showcase Salvador and Americans or
Fego Navarro (17:56):
Just that? Yeah, as far as the
Milina Jovanovic (17:58):
Cast, yeah.
Fego Navarro (18:00):
So we have, once again, the Bay Area is the melting pot. We have Filipino, we have Korean,
Hawaiian, Latino, black, just a big group of,
Milina Jovanovic (18:14):
So all of them
Fego Navarro (18:17):
Are part of the project and have, so the person who shot and directed our documentary, I mean
shot and edited our documentary, she's also filming this one, and she's gone on to do amazing
things. Her name is Desiree LaCapture, she's now working with Adobe, which is known for all
the tools they use for filmmaking and Sony and just doing really amazing stuff. We have a really
great team. So it's
Milina Jovanovic (18:45):
A multicultural team. And one of our questions is how you work with people from other
cultures and artists. And so would you say that in a lot that you do, many cultures are somehow
reflected, not just your own? And if so, how is that reflected, not only in collaboration with
those people, but maybe something that resonates with everyone? How would you describe
that?
Fego Navarro (19:24):
Yeah, I think it's so important. I mean, we just had the Olympics take place and the importance
of having every culture representative and different, I'm very spoiled. So the Bay Area, we have,
if I want Vietnamese food tomorrow, I'll go and want Mexican food today. Salvadorian food, I
think it's so important to highlight the different cultures that live in the Bay Area in our projects.
That's a big part of it for me. And the way I'm able to do it, to be honest, is because I grew up
here. I think it's just like I grew up with a lot of Filipino friends, so I am kind of like I would go to
their home and their parents would feed me. And I am very fortunate that I grew up with a
9Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
multicultural community, the church I grew up in, also just filled with different cultures. So I'm
very grateful. I think it's important to highlight voices, I think specifically around black and
brown voices a lot of times in the media. And it's getting better now, but in the past it was told
through a European white lens. And I think it's now shifting where we're having people of color
direct their projects, tell their stories. That's important for us.
Milina Jovanovic (20:49):
So that's visible in the documentary, I'm guessing as well. Absolutely. And how about poetry? I
see that your organization is not so small, I should say that. So if there is a poetry slam or
something. So who participates then? Is it all of the folks you've worked with in the
organization, and how do you actually influence that as a creative director?
Fego Navarro (21:21):
Yeah, so once again, because I've also worked at different community centers and stuff, we just
have, I just call up, Hey man, we have an open mic. Can you perform? And the cool thing about
this film is they also featured veteran poet who we had in, Tongo Martin, who's San Francisco's
poet laureate. I don't think he's currently the poet laureate right now, but he's in our book
forever, the poet laureate. And he was in our film. And I think when other up and coming
writers and poets are seeing these stories, they're like, oh, wow, I want to align myself with this
collective. And so it hasn't been a challenge, I guess to say the least. We'll put up a post on
social media or word of mouth, like, Hey, we have an event, the small cafe. And those are
always fun, kind of intimate spaces because you really get to hear the artists. And once again, I
think I'm very fortunate that I grew up in a community that I work with. I didn't have to. And I
feel for educators and other people that have had to, they travel from afar and they're trying to
connect the dots. A lot of, even with this crew we have for this project, the people I grew up
with, and a lot of its relationships. So building those and not feeling like I have to go to LA is
awesome. Yeah.
Milina Jovanovic (22:52):
Great. And so do you still write poetry and perform your own poetry
Fego Navarro (23:00):
Together
Milina Jovanovic (23:01):
With music or not
Fego Navarro (23:03):
10Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
With music? In hip hop, we call it the mc. So I'm an mc. I have projects that I've completed, and
that allowed me to kind of transition into film, which has been the focus because I always like,
oh, I want to write other stories and not just rap.
Milina Jovanovic (23:23):
And so if you have to practice something, where do you do that? Is it in your office or some
other places?
Fego Navarro (23:33):
Yeah, we have a studio. So we have the whole set of tools.
Milina Jovanovic (23:35):
Where is the studio located
Fego Navarro (23:38):
In Brisbane. And we have a vinyl shop. So music is very tied to what we do , so the vinyl shop,
the intention was to open it up to the community, always walking by and they see a sign that
says Lyrical. And they're like, what is this? And now they're able to walk in and see that.
Milina Jovanovic (23:58):
And just when you are mentioning the name of the organization, could you describe how the
name came about? It's very catchy. I have to say that I'm attracted to that name.
Fego Navarro (24:12):
Yeah.
Milina Jovanovic (24:14):
How did you come up with that?
Fego Navarro (24:16):
Yeah, no, I got our founder, Christian Alan Bustos. He goes by cross Alan Bustos. He once again
started a rap group, a hip hop group called Lyrical Opposition. It started as kids putting up their
music on MySpace and wanting to share it with their friends. And as he got older, he realized he
had, and he's taught me a lot of how to organize folks, and he's always wanted to be behind the
scenes and is putting me in a position of leadership. But he gathered a lot of the artists that you
see on our site. And also, so started as a rap group started, and then he is like, wait,
Milina Jovanovic (24:59):
11Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
So what do you oppose
Fego Navarro (25:02):
Injustice? We oppose injustice. So from the gate, we're like, we see a lot of injustice in the world
and we want to talk about it and have creative control and the freedom to express ourselves
and not be restricted. So that's also been a blessing. Like, oh man, any idea I come up with, this
man is usually like, all right, let's do it. Let's try it out. And it's really encouraging to have that
kind of community,
Milina Jovanovic (25:31):
So it's creative and a supportive environment.
Fego Navarro (25:35):
And we have singers too, so we have different styles. It's not just like,
Milina Jovanovic (25:41):
So performances are different if we are talking about performances. Right,
Fego Navarro (25:47):
Totally.
Milina Jovanovic (25:49):
And people always have from your organization and maybe even collaborators, have access to
your studio to practice.
Fego Navarro (25:59):
Yes, absolutely. That's something that we offer, and it's all free, really. I mean, it's hard, don't get
me wrong, figuring ways to keep the lights on.
Milina Jovanovic (26:10):
That's my next question. What are the roadblocks or challenges that you and your organization
face?
Fego Navarro (26:17):
Yeah, I mean, it's probably cliche for a lot of organizations in general in the arts. I think this year
I've been hearing a lot just, there's always a lack of funding for the arts. You think about in
schools, that's the first thing that gets cut. And it's been a lot of grants, a lot of writing grants
and figuring out ways to have it be sustainable, which is very difficult when you're, you're kind
12Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
of relying on those. You're not guaranteed to get 'em each time. So a lot of times we're getting
part-time jobs, we're figuring out ways to keep creating.
Milina Jovanovic (26:54):
You'll have to be creative to address those challenges.
Fego Navarro (26:57):
Totally. Yeah.
Milina Jovanovic (27:00):
And is there any difference in rent, for example, in smaller communities like Brisbane Bay or
some other coastal small towns and big cities like Auckland or San Francisco? Yeah. Have you
noticed anything different in terms of if you are a small organization and exist in those areas?
Fego Navarro (27:35):
Yeah, we were in San Francisco at an art warehouse, and it's back to relationships. We had a
friend, really, he goes by Camer/one. He does a lot of big pieces throughout the bay, outside of
the state, and he had an art studio, and it is like a garage, and he allowed it. That's where one of
our locations was. And honestly, it came down to relationships for a lot of those spaces that we
had prior to that we were on, I believe on Bryant Street in San Francisco. There was a
connection with the church that we had partnered up with. And so I think that gave us
opportunities to not pay a large amount of rent. And then Brisbane is probably the first location.
It's just standard rent that we have to pay because we didn't have one. What drew us to it is
that they had a boba shop and parking nearby. So yeah, that was our draw. And yeah, it gets
expensive. You got to pay for the wifi, you got to pay for the software, all the equipment, it gets
pricey, but we've been able to survive up to this point, but we don't want to survive no more.
We want to start thriving. That's the word. Yeah,
Milina Jovanovic (28:54):
That's the motivation.
Fego Navarro (28:56):
So trying to
Milina Jovanovic (28:57):
Populate to come to that point. Right. Yeah. So are there any other organizations that
specifically support you and the lyrical opposition, and if so, where they are located?
13Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
Fego Navarro (29:18):
Yeah, totally. So we collaborate a lot with different organizations. I forget, I don't want to
butcher the name, but I know for when we were able to do the documentary, it was through the
Presbyterian Church in Hayward, and they're the ones that are also building the tiny homes that
are featured in our film. They've been a super amazing resource in being able to continue to tell
these stories. Other organizations locally, I mean, there's a large list we have collaborated with.
Milina Jovanovic (30:01):
Maybe just name a few if you can.
Fego Navarro (30:04):
So on a local level, San Fam is like a clothing. My friend who I grew up with, once again, has a
clothing store, and we partnered up and did a show recently. I have my friend who I think of,
Frisco Mija she's a photographer. We did a show here at the baylands. It's a location here near
the Visitation. They're a real estate company, and they just allowed us to use the space there,
because I think by law, they have to allow a nonprofit to be able to use the space because it's
for the community. Finding things like that have been super helpful to where, oh, I can't forget
Mission Blue Cafe. They are in Visitation Valley. They have a kind of creative space where we've
done a lot of the workshops and shows. They're a coffee shop, and we are connected with
them. And my friend Christian that was working part-time at one point there running the shop.
So a lot of local folks that we know. When I did the screening at Skyline, it was through my
friend who's a photographer who goes by Frisco Mija, like, Hey, I know a teacher. And then I
worked at June Jordan High School, which unfortunately, I think they're about to close down.
And I worked at Mission High School. I was the director of the afterschool program there. So I
met a lot of educators, and when they have events, they're artists too. So it's very fortunate that
it's a lot of friends and acquaintances that have been able,
Milina Jovanovic (31:52):
Your networks are there to support.
Fego Navarro (31:57):
Yeah, totally. Yeah, my best friend, he filmed for the Warriors and the Oakland A's, so he's
helped with the filming stuff. I just happened to grow up with him, and we had a passion for
filmmaking, and he's not charging me a big amount of money to come out and film. So yeah,
just using the resources around us has been super helpful. Yeah.
Milina Jovanovic (32:28):
I forgot to ask this. When we talked about your culture and how it's embedded in what you do,
14Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
are there any traditions or symbols that are maybe described in your poetry, if not in the film, or
something from your culture that you want to celebrate through your poetry or maybe a
oppose?
Fego Navarro (32:59):
Yeah. Yeah. No, that's real. Okay. I'm always wary of getting too political and things. But
Milina Jovanovic (33:09):
Isn't your organization political? I'm sorry.
Fego Navarro (33:12):
I know it's a delicate, this delicate dance, but I would say for me, because of my roots, I'm from
El Salvador. My father fought in the Civil War in El Salvador. He was a gorilla. And then my
mother's side of the family, they were part of the military. So I have these two histories, and I
think a lot of different countries experienced that, where they had, oh,
Milina Jovanovic (33:43):
Definitely
Fego Navarro (33:44):
Family members trying to hurt each other. And El Salvador also has, unfortunately, a history
with the gangs, and I got to witness some of that as a child, seeing the uprising of the gangs.
And when you would hear El Salvador in the news, it was always murder capital of the world
and violence. And I want to oppose that and show that, Hey, actually we are about family. We're
about good food. If y'all ever had Pupusas, and we are, if anytime I show up and whether it be
through my films or music, I want to show the power of community and love of family because
that's what I was shown and hard work. I think about my grandfather, he was a farmer out in El
Salvador. He planted coffee, and El Salvador is known for their coffee. So I'll have songs that are
about coffee, and I try to put in my culture and any opportunity I can because yeah, I carry it
with me, for sure.
Milina Jovanovic (34:55):
What would you say, who are your biggest artistic influences? Or if it's not one artist, maybe a
group or something like that?
Fego Navarro (35:13):
Totally. Well, okay, I'll start with, because we were talking about kind Latin Roots and El Salvador.
I grew up watching Mario Moreno Cantinflas, he's an actor from Mexico, very iconic. He was
15Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
almost think of Charlie Chapman, but a little later on, I think he collaborated with him at Point
and all to say, I grew up with a lot of that style of comedy in my household. My grandmother
would watch it, my mom would watch these movies, and I saw how that would make them
laugh. Yeah, so he's one I really like. Mario Moreno, Cantinflas. He went by Cantinflas . And then
in the American side, I think for hip hop, Tupac Shakur was very influential for me. I think
because he did movies too, was something I was drawn to. I was like, oh man, he's a rapper. He
did gangster rap, but he also made these films that were thought provoking.
(36:15):
And then when I got to hear that he was a poet too, that was super influential, like, oh, he
wrote poetry. So it was influenced by that. But I could go on, there's a list. Adam Sandler. I love
his films. He's a comedian. I don't know. I grew up on a lot of media for millennials. We had
cable tv, so our parents were working, so we were watching a bunch of movies, probably stuff
we shouldn't have been watching, but Denzel Washington Training Day, A lot of the Bronx Tale
with Robert De Niro, I think he directed that. You need to Stop Me. I will continue going there.
It's just a lot of films and
Milina Jovanovic (36:59):
Music. Well, these interviews are about you sharing what you like to share, right? For sure.
Thank you. Yeah. So what do you want the next generation of people, maybe from your own
community or in general to take away from your work?
Fego Navarro (37:27):
I've thought of this, and I would kind of joke around with my friend sometimes when we're kind
of going through the blood, sweat and tears of a project, and I was like, Hey, man, if this ends up
being in a library one day and someone's just like, oh, I'm going to rent this out. What this is
about, I think of what we're doing is we're capturing history, so it's like a time capsule, even
with our film. It's like this was something that happened during this period of time, and we
were able to capture this story. So I hope that the next generation, if they were to view this,
they could be like, whoa, this took place. And hopefully it's improved by then, but if not a
reminder that we are the ones that are responsible for creating a change, and I hope that
inspires them to be like, Hey, let's make something, or let's oppose something that's happening
in our community. I think sparking their mind to move, to create action.
Milina Jovanovic (38:33):
Great. And would you say that your mission as an artist has changed over time? And if so, how?
Or what? I mean in addition to maybe, or just that what you described a second ago, would you
say that that's your mission or is it related to next generations or
16Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
Fego Navarro (38:58):
Yeah,
Milina Jovanovic (39:00):
Yeah. Just talk about how that maybe evolved also over time.
Fego Navarro (39:06):
Totally. I think when you start doing specifically music and film it is very, not film, but music and
writing. It's very almost self-centered in a way. You're expressing your feelings, and it's all about
me, and I want to hope people like this song, and I hope the video is beautiful so people could
engage with me, especially in the age of social media, getting caught up with the engagement
and do people like it or no one cares. That was something that, and from time to time, it'll come
up, but that is not at the center no more for me. I'm like, no, how do we create community and
strengthen this whole team?
(39:51):
I think film actually helped me develop that muscle where it's like I had to communicate with
the director of photography, the editor, and the person that's doing our website, and then the
actors and everyone playing a role. It's less about me at this point now, it's just like, how do I
make sure everyone is in their position and we could make the best project product that is a
nice way to remove myself, I guess, and not be so, wait, this is about my story and my feelings.
It's like, no, I want to hear about everyone else's story and their feelings as well. Yeah, if that
makes sense. Yeah. It's less,
Milina Jovanovic (40:29):
Yeah, definitely
Fego Navarro (40:31):
Less ego, less self. Yeah,
Milina Jovanovic (40:35):
And just having that experience with making a film, how that evolved.
Fego Navarro (40:46):
Oh, totally. Yeah, because it takes a village. It takes a team. Anyone that says, oh, yeah, I'm just
going to do it myself. It's like, all right, good luck. It's going to be tricky. Yeah.
17Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
Milina Jovanovic (40:56):
Yeah. We are going to now talk a little more about your organization, but before we start doing
that, Alex, do you have any other questions or observations or something that you would like to
share? No, not at the moment. Okay. So there is a little more time. So I guess I could ask you to
just describe lyrical opposition for us, and we did check out your website, but we would like to
hear from you, how would you describe it and all the faucets and maybe places where your
organization is located and where you actually show your art in different ways, whether it it's
about documentary or poetry or music. How would you summarize what your organization does
and where?
Fego Navarro (42:20):
Yes, totally. So we are located in San Mateo now, so we're doing a lot of work around this area,
but lyrical opposition is, as I mentioned, 5 0 1 3 C nonprofit. We do work through spoken word,
poetry, film, music, and the goal is to use this as a tool to oppose injustice. So every time when
we have our screenings, for example, we invite policymakers, people that are in positions of
power and pretty much hold them accountable and ask questions like, Hey, how can you make a
difference? Being in this position, we've done, I forget the name of the actual that had a San
Mateo Housing Conference. Don't quote me on the name, butchering it at the Zuckerberg
Foundation. And it was important for us to be in those spaces as artists because I think it
becomes a lot of data-driven information, and I think lyrical opposition, we bring the heart and
soul into spaces to wake up people that we're not just numbers, but we are people that are
experiencing life and challenges, and we are here to tell the stories of our people, of our
community. So being at academic spaces, at schools, at community centers, at theaters, at open
mics, yeah, I think we're really versatile. I think that's one of our strengths. We're able to exist in
multiple spaces at churches, places of worship. We show up and we show up as ourselves, and I
think that's something, that’s part of the reason that I'm still out on this mission of continuing to
share the word and share our art. Yeah, that's my version of it. There's probably a more
corporate, better formatted way, but yeah, that's what lyrical opposition means to me.
Milina Jovanovic (44:18):
So how many staff members does your organization rapidly? It could be changing, right?
Fego Navarro (44:27):
Yeah, it varies. We've had up to, it felt like 20 people, and then we've had up to three of us that
are still keeping the, well, we're very fortunate that we do a lot of contract work, so we'll
contract filmmakers, other artists to come in and we pay them. So lyrical opposition pays all the
artists, whether it be a small open mic that we have a highlighted artist, we make sure that we
pay them. So right now, I would say we're a solid 10 folks right now that are rocking together.
Fego Navarro, San Mateo County
Milina Jovanovic (45:12):
So do you get any kind of invitations, again, because we are trying to explore in our research the
possible difference between smaller areas of different counties, and maybe larger urban
settings. So do you get any kind of invitations to perform or organize a workshop in smaller
areas along the coast of San Mateo?
Fego Navarro (45:56):
Yeah, so we did something in Pacifica. It was like an open mic. Pacifica San Mateo, right?
Milina Jovanovic (46:04):
Yes, I believe so.
Fego Navarro (46:06):
Yeah. We did an open mic. It was kind of like this, I want to say a surfing shop. We've done a lot
of shows and we were asked to, Hey, we have this patio area and we have footage, that stuff
too. And it was a really cool experience. It was cold, but people brought out blankets. We had a
little bonfire anywhere that we're invited that aligns with a place where we can invite the community to show up. We are doing also. Does it
Milina Jovanovic (46:35):
Feel more intimate in those places, or do you feel mean, is there also some different energy in the audience? Maybe
Fego Navarro (46:45):
It's my favorite, to be honest. I think it's like sometimes in bigger spaces you could end up feeling like background noise and something about having an intimate space. People are intentional. There's a platform called so Far sounds that we've done in the past where they invite people sometimes in living rooms and patios. Those are my favorite shows are art galleries, small art galleries we've done. Yeah, those are the best. I like those, but I'm not opposed to bigger shows either. We're doing, actually, it's coming up. I forgot the date, the San Mateo Arts Conference, not the conference festival that they have, and we're going to perform at that when we did it last year. Anything that we get invited to, we usually show up to paid or not paid. That's another thing too. Of course, it's nice to get paid, but we've done plenty of unpaid gigs just because we love what we do.
Milina Jovanovic (47:41):
Great. So this brings us towards the end of the interview. So we wanted to ask if you wanted to share something with us and we didn't ask, maybe in your preparation for the interview, you were hoping that we would ask or that you would say about yourself as an artist and your organization?
Fego Navarro (48:12):
Yeah, I guess thank you, first and foremost for asking me these questions. It has been really delightful to reflect on these things and make sense of it, it feels nice. I would just say the importance of, how do I say this, working on these projects, I guess it's not even necessarily, I'm trying to word this in a, I know we got to wrap up, but I want to find ways to have the city and the counties to be more invested in the arts. And I know that there's always amazing work that's happening, but my call of action would be like, let's not have just these kinds of one-offs invite more. And I'm sure that's why I wanted to do this with you guys, because aligned with my values, I think the arts has always been kind of, oh yeah, just like I told you earlier, be background noise and while we sip our wine and eat our delicacies and stuff, I think it's important to, artists are struggling right now in the Bay Area, and we need more platforms such as these to share our stories.
Milina Jovanovic (49:24):
Yeah, great. Great. Is there anyone from your artistic circles that you would recommend for us to talk to?
Fego Navarro (49:34):
Oh yeah. And she's located in San Mateo. She lives in Burlingame, I think Elisa Solei, she's worked with us. She's collaborated with us too. I could spell her name on the chat or if you guys
Milina Jovanovic (49:49):
Reach out. Yes, if you could, that would be great.
Fego Navarro (49:51):
Yeah. And if you would like her number or I could reach out to her and ask her. Yeah, that would be awesome. And she's working on a lot of music too, so
Milina Jovanovic (50:07):
Yeah. Thank you. So we'll save that. Alex, could you wrap up with, maybe we should stop
recording and wrap up with some.