Salina Almanzar
"It's my job to make this place, this city, what I needed and wanted as a kid."
Activating Expression
Salina’s roots built an extraordinary foundation for activation. As a family we believe if one of us falls, we all fall.” Salina’s drive in life, art, and community comes from the fact that she knows, and embraces, what it means to be from neither “here”, nor “there”. As a Latinx and Boriqua artist and activist, Salina’s parents encouraged her from a young age to be confident in her identity and values.
“I still use my parents as a sounding board with every new project. I ask how it can be better and for them to check me if its self-serving or not authentic enough.”
Whether it’s partnering with the Community Foundation on interactive art projects, emboldening the rising generation of latinx Lancastrians across the county, or inspiring residents with her service on the school board, Salina is determined to build space for residents to feel at home in Lancaster.
“I think about how as a kid I felt anywhere might be better than here. Now I think it’s my job to make this place, this city, what I needed and wanted as a kid. We need each other and we need each other whole, healthy, and strong.”
