Marlène Ramírez-Cancio is a Puerto Rican artist, cultural worker, and advocate for artist-activists. She is an educator based in Brooklyn, the founder and director of EMERGENYC (an incubator for emerging artists), the co-founder and co-director of Fulana (a Latina satire collective), and the Director of Implementation of the Latinx Arts Consortium of New York. Until 2020, she was Associate Director of Arts & Media at NYU’s Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, which connected artists, activists, and scholars from throughout the Americas.
Marlène Ramírez grew up in Puerto Rico where she was exposed to the artistic environment at a young age. She left Puerto Rico after graduating high school to study in the U.S. She went to Harvard for undergrad to study Comparative Literature and Stanford in California for grad school and later got an MFA in Creative Writing at NYU.
” I truly believe in the power of artists to change the world—in little ways, in big ways, in ways that are not guaranteed. I wholeheartedly believe that artistic self-expression is fundamental to culture, and has the capacity to change politics.”
– Marlène Ramírez-Cancio Interview, 2021
She eventually joined a Latina theatre collective in San Francisco. For Marlène, being in the Latina Theatre Lab collective was a transformative experience. Being in this specific collective with other women who shared similar life experiences allowed them to share stories and confront common stereotypes about Latinas that were prevalent in the U.S. during the 90s. This, along with other opportunities that helped her learn more about satire, comedy, and parody, led her to think and learn more about how stereotypes operate. Several years later, when she moved to New York City, she co-founded Fulana with fellow Latina Theatre Lab member Andrea Thome, filmmaker Cristina Ibarra, and theater maker Lisandra Ramos.
Fulana is a Latina satire collective that mocks commercials, music videos, performances, and prints regarding Latinx culture in the United States. This project and experience not only allowed for its members to express what was hurting and aggravating them but also to bring fun and joy through humor and collaboration. Marlène mentions how feeling accompanied in this collective by people who understand and connect with each other led them to work closely together for over ten years, collaborate with other artists, and exhibit their written, produced, and directed videos in international festivals and art galleries. Fulana is just one of the many projects she’s been a part of that allowed her to work closely with other artists.
“The world already underestimates us enough, let’s not underestimate ourselves.”
– Marlène Ramírez-Cancio Interview, 2021
In an interview I conducted with Marlène Ramírez-Cancio, she advises young women who are just beginning their work to not underestimate themselves, but rather to build a good relationship with themselves across time and space, encouraging their young, present, and future selves to keep going. Despite gender norms, despite stereotypes placed on young women, despite machismo culture, she hopes women tap into their deep inner resources, and that they find collective power with people they enjoy creating with.
Since 2020, Marlène Ramírez has been working on Mujer Que Pregunta Es Mujer Que Sabe, which includes being a Tarot practitioner and Process Doula for artists, activists, educators, and cultural workers to clarify and explore their dreams, goals, and questions. Throughout her career, Marlène Ramírez-Cancio has worked very closely with artists and continues to, which truly shows how much she believes in artists and the capacity self-expression has to change culture and politics.
Work Cited
Fulana, www.fulana.org/.
“Home.” EmergeNYC, https://emergenyc.org/
Marlène Ramírez. www.marleneramirezcancio.com/.
Mujer Que Pregunta, www.mujerquepregunta.com/.
Lazaro, Michelle. Interview with Marlène Ramírez-Cancio on April 15, 2021.
Prepared by Michelle Lazaro
