Collected Item: “Merilou Salazar Oral History, 2021/04/15”
Title
Merilou Salazar
Who conducted the interview? List all names, separated by comma.
Kit Heintzman
Who was interviewed? List all names, separated by commas.
Merilou Salazar
Email Address(es) for all interviewers. Separated by comma.
kheintzman@gmail.com
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your oral history. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
#activism, #artist, #bereavement, #breakup, #California, #design, #insecurehousing, #LosAngeles, #love, #music, #musician, #optimism, #popmusic, #queer, #single, #spirituality
What is the format of your recording?
Video
In what ZIP code is the primary residence of the interviewee? (enter 5-digit ZIP code; for example, 00544 or 94305)? In what city/town/village does the interviewee live? In what country does the interviewee live? All comma-separated.
Los Angeles, California, USA
Describe the oral history.
Self-Description: “My name is Merilou Salazar. I’m a queer artist, musician out here in Los Angeles. I front a band called WASI. Queer activism has just been a part of my whole life since I came out in high school, so it’s something that’s dear to my heart. As time goes by, always making sure to stand proud for all the struggles that I have personally had to go through, all the people before me had to go through to give me the privileges I have today.”
Some of the things we talked about included:
Maintaining optimism that we could come out of this pandemic better than how we entered it
Inequitable access to health care
Bereavement and COVID related deaths in the family
Imposter syndrome
Unlearning fight, flight, and freeze responses
Unstable housing at the beginning of the pandemic
The ending of her 9 year relationship and changing ideas about “closeness” in friendships
Diving into new passions during the pandemic: tech and design work
Re-evaluating collaboration
Spiritual surrendering and accountability toward one’s self
Using the word “love” more often, getting in touch with the body, meditating, and gratitude
Other cultural references: Postmating, Zoom
See also:
https://wasi.bandcamp.com
Some of the things we talked about included:
Maintaining optimism that we could come out of this pandemic better than how we entered it
Inequitable access to health care
Bereavement and COVID related deaths in the family
Imposter syndrome
Unlearning fight, flight, and freeze responses
Unstable housing at the beginning of the pandemic
The ending of her 9 year relationship and changing ideas about “closeness” in friendships
Diving into new passions during the pandemic: tech and design work
Re-evaluating collaboration
Spiritual surrendering and accountability toward one’s self
Using the word “love” more often, getting in touch with the body, meditating, and gratitude
Other cultural references: Postmating, Zoom
See also:
https://wasi.bandcamp.com
On what date did you record this oral history?
2021-04-15T19:06