Boca de Oro Festival of Literary Arts and Culture

Opens on March 1

The Frida Cinema's seating is first-come, first-serve. For our Midnight Screenings, please plan on arriving by 11:30pm to ensure ample time for parking, picking up concessions, and securing optimal seats. Screening will begin promptly at midnight.

Run Time: 495 min.

This March 1st, we’re partnering with Santa Ana Unified School District to transform our monthly DTSA First Saturday ArtWalk event into a full day of panels, performances, and more! Join us for this year’s Boca de Oro Festival of Literary Arts and Culture! This year’s theme is The Artist’s Playground, a celebration of imagination, where innovation and the arts collide to transform our community. Inspired by our community’s dreamers and visionaries, this year’s theme encourages every artist, writer, creator, and performer to make their mark!

Click here for the full schedule of Boca de Oro activities! Here’s what’s happening at The Frida!

3PM – Stories from the Parents of SAUSD

Santa Ana Unified School District’s parents wrote a book with their Family and Community Engagement team! Check out the stories of our community through the voice of parents.

**4PM – Las Poderosas Mini-Doc Screening & Publication Launch**

Enjoy a special screening of Las PODEROSAS, a mini-documentary directed by Cecilia Ortiz Fernández and edited by Benny Gomez, which amplifies the voices of Las Promotoras de Latino Health Access—community health advocates who fought for their neighborhoods during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Created by Alicia Rojas, Las PODEROSAS is more than a documentary; it is a powerful public art project that preserves the stories of 63 remarkable women through oral histories, a digital archive, a monument, and a newly released publication. This project asserts Las Promotoras as heroes in American history, showcasing their resilience in one of California’s most rapidly gentrifying cities.

The publication features striking photo portraits, each linked to oral histories via QR codes, and includes contributions from LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano, curator Erika Hirugami, and Alicia Rojas. Recognized as part of the American Heroes of the Pandemic collection, this work will be housed at the Library of Congress and The Lawrence de Graaf Center for Oral and Public History at CSUF.

This project is made possible through funding from 18th Street Arts Center-Creative Corps, the California Arts Council, the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC), Grand Central Art Center (GCAC), Latino Health Access (LHA), the Office of Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, Second District, and the City of Santa Ana.

5PM – LitCon

LitCon is a celebration of original written works by SAUSD students in poetry, prose, and media screenwriting / songwriting!

6PM – TBA

7PM – Poets’ Open Mic!

You’re invited to both experience or share YOUR story on The Frida Cinema stage, and come to experience the voices of the community at the “Poets Open Mic!” This is where you can be an audience member or a participant. Whether you’re an aspiring or established poet, spoken word artist, or simply love listening, this is the time and place where your poetry, your spoken word, and your voice shine.

For more information about Boca de Oro, follow them on Instagram and check out their site at bit.ly/Boca25.

This project was funded in part by the City of Santa Ana – Arts & Culture Office. We thank the City of Santa Ana for their support!