{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Uptown Voices","title":"Juilliard Trained, South Bronx Made: How Zulaika Velazquez Is Transforming Uptown Kids Through the Arts | Uptown Voices","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4398,"description":"What does it look like when someone takes everything life threw at them — homelessness, single motherhood at 19, a stage two cancer diagnosis — and turns it into fuel to transform an entire community?Meet Zulaika Velazquez.In this episode of Uptown Voices, Led Black and Octavio Blanco sit down with one of Northern Manhattan's most extraordinary educators, directors, and community builders. Zulaika is a South Bronx native, Juilliard-trained, and the woman who produced In the Heights at George Washington High School — with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jon M. Chu, and Warner Brothers in the audience. But this conversation goes far deeper than theater.🎭 DISTRICT 6 SHOWCASE — MAY 29TH AT UNITED PALACE750 students, K–12, from 37 schools. Free, open to the public. Art exhibit from 4 PM, performances 5–7 PM. The only district-wide production of its kind in the country.🏫 THERE ARE NO BAD KIDSWhy labeling schools and students ignores the real story — underfunded classrooms, overcrowded schools, and kids reacting to their circumstances. Change the resources, change the outcomes.🌎 ARTS AS LANGUAGE ACQUISITIONKids who didn't speak a word of English performed a full two-hour production in English at United Palace by year's end. The method works.🎬 IN THE HEIGHTS AT GWWhile on chemo, Zulaika produced In the Heights at GW with a 250-person waiting list. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jon M. Chu, and Bette Midler's team were in the house. It made Oprah Magazine.🎓 GETTING UPTOWN KIDS INTO SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLSWhy performing arts schools are harder to get into than Stuyvesant — and how to level the playing field.🤖 ARTS IN THE AGE OF AIWhy humanities, critical thinking, and storytelling are the skills AI can't replace.🗳️ CIVIC EDUCATION IN THE CLASSROOMHow Zulaika navigates politics with students — research the platforms, register to vote, understand why local elections matter most.📌 zulaika@spanglishvoces.com⏱️ CHAPTERS00:00 There Are No Bad Kids — Opening Statement01:08 Welcome & Subscribe...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/0aW1dchdn1nlJBOFlV6zCjAReq1CNZaj0Q2QiSi4iKU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9iOGE1/MGFhYWQ5YzFkNmU1/Mzc5ZTZjNzQ4ZDIw/NTM4ZS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}