RAMA Blueprints

5 Sisters Audio Garden
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RAMA Blueprints is about the legacy of San Francisco's Real Alternatives Program (RAP), a revolutionary youth service organization who practiced Self-Determination and empowered their generation, community and city. In 1969, Jim Queen co-founded Real Alternatives Program or RAP, a youth advocacy agency with an emphasis on community leadership development for and by San Francisco youth. Since the agency’s opening, they developed generations of community leaders. But eventually the agency closed its doors in 1999. In the 80’s, RAP created a single classroom school, which eventually evolved into a 4 year high school program. We follow the story of RAP's development as an organization and their legacy as a leader in youth advocacy, leadership development and alternatives to youth incarceration.. We follow the stories of former RAP staff, students and teens from that time, and community leaders who helped shape the tenor and fauna of San Francisco’s Mission District social service agencies. We also include eXtras to help with a deeper understanding through one-on-one interviews, commentary or our live group discussions series, Tres Generacíones/3 Voices recorded at SF's BRAVA! Women For the Arts. RAMA is produced, in partnership with or sponsored by CARECEN SF, Instituto Familiar de La Raza, Pacific Islander Resource Hut, United Playaz, San Francisco Foundation and private individual donors. The series is written, edited and produced by Darren J. de Leon and Host Socorro Gamboa. And remember "To Listen is to Heal." All Power to the People!

  1. 3d ago

    Tres Generacíones/Three Voices: Reclamation of Sanctuary - Reclamacion del Santuario

    RAMA Blueprints presents their latest Tres Generacíones/Three Voices live podcast Reclamation of Sanctuary - Reclamacion del Santuario recorded on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at the Brava! Women for the Arts' Cabaret in San Francisco's Mission District. The episode traces sanctuary’s roots from the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to the 1980s faith-based movement responding to U.S.-backed wars and the denial of Central American asylum, and highlights San Francisco organizing infrastructure. Panelists Francisco Herrera (Nuevo Sol), Dr. Bertha Hernandez (Immigrant Rights Activist), and Lucia Obregon (SF Latino Parity and Equity Coalition) share personal grounding experiences, discuss ICE persecution, preparedness and rapid response, Adopt a Corner/street patrol mutual aid, emergency planning, and critiques of limited “sanctuary” amid housing and economic crises, calling for deeper accountability and mass labor action. Audience comments address wins, hope, and intergenerational working-class solidarity, closing with poetry and song. Featured Panelists: Francisco Herrera (Nuevo Sol)Dr. Bertha Hernandez (Immigrant Rights Activist)Lucia Obregon (SF Latino Parity and Equity Coalition) This live production brings together community elders, cultural workers, and emerging leaders to reflect on the historic and ongoing cultural arts movement within San Francisco's Mission District. Listen to this lively intergenerational dialogue among local movement leaders, artists, and organizers who have navigated treacherous challenges, shifting political climates, and complex external pressures.This episode was written, produced and edited by Darren J. de Leon and Socorro Gamboa. Bios of Panelists Francisco Herrera is a veteran cultural worker, singer-songwriter, and Co-Executive Director of the Nuevo Sol Day Labor & Domestic Worker Center / Caminante Cultural Foundation. For decades, he has used art, music, and frontline advocacy to fight for the rights and dignity of immigrant workers on the streets and across cultural spaces. Blending grassroots labor organizing with powerful protest music, he champions workers' rights not just as a matter of policy, but as a vibrant expression of cultural survival. His lifelong dedication bridges community building and direct action, ensuring that day laborers and domestic workers stand visible, valued, and defended. Dra. Berta Hernández es educadora de salud comunitaria, artista y militante socialista. Llegó a San Francisco en 1987 como inmigrante indocumentada y, tras conseguir papeles, ha dedicado casi cuatro décadas a responder a crisis sociales como el SIDA, la violencia y la pandemia de COVID-19, además de haber sido candidata socialista al Distrito 11 en 2016. Doctora en Educación por la Universidad Buenos Aires y con una larga trayectoria teatral anclada en el Teatro del Oprimido, ha utilizado el arte y la literatura en La Misión como herramientas terapéuticas y de transformación política. Es madre de Sebastián y Camila, y defiende que el teatro, la salud, la vivienda, la libre expresión y la participación democrática debieran ser derechos inalienables de todos los seres humanos de toditito el planeta. ¡Viva el socialismo, carajo! Lucia Obregon (she/they) also known as Lucha is a Guatemalan-born queer artist and community organizer based in Ramaytush Ohlone territory, now known as San Francisco, California. With over 10 years of experience as a Policy Analyst and Organizer in the Mission District, Lucha has advanced equitable policy in housing, immigration, and education while leading leadership programs that mobilize community members around urgent social issues and foster collaboration and problem-solving. In 2021, she was appointed Commissioner for San Francisco’s Immigrant Rights Commission, where she works to strengthen partnerships across immigrant communities. In 2022, Lucha became Director of the San Francisco Latino Parity and Equity Coalition (SFLPEC), a citywide coalition of more than 22 Latinx-led and Latinx-serving organizations representing over 900 employees, $90 million in revenue, and serving more than 80,000 families annually. The coalition advances equity across housing, health, workforce, education, arts, and social services. Lucha is also an artist and lead singer of Inti Mystica, blending traditional and contemporary Latinx sounds. Through her music and organizing, she explores healing, identity, and social justice, using art to respond to political oppression, collective struggle, and spiritual awakening. RAMA BLUEPRINTS Founded in 2021, RAMA Blueprints is the premier podcast documenting the history of the Real Alternatives Program (RAP) in San Francisco (1967–2003) and its ongoing impact on community empowerment. Please join us to celebrate RAP’s historical legacy project and participate in this vital community gathering. Please consider donating to the RAMA Blueprints podcast by visiting CARECENSF.org. This episode was made possible through a California Arts Council Impact Grant. This episode was written produced and edited by Darren J. de Leon and Socorro Gamboa.

  2. Aug 8

    Tres Generacíones/Three Voices: Past, Present, and Future - The Mission District's Cultural Artivism and Resistance

    RAMA Blueprints presents their latest Tres Generacíones/3 Voices live podcast Past, Present, and Future - The Mission District's Cultural Artivism and Resistencía on Thursday, August 27 at 6:30 PM at the Brava Women for the Arts' Cabaret in San Francisco's Mission District. Framed as a “living archive” of Mission District artivism, the program traces key roots from the 1968 Third World Strike and the 1969 Los Siete de La Raza trial through institutions like Galería de la Raza, Mission Cultural Center, Mission Grafica, Precita Eyes, and BRAVA, plus mural, media, danza, music, and theater lineages. Panelists Alejandro Murguía, José Carrasco, and Naima Blanco Norberg connect these histories to their own work—from building cultural centers and anti-war organizing that led to Loco Bloco, to confronting tech-driven gentrification and designing community space. Audience Q&A addresses youth gathering spaces, and closing reflections urge continued relationship-building, artistic action, and resilience. Featured Panelists: Alejandro Murguía (Author & San Francisco Poet Laureate Emeritus)Jose Carrasco (Co-Founder of Loco Bloco)Naima Blanco Norberg (Teacher, designer, and visionary emerging leader.) This live production brings together community elders, cultural workers, and emerging leaders to reflect on the historic and ongoing cultural arts movement within San Francisco's Mission District. Anchored in the spirit of "Past, Present, and Future," the evening explores how historical artivism and community-based organizations laid the groundwork for today's grassroots movements, non-profit sustainability, and cultural preservation efforts. Join us for a lively intergenerational dialogue among local movement leaders, artists, and organizers who have navigated treacherous fiscal challenges, shifting political climates, and complex external pressures. Bios of Panelists Alejandro Murguia is the author of Southern Front and This War Called Love (both winners of the American Book Award). His non-fiction book The Medicine of Memory highlights the Mission District in the 1970s during the Nicaraguan Solidarity movement. He is a founding member and the first director of The Mission Cultural Center. He was a founder of The Roque Dalton Cultural Brigade, and co-editor of Volcán: Poetry From Central America. Currently he is a professor in Latina Latino Studies at San Francisco State University. He is the author of the short story “The Other Barrio” which first appeared in the anthology San Francisco Noir and recently filmed in the street of the Mission District. In poetry he has published Spare Poems, and this year a new collection Native Tongue. He is the Sixth San Francisco Poet Laureate and the first Latino poet to hold the position. Jose Carrasco is a co-founder and original Executive Director of Loco Bloco. He has devoted over 30 years to serving Brown and Black youth and their families through cultural arts and wellness programs. Before returning to lead Loco Bloco in 2020, Jose also served in leadership positions at community serving organizations around the Bay - Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, Be the Change Consulting, Central American Resource Center and Youth in Arts. Naima Blanco Norberg Naima Blanco-Norberg is a designer, artist / muralist, ceremonial runner / dancer and community organizer. Born and raised in Frisco to a revolutionary multiethnic family. Her work centers on community based design, architecture, and empowering intergenerational spaces through culture and arts. She's grown up in and has worked with many local community organizations such as PODER, Loco Bloco, Bicis del Pueblo, Precita Eyes, Danza Xitlali, Excelsior Syndicate and Lovers Lane on affordable housing, environmental justice, and latine / indigenous sovereignty. Naima is an Architecture + Design teaching artist at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts and a design fellow at Native Roots Network. She graduated in 2025 from Yale University with a Bachelors in Architecture. RAMA BLUEPRINTS Founded in 2021, RAMA Blueprints is the premier podcast documenting the history of the Real Alternatives Program (RAP) in San Francisco (1967–2003) and its ongoing impact on community empowerment. Please join us to celebrate RAP’s historical legacy project and participate in this vital community gathering. Please consider donating to the RAMA Blueprints podcast by visiting CARECENSF.org. This episode was made possible through a California Arts Council Impact Grant. This episode was written, produced and edited by Darren J. de Leon and Socorro Gamboa.

  3. Jun 27 ·  Bonus

    eXtra Commentary: Dr. Sal Nuñez

    We present an eXtra commentary from Dr. Salvador “Sal” Nuñez on the 5/28/26 live RAMA Blueprints episode “Nuestra Sagrada Salud: Community Mental Health,” recorded at Brava Women for the Arts in San Francisco’s Mission District. Dr. Nuñez, a licensed psychologist and founding director of City College of San Francisco’s Community Mental Health Certificate Program, praises the panel’s focus on La Cultura Cura, and criticizes the governmental systems that overlook culture as healing. He contrasts collectivistic, culturally grounded practices—ceremony, prayer, medicinas and altares—with Eurocentric individualism, shares formative teachings from Puerto Rico, and describes creating a long-running drumming circle at Instituto Familiar de La Raza. Discussing major public health budget cuts, he emphasizes social activism, solidarity, and community support, and offers guidance for new providers on emotional regulation, networks, self-care, leadership, policy awareness, and staying connected to elders and ancestral practices. Dr. Nuñez is interviewed by host Socorro Gamboa. Please consider donating to the RAMA Blueprints podcast by visiting CARECENSF.org. This episode was made possible through a California Arts Council Impact Grant. This episode is produced, written and edited by Darren J. de Leon and Socorro Gamboa.

  4. May 20

    Tres Generacíones/Three Voices: Nuestra Sagrada Salud/Community Mental Health

    RAMA Blueprints hosts its 6th episode of their live series "Tres Generaciones/Three Voices.” The episode titled “Nuestro Sagrado Salud - Community Mental Health" will take place on Thursday, May 28th at 7:00pm at Brava Theater's Cabaret. Supported by a Project Impact Grant from the California Arts Council and sponsored by BRAVA for Women in the Arts, this live event brings together three generations of community leaders, healers, and advocates. Our discussion will focus on the evolution and intersection of community mental health, centering on the sacred nature of wellness within our collective experience. We will explore how cultural roots, spiritual health, and community promising practices and support systems act as vital pillars for our overall well-being, and how reclaiming these roots serves as a form of healing and resistance to traditional clinical models. Our panelists are: Michelle Alvarez-Campos, LCSW is a bilingual and multicultural licensed clinical social worker and clinical consultant with Instituto Familiar de la Raza. Metzi Henriquez, M.A., MFTI who holds a Masters in Clinical Psychology and has been a practicing therapist for over 15 years for immigrant youth and families in San Francisco. Dra. Lizbett Calleros, MSW, PPSC, EdD who serves as a therapist and school social worker in San Francisco Unified School District. Click here for FREE Tickets, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tres-generacionesthree-voices-6-community-mental-health-tickets-1990049162616?aff=oddtdtcreator or listen live here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1595022105963619/

  5. Apr 22

    📍 Under The Avocado Tree. El Matriarquio Salvando Community Roots Garden (Part 2)

    Live from Community Roots Garden in Oxnard, California, this joint RAMA Blueprints/Que Madre podcaast. Co-hosts Socorro and Ana Rosa-Rizo Centino reflect on a February 28 stakeholder meeting about the garden’s transition and future. Guests include Fatima Chavez Lopez, a first-generation Chicana doula and traditional Mexican medicine practitioner, and Angela Flores, a third-generation Chicana activist-artist and land steward. Angela shares how Zapatista women’s organizing shaped her understanding of rematriation and environmentalism; Fatima connects returning to land with returning to self, intuition, trauma healing, and birth sovereignty. They discuss partnerships, a proposal to the United Methodist Church, building a community land trust with Chumash Bear Circle, and hopes for future generations grounded in transparency, reciprocity, imagination, and collective care. For more info visit Community Roots Oxnard's Instagram page. Under the Avocado Tree is produced by RAMA Blueprints and Que Madre podcasts. This episode was engineered and edited by Darren J. de Leon.

  6. Apr 15 ·  Bonus

    eXtra Commentary: Dr. Sai Leatutufu Burch

    In this episode, we welcome Dr. Sai Letutufu Burch, founder of SLB Strategies, to reflect on the discussion “From Invisibility to Visibility: the Rise of the Vasa, the Pacific Islander people of San Francisco.” Burch shares her experience growing up Black and Samoan, including early anti-Blackness in her Samoan household, exclusion tied to being “afakasi,” and later learning culture through elders and a 2015 trip to Samoa. She describes building pride despite not speaking Samoan, excelling academically, and educating others about Pacific Islander contributions and colonization. Birch highlights Pacific Islanders’ undercounting and major disparities, linking them to disinvestment in Black communities and calling for sustained Black–Pacific Islander solidarity amid threatened resource cuts. Grounding self-determination in radical love, dignity, respect, and activism, she endorses the Fa a'Samoan Initiative and advises youth to honor ancestors, claim freedom and prosperity as birthrights, and move in solidarity. This episode was produced and edited by Darren J. de Leon and Socorro Gamboa. Please consider giving to the RAMA Blueprints podcast by donating at CARECEN SF, where you can listen to our archive of shows. Theme music was written and performed by Orlando Torriente y su Orquesta Lolo.

  7. Feb 28 ·  Bonus

    Under the Avocado Tree: La Matriarquia Salvando Community Roots Garden

    CALL TO ACTION Join us to defend that spirit at the Community Roots Garden in Oxnard Saturday, February 28th at 11am: 1801 Joliet Place, Oxnard, CA. Welcome to this episode that brims with joy and growth! Today, we’re celebrating the untold stories of 2 Community Roots gardeners—those tireless caretakers of earth and beauty. United by passion and persistence, they create bountiful havens for flora and fauna alike. Gardeners are the unsung heroes transforming barren lands into blossoming sanctuaries, teaching us resilience and patience. Yet, their challenges are real—from battling climate change to nurturing biodiversity amidst urban sprawl. Now the Community Roots garden is under threat of closing down as the landowners ponder the future of the property. Together, let's applaud their triumphs and stand in solidarity with Community Roots' struggles. In our shared quest for equality and environmental harmony, we recognize these green-thumb warriors as architects of a sustainable future. Join us in this jubilant celebration of growth, nurturing not just our gardens, but our global community. In this episode, we invite you to embrace the vibrant world where feminism and gardening unite, forging pathways to change and renewal. Dive into stories of resilience, connection, and the undying spirit of gardeners everywhere. This episode is produced by Socorro Gamboa and Ana Rosa Rizo-Centino. Darren J. de Leon Engineered and edited this episode. For additional information: https://www.communityrootsgarden.org/ or Instagram: @communityrootsoxnard or Facebook: www.facebook.com/CommunityRootsGarden.JardindeRaicesComunitarias

    Under the Avocado Tree: La Matriarquia Salvando Community Roots Garden

  8. 12/31/2025

    RAMA's Live Tres Generacíones/Three Voices -From Invisibility to Visibility: The Rise of the Vasa People in SF

    This is Rama Blueprints Podcast's 5th live discussion live in their Tres Generacíones/Three Voices series from the Brava Women for the Arts Theater Cabaret in San Francisco's Mission District. This episode, From Invisibility to Visibility: The Rise of the Vasa People of SF, highlights the journey of the Pacific Islander Vasa community towards visibility and empowerment. Key community leaders, including activists, social workers, and educators, share their stories and strategies in tackling systemic underrepresentation and disparities in housing, education, and health. The conversation, moderated by Socorro Gamboa, delves into the historical and socio-political contexts that have shaped the Pacific Islander community's resilience and achievements. From the establishment of the first Pacific Islander nonprofit in 1972 to the creation of the Pacific Islander Cultural District, the episode honors the ongoing efforts and successes of this vibrant community. Hear firsthand experiences from esteemed panelists who reveal the challenges and triumphs of advocating for their people and envisioning a future where equity and visibility are realized for all generations. This conversation is a tribute to the ancestors and a call to action for continued solidarity and support. Be part of history and join the live podcast which includes a lively conversation between 3 local community leaders who have built a vision and future for the Pacific Islander community. The Tres Generaciones/3 Voices live podcast series at Brava Cabaret features 3 guests from diverse communities and generations throughout San Francisco. The panelist consists of community leaders who have experience working towards building community through activism, art, community organizing and empowerment. Always framed through the Principles of RAP, the discussion will seek solutions and future action steps that will hopefully build upon the findings of previous discussions to elevate the level of discussion and details for future action steps and conversations. Founded in 2021, RAMA Blueprints is the 1st podcast documenting the history of the Real Alternatives Program (RAP) within the City and County of San Francisco between 1967 - 2003 along with its current impact on community empowerment in San Francisco and the country. Please join us for this exciting event that will celebrate SF's Pacific Islander community, RAMA Blueprints Podcast. This episode was produced and edited by Darren J. de Leon and Socorro Gamboa.

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RAMA Blueprints is about the legacy of San Francisco's Real Alternatives Program (RAP), a revolutionary youth service organization who practiced Self-Determination and empowered their generation, community and city. In 1969, Jim Queen co-founded Real Alternatives Program or RAP, a youth advocacy agency with an emphasis on community leadership development for and by San Francisco youth. Since the agency’s opening, they developed generations of community leaders. But eventually the agency closed its doors in 1999. In the 80’s, RAP created a single classroom school, which eventually evolved into a 4 year high school program. We follow the story of RAP's development as an organization and their legacy as a leader in youth advocacy, leadership development and alternatives to youth incarceration.. We follow the stories of former RAP staff, students and teens from that time, and community leaders who helped shape the tenor and fauna of San Francisco’s Mission District social service agencies. We also include eXtras to help with a deeper understanding through one-on-one interviews, commentary or our live group discussions series, Tres Generacíones/3 Voices recorded at SF's BRAVA! Women For the Arts. RAMA is produced, in partnership with or sponsored by CARECEN SF, Instituto Familiar de La Raza, Pacific Islander Resource Hut, United Playaz, San Francisco Foundation and private individual donors. The series is written, edited and produced by Darren J. de Leon and Host Socorro Gamboa. And remember "To Listen is to Heal." All Power to the People!

Information

  • Creator
    5 Sisters Audio Garden
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 5 Sisters Audio Garden
  • Show Website
    RAMA Blueprints