In our initial audio only episode of Season 6, we talk with members of the Bayou Barkada, A.J. Haynes, Musician & Reproductive Justice Advocate, Rhonda Lee Richoux, Freelance Writer & Historian, and Isa Tablan, queer multidisciplinary artist & storyteller from the Deep South, Louisiana. A.J. Haynes is a Grammy award winning interdisciplinary enchantress from the Deep South and leader of the acclaimed soul power band Seratones. Her work spans performance, songwriting, and immersive storytelling, rooted in the belief that art is collective community care. As a reproductive justice advocate, she engages sound and ancestral technologies to affirm the body as a sacred site of liberation and pleasure. With a voice both powerful and tender, A.J. plays in the liminal spaces of Black diasporic sound—soul, rock & roll, disco, gospel, folk, and found-soundscapes—conjuring spellbinding experiences that are uniquely her own. Rhonda Lee Richoux is a freelance writer and amateur historian who writes about her Filipino American family in Louisiana. She gives immersive history walks through her old neighborhood in New Orleans, and makes herself available to educators, students and various media outlets to share the history. She traces her first Filipino American ancestry to Felipe Madriaga of Ilocos Norte, who settled in Louisiana with his Irish bride in 1849. Isa Tablan (she/they) is a queer Filipino-American multidisciplinary artist and storyteller raised on the outskirts of New Orleans. Her work spans narrative writing, photography, filmmaking, and blogging, and is shaped by the South’s rich oral storytelling traditions—rooted in place, memory, and lived experience. Grounded in intergenerational narratives and a deep respect for the power of language, Isa explores themes of belonging, community, embodiment, mental health, and reconnection. Through her storytelling, she seeks not only to document, but to heal—inviting audiences to reflect on histories interrupted by displacement and to honor lived experiences across generations. Contact A.J. Haynes: Instagram: @luyahealing Substack: https://ajhaynes.substack.com/ Contact Rhonda Lee Richoux: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rainbow.zen/ Filipino-Americans in Louisiana Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/filamlouisiana/ Contact Isa Tablan: Instagram: @isabelatablan Substack: https://aspiringhuman.substack.com/ Bayou Barkada Instagram: @bayoubarkada FOLLOW US: 🎙️ Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/pilipinxinwellness 🫶 Donate to support Pilipinx in Wellness: Patreon: / membership Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/pilipinxinwellness Inquiries: contactus@pilipinxinwellness.com Credits: Our Video Editor is Harmonie T. Tangonan-Kwan (IG: @harmoniousone). Our Creative Lead is Ritchie (IG: @ritchramirezart). Our Producer, Host and Co-Founder is Cheryl Samson Ramirez (IG: @angelspointyoga).
