I am a Latina international muralist, singer, painter, fashion designer, and creator of Chula Punk. As a multimedia artist and performer my creations allow me to fully express a self-study of the body, spirit, and mind. I believe that creativity is limitless. Pushing my voice to the next level by singing, spray painting murals, and performing in fashion shows. Chula Punk is a body positive, inclusive style I created that advocates Chicano culture, fashion, and social rights. All the clothing is re-purposed, upcycled, destroyed, and matches the genre of latin, punk, world beat music that my family band plays. I uplift my people with my voice, movement, and creations.

Simona Rael is Aztec, Spanish, and Native American. She is from Pane Blanca, New Mexico, and is a sophomore at IAIA majoring in studio arts with an emphasis in painting. She has worked on numerous murals in Santa Fe and Albuquerque and is an accomplished musician.

Rael is working to earn an associate’s degree and then wants to transfer to study at the Barcelona School of the Arts in Spain. She says that several years ago her family traveled through Europe and she fell in love with the arts school there.

She has lived in the IAIA dormitory and says that she really enjoyed being away from home and making new friends. “I started a new club called ‘Jammins’; we promoted music, singing, drawing, and painting at our base in the recreation center on campus.”