Latin Soul Celebration!

Sirène De Paradis

Sirène De Paradis (Diane Berrios) is an international cultural performance artist, musician, singer, pyro dancer and professional costume designer born and raised in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. For close to 20 years, her passion stemming from her Afro-Puerto Rican dance roots has paved a unique path of dance and education from her travels and performances throughout the Caribbean, North, Central and South America.

Her cultural depiction of the performing arts, dance workshops, and costumes that she designs has been showcased through her labels, Chi-Caribena Designs and Global Booty Dance, which empowers women through movement and dance.

The Dill Costa Dance Group and Bloco Maximo

Authentic Brazilian Samba Drumming and Dancing brought to you through the collaboration of Second City Samba and Dill Costa. 

Raised in Rio de Janeiro, Dill (pronounced ‘Jill’) Costa is an expert in samba dance and performance. As a regular dancer in some of Brazil’s best known escolas de samba (samba ‘schools’) — groups of hundreds of musicians and dancers in one of the greatest festivals on Earth — Dill is one of the only performers in Chicago who represents the authentic Carnaval music that is part of Brazil’s rich musical legacy. She has held many titles in samba schools including ‘Queen of the Percussion Section’.

Besides samba, Dill is an expert in jazz, tap, modern, and folk dance of Brazil. She was an instructor of Brazilian regional dance forms for many years. She currently teaches samba and Brazilian dance at the Old Town School of Folk Music.

Michelle Andrade

Michelle moved to Chicago from her beautiful country of Brazil 6 years ago. She started dancing when she was 5 years old beginning with Ballet and Capoeira classes.

When she was 9 years old, she started competing in Samba, Funk, and Axe Bahia (Brazilians Rhythmics). Since Brazil has such a rich culture of dance Michelle found herself dancing her whole life, always practicing with her family and friends.

When she was in college, she became a dance instructor, teaching ballroom dancing (Samba de gafieira, forro, zouk, etc.) in her hometown as well as doing local presentations and shows. She is proud of having danced in Carnival events in Rio de Janeiro and Chicago.

Michelle has most recently been teaching Ballroom dancing at Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Park Ridge.

Zaida Luna

Zaida Luna is a passionate, free-spirited dancer who performs during select seasons. As she dances, she tends to fall into a dream-like state through which she is able to travel through different realms. She is also a small business owner, founder of Luna Llena Apothecary. Although she was born in Mexico, she has spent most of her life in Pilsen, one of the most artistically renowned communities of the United States. That is where she oversees the Moonlight Healing Garden, which was once owned by her late father. Her calling is doing what she loves and keeping her family’s land fertile so that she may continue to cultivate the kind of memories that only music, dance, art and wellness can render.

Zaida is an old soul who holds humanity dear to her heart, and expresses this affection through dance, embodying the different energies that are much her own and those borrowed from the space around her.  Her purpose is to not only inspire women, but everyone who is open to receiving that energy which movement tends to invoke.  

She has a zest for life, and dancing runs through her veins.  She always finds the right dance to express what she is feeling at a given moment or what she needs to heal, nurturing her most vulnerable self.  Dance is her true means of self-expression.  In this way, she has come to discover the healing properties of dance. 

Before becoming Zaida Luna, she transitioned through many names and dreams. One of those dreams was to express herself through movement, and today she aspires to share this healing medium with others. Her natural, organic movements are woven together into a unique multicultural style that includes flamenco, West African dance, belly dance, tango and duncan dance technique.

Pérsida Contreras

Pérsida Contreras, also known as Persy, was raised in Puerto Rico. On her island she participated from a very young age in various theater, music and dance groups. She also worked as a radio host in two different radio stations in PR where she also had the opportunity to be the Master of Ceremonies on Private Events.

She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao in 2005, where she was also student governor, with a Bachelors in Arts-Elementary Education, and a major in English. She worked as a high school English teacher and a Community College Teacher before she moved to Chicago in 2006, when she started working for Chicago Public Schools and continues to do so until this day.

Persy has worked as a music ensemble teacher for different Community programs. She was the lead singer of “Orquesta La Natural”, and Latin Jazz Reggae Ambassadors. She has also collaborated with segundo Ruiz Belvis as a “Cabezudo” and “Vejigante” in a few events in Chicago.

On a more spiritual note, Persy is an Usui Reiki Master and Is a Certified Sound Healing Practitioner. She loves Crystals, numerology, tarot, meditation, and yoga among other things.

Genevieve Ramos

Genevieve Ramos is a visual artist who focuses on acrylics on canvas. An advocate and activist of her intersecting identities, Genevieve believes that the personal is political, and the very personal is art. She paints many portraits, with surreal and abstract themes, drawn from her personal experience of being a Mexican-American women with disabilities. Genevieve has participated in various group exhibitions, gallery shows and creates commissioned paintings. She has also earned her Associate’s Degree in Arts and graduated from Northeastern Illinois University in 2021 with her Bachelors degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexually Studies.

Genevieve es una pintora estadounidense de primera generación, centrándose en acrílicos sobre lienzo. La familia de su madre es orgullosamente del estado de Durango, México. Por esta razón también es una defensora y activista de sus identidades interseccionales. Genevieve cree que lo personal es político y lo muy personal es arte. Pinta muchos obras, con temas surrealistas y abstractos, extraídos de su experiencia personal de ser una mujer latina con discapacidades.

Genevieve ha participado en varias exposiciones colectivas, exposiciones en

galerías y crea pinturas por encargo. Genevieve trabaja con Cambiando Vidas, que crea un espacio crítico para que los inmigrantes con discapacidades se reúnan, organicen y efectúen el cambio. También obtuvo su título de asociado en artes y se graduó de la Universidad del Noreste de Illinois en 2021 con su licenciatura en estudios de la mujer, el género y la sexualidad.

The Moon Gawdess

I am an intuitive empath and offer a variety of services such as tarot/oracle card readings, pendulum readings, chakra reading/balancing, and Reiki healing. I also have a variety of tools to help you along your spiritual journey such as intention candles, smudging products, cleansing sprays, crystals, and jewelry, etc.

Facebook @moongawdess1111, IG @the_moon_gawdess

Kinetic Healing

I hand make Reiki Infused therapeutic bath and body products to compliment any facial, body, breathwork and Reiki services I provide.

I am mostly self taught for over 26yrs now. I have completed my Reiki Practitioner certification about 2yrs ago. I have completed Breathwork courses on and off during the span of the last 20 years. I recently completed my certification to teach. I have been a licensed esthetician for over ten years. I am also certified in Gua Sha massage. I am currently half way through my yoga certification.

Aside from the technicalities I am a pretty fun loving free spirit who loves to connect and expand through inspiring relationships. I love to learn and grow so I am always looking for ways to enhance my life as well as those around me.

I am a worker bee and a helper naturally. I founded KINETIC HEALING from a deep desire to want to raise the vibration of our planet through love and healing.

I aim to create moments of peace in our hectic lives through physical healing as well as spiritual.