Our story began in San Luis, Colorado, back in 2014 during the vibrant Santa Ana Festival. It was there that we first connected with the amazing Move Mountains Youth Leaders, and over the next three years, we returned annually, collaborating with local youth to create music videos and dive deep into songwriting together.

During those early years, we were fortunate to meet Sam Ozuna, a remarkable young talent whose passion for music and his community left a lasting impression on us. In 2016, Sam sparked an idea that blossomed into a community-wide project—a song that beautifully captured the essence of San Luis and the creativity of its youth.

After facing a few years of funding challenges and global disruptions, we were finally able to return to San Luis, thanks to a generous grant from the Arts in Society fund. With more experience under our belts and the full 2MX2 band ready, we were excited to guide a new generation of young creatives in crafting their own musical masterpiece.

With Sam Ozuna leading the direction of the song and the band 2MX2 with the direction of DMDTheProducer creating music tailored specifically for this project, we began with a virtual workshop to guide the youth through the songwriting process. We called for applicants, and seven brave young individuals, aged 9 to 18, all from the San Luis Valley, answered the call and shared their incredible talents with us.

This project would not have been possible without the unwavering support of Shirley Romero Otero, who played a crucial role in organizing and executing every detail. With the backing of San Luis City Hall, which provided the facilities for our workshops we were able to teach these young artists the art of songwriting.

In July, Lolita, DMDTheProducer, and I traveled from Denver to San Luis to help the youth complete the lyrics to the song, building on the exercises from our virtual workshops. Later that month, we returned with our partners, including the professional video production crew from Altr Agency—a woman-owned company based in Denver, led by Jordan Altergott. We spent four days in San Luis recording the lyrics with a professional mobile studio, and immediately afterward, the youth took charge in brainstorming and shooting their music video, bringing their visions to life.

Thanks to the grant, not only were we able to partner with a professional video production company like Altr, but we were also able to offer stipends for the youth participating, our partner Shirley, and the young man who had started it all—Sam, who is now known by his artist name, Sammy Sosa.

The end result was nothing short of spectacular—a music video that perfectly highlighted the community pride and creativity of these young artists. We’re incredibly proud of what they accomplished and excited for you to see the work they’ve created. A heartfelt thank you to the Arts in Society grant for making this possible, and to the amazing youth for sharing your talents and your community with us.

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