Ariana Castro
5 Articles0 Comments

Ariana Castro (she/her) is a managing editor at OutWrite. She is a fourth-year English major and Pilipino Studies minor at UCLA. Her passions include queer joy, creative nonfiction, and Pilipinx and Pilipinx-American culture, history, and advocacy.

“Langit Lupa” — Heaven and Earth, Life Beyond Death

On Nov. 9 and 10, 2024, Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien screened their newest experimental labor-activist documentary, Langit Lupa (Heaven and Earth) (2023), at 2220 Arts + Archives in Historic Filipinotown. The documentary braids personal testimonies from survivors of the violent Escalante Massacre with vivid phytograms taken from a sugar plantation in Negros, Philippines, raw 16 mm film, and theatrical performances by Escalante children. The weekend screenings and related programs were part of Camacho and Lien’s artist residency with Active Cultures, a public arts nonprofit in Los Angeles that explores the intersection of art, food, and ecologies through artist-led projects and programs.

Southern California Fires and Mutual Aid

Although the fires are mostly contained today, Angelenos struggle to rebuild, whether they were directly or indirectly impacted by the crisis. It’s dehumanizing to attempt to resume business as usual because entire communities were leveled and livelihoods were lost. Supporting local mutual aid efforts and collectively pressuring administrative bodies remain crucial in serving the needs of our communities. 

Stand Up, Fight Back! AFSCME 3299 Workers and Student Advocates Strike

On Nov. 20 and 21, Local 3299 workers picketed in front of the Ronald Reagan Medical Hospital, Luskin Conference Center, and at Bruin Plaza from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Across the UC campuses, more than 37,000 workers joined the AFSCME picket lines. Students demonstrated in solidarity, mobilized by the Student Labor Advocacy Project (SLAP) at UCLA. 

Cancel RIMPAC! Student Perspectives on Resisting the U.S. War Machine

This is an interview with two student activists regarding their experience at Cancel RIMPAC 2024. The International Cancel RIMPAC Campaign is dedicated to organizing and mobilizing in opposition to the Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC), an imperialist joint military exercise led by the United States.

 The Human Cost of RIMPAC and Calls to Resistance

The Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC) is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, hosted by the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet Command in conjunction with 28 partner nations and the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard. The 2024 exercise marked the 29th year since 1971 that the event, held biennially because of its large scale, took place in American-occupied Hawaiʻi.