What does it look like when someone takes everything life threw at them

— homelessness, single motherhood at 19, a stage two cancer diagnosis

— and turns it into fuel to transform an entire community?

Meet Zulaika Velazquez.

In this episode of Uptown Voices, Led Black and Octavio

Blanco sit down with one of Northern Manhattan's most extraordinary

educators, directors, and community builders. Zulaika is a South Bronx

native, Juilliard-trained, and the woman who produced In the Heights at

George Washington High School — with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jon M. Chu, and

Warner Brothers in the audience. But this conversation goes far deeper

than theater.

🎭 DISTRICT 6 SHOWCASE — MAY 29TH AT UNITED PALACE

750 students, K–12, from 37 schools. Free, open to the public. Art

exhibit from 4 PM, performances 5–7 PM. The only district-wide production

of its kind in the country.

🏫 THERE ARE NO BAD KIDS

Why labeling schools and students ignores the real story — underfunded

classrooms, overcrowded schools, and kids reacting to their circumstances.

Change the resources, change the outcomes.

🌎 ARTS AS LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Kids who didn't speak a word of English performed a full two-hour

production in English at United Palace by year's end. The method works.

🎬 IN THE HEIGHTS AT GW

While on chemo, Zulaika produced In the Heights at GW with a 250-person

waiting list. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jon M. Chu, and Bette Midler's team

were in the house. It made Oprah Magazine.

🎓 GETTING UPTOWN KIDS INTO SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS

Why performing arts schools are harder to get into than Stuyvesant —

and how to level the playing field.

🤖 ARTS IN THE AGE OF AI

Why humanities, critical thinking, and storytelling are the skills

AI can't replace.

🗳️ CIVIC EDUCATION IN THE CLASSROOM

How Zulaika navigates politics with students — research the platforms,

register to vote, understand why local elections matter most.

📌 zulaika@spanglishvoces.com

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 There Are No Bad Kids — Opening Statement

01:08 Welcome & Subscribe Reminder

02:06 Introducing Zulaika Velazquez

04:12 District 6 Showcase at United Palace

05:27 750 Students K–12: The Scale of It

06:19 Respecting Every Artist's Work

07:41 The Jukebox Musical Format Explained

08:12 The Only Production of Its Kind Nationwide

09:05 How It Started in 2017

10:46 Free & Open to the Public — May 29th Details

12:10 From South Bronx to Juilliard

14:12 Opera, Word Painting & Why She Left Classical

17:38 Vagina Monologues in Spanish & Arts as Activism

18:05 Language Acquisition Through Musical Theater

19:01 Full English Musical With Non-English Speakers

20:06 Getting Uptown Kids Into Specialized High Schools

22:01 Theater as Community Space at GW

22:20 In the Heights at George Washington High School

35:08 Stage Two Cancer & the Kids Who Showed Up

37:00 Warner Brothers, Lin-Manuel Miranda & Jon M. Chu

39:35 Oprah Magazine & Breaking the Internet

40:57 Latin Grammy Foundation & $40K in Instruments

42:50 LaGuardia vs. GW: The Real Competition

46:20 Arts in the Age of AI

47:07 Saving Lives: Newly Arrived Students & Changed Trajectories

48:09 When the System Fails Newly Arrived Students

52:28 Student Strikes, Civic Power & Social Activism

56:28 How to Get Teenagers to Listen

58:00 The NYC Subway Metaphor for Life

01:02:20 Students, Trump, Andrew Tate & Open Conversations

01:05:51 Research the Platforms, Register to Vote

01:08:54 The Student Who Was Homeless & Became Pro-Trump

01:09:31 Making Better Human Beings Through Art

01:10:29 How to Reach Zulaika & May 29th Details

🎙️ The Uptown Collective documents the culture, community, and voices

that make Northern Manhattan one of the most extraordinary places

in the world.

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