A Transformative, Site-Specific Journey Through Indigenous Art, Storytelling, and Nature
Carlsbad, CA – New Village Arts (NVA) invites you to step beyond the traditional stage and into the landscape itself with A Walk With Yáamay: a series of free, site-specific guided art walks blending Indigenous poetry, music, and storytelling with the natural beauty of North County San Diego. Presented in collaboration with the Queer Sol Collective, A Walk With Yáamay offers a deeply immersive and participatory experience inspired by Yáamay: An Anthology of Feminine Perspectives Across Indigenous California. A Walk With Yáamay is graciously sponsored by Parks California and the City of Escondido’s Art, Culture, and Creativity month.
Participants are invited not just to observe, but to engage, moving through curated outdoor environments while encountering live performances, reflective prompts, and communal storytelling. Each attendee receives a journal, pencil, and a copy of the Yáamay anthology, encouraging personal reflection and creative response as the experience unfolds.
Curated by Camaray Davalos, jovanny perez, and Juan A. Reynoso, the program centers Indigenous voices and perspectives, weaving together poetry, song, and movement to create a space for connection between participants, the land, and their own origin stories.
“During A Walk with Yáamay, participants will engage with the land in both its natural and altered states, from the perspective of Indigenous artists. We want you to see the beauty we see; The contradictions, the changes, and the history, as well. We will learn the stories of the land, and how it parallels Indigenous peoples’, with the hope that participants will also understand their connection to these spaces.” – Camaray Davalos, co-writer of Yáamay: An Anthology of Feminine Perspectives Across Indigenous California and co-curator of A Walk With Yáamay
The journey begins at Grape Day Park in Escondido on April 23rd and 24th with Root, an opening chapter grounded in origin, ancestry, and connection to land. Led by artists Jessa Calderon and Alexis Munoa Dyer, this walk invites participants to explore foundational stories of identity and belonging. On April 23 only, the experience will open with a ceremonial Bird Singing by Matthew Alvarado, offering a powerful sonic invocation to begin the walk. Through poetry, movement, and guided reflection, Root sets the tone for a deeply intentional and communal experience.
At Leo Carrillo Ranch Park on May 17th, Dormancy (The Dreamscape) explores the quiet, generative space between rest and awakening. Led by Alexis Munoa Dyer alongside mentee artist Hezekiah Santiago, this chapter invites participants into a reflective, almost surreal landscape: one where dreams, memory, and stillness become sources of transformation. This walk honors the unseen processes of growth that occur beneath the surface.
“My prayer for this program will be that the expressions created by our Indigenous artists will spark curiosity and loving conviction amongst our participants, drawing them closer together, closer to their own origin stories.” — Juan A. Reynoso from Queer Sol Collective, and co-curator of A Walk With Yáamay.”
On May 24th, set against the coastal beauty of Agua Hedionda Lagoon, Bloom centers themes of emergence, resilience, and life force. Led by Alexis Munoa Dyer and Genevra Munoa, this walk integrates visual and tactile elements, fabric, imagery of the feminine form, and metaphors of seed-to-plant transformation, to explore cycles of growth. The experience also engages with pressing environmental realities, including water displacement and the impact of dams, grounding the poetic journey in contemporary ecological conversations.
The series culminates on June 20th at Buena Vista Lagoon with Create/Cultivation, a celebration ofcollective memory, storytelling, and generational knowledge. Led by Alexis Munoa Dyer and Nube Hawk Cruz, this chapter centers the voices of elders through oral histories woven into the landscape. Participants will encounter a unique salt sculpture installation accompanied by embedded sound bites, an evocative blending of material and memory that honors the enduring presence and wisdom of community voices.
By merging performance with nature, A Walk With Yáamay reflects New Village Arts’ commitment to innovative storytelling and community engagement, expanding the boundaries of what theatre can be and who it is for.Participation is free, with a maximum of 20 participants per walk to preserve the intimacy of the experience. Advance registration is encouraged and currently available for April 23rd and April 24th. Additional art walk dates will be released soon.
About New Village Arts … Celebrating 25 years of award-winning professional theatre and thriving education and outreach programs, New Village Arts (NVA) has truly become the cultural hub of North County San Diego. NVA
attracts more than 30,000 patrons each year to experience professional theatre, music and art events in the heart of Carlsbad Village. In addition to full seasons of plays and musicals featuring some of the best artistic talent in Southern California, NVA hosts talkback discussions and other supplementary events designed to create conversation and cultivate community. The White Family Next Stage in the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center presents a series of music, comedy, and improv events throughout the year. NVA offers robust theatre programs in partnership with local schools and strongly believes that theatre and arts experiences should be accessible to all people, becoming a recognized leader in equity, diversity, and inclusion in San Diego. NVA has been fortunate to receive support from the City of Carlsbad and other local businesses, who recognize the importance of a resident professional theatre
company as a crucial component of an inclusive and creative community. In turn NVA prioritizes serving its community by presenting works that respect its diversity, engaging every citizen with relevant and inspiring stories.
