Staff

Jessica Chrastil — Co-Director / Founder

Jessica is a mother, writer and cultural manager whose work explores possibilities of convergence and exchange between ideas, practices and experiences. Originally from Minneapolis, she has lived in Oaxaca since 2015 and founded Pocoapoco in 2016. Prior work includes Creative Director at an international nonprofit as well as 15 years of teaching, studying, producing and collaborating across the fields of art, design and creative education in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a BFA in Visual Arts & Design, an MFA from California College of the Arts and a five-year-old son.

Evelyn Méndez Maldonado — Co-Director / Founder of Casa Abierta

Evelyn is a dancer, performer, cultural manger and producer from Oaxaca City. She has traveled the path of interpretation, creation and collaboration in contemporary dance and performance since 2009. Without institutional training, Oaxaca -- a place that gives and receives -- has been her school. Her first management and curatorial project, Casa Abierta, is a program of performance focused residencies and festivals that she has been developing in Oaxaca since 2018 in collaboration with local, independent and institutional dance and theater spaces.  She joined the the organization in 2021.   

Dafne Juliana Díaz de la Vega — Logistics & Administration Manager

Dafne is a cultural manager trained at UCSJ and holds a Master’s in Social Anthropology from CIESAS Pacífico Sur. Born in Mexico City, she worked at ENCRyM-INAH in editorial coordination and continuing education. She has participated in the communication, production, and promotion of projects such as Archivo Diseño y Arquitectura and the Orfeo Quagliata Studio. Since 2018, she has been researching artisanal mezcal production in Oaxaca and its impact on rural communities. She has worked as an educator at Mezcaloteca and collaborates with the Neta Spirits project. Since 2021, she has coordinated logistics and administration at Pocoapoco.

Aurelia Arroyo Nieto — House Manager

Aurelia is a talented cocinera from the Sierra Norte de Puebla who has lived in Oaxaca for over 20 years. She is the mother of two sons and has been working with Pocoapoco from day one, where she runs the kitchen, meals and house.

Karina Santiara — Praticas Profesionales