Drag queens, go-go dancers, bartenders, artists, DJs, nudists—all are part of a group of unsung heroes that cherish their freedom as Americans and immigrants in the U.S. while celebrating their own individuality. Santiago Echeverry has been living and working in Wilton Manors/Fort Lauderdale, Florida for over a year, becoming part of a life that in other areas of the world would be considered “underground.”

Santiago Echeverry is a Colombian-American new media and digital artist with a background in television, video, and performance art. A Fulbright scholar, he received his master’s degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. He moved to the U.S. in 2003 to teach interactivity at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and then relocated to Florida in the fall of 2005 to teach digital arts and interactive media at the University of Tampa. He started exhibiting internationally in 1992, participating in festivals such as SIGGRAPH, FILE, and the Japan Media Arts Festival. His research interests are nonlinear narration, video art, interactive design, creative code, and web experimentation. His works are available online at www.santi.tv

This exhibition is presented as a part of the Indie Grits festival, themed this year as Visiones. Inspired by the rapid and growing migration from Latin America that is changing the face of the American Southeast, Visiones seeks not only to explore different Latin-American realities, but also to celebrate them.