A storytelling and visual art project rooted in the lives, memories, histories, and dreams of Latinx communities in Southern Oregon.
Land and People’s Gratitude
We begin by offering our gratitude and respect to the original peoples of the lands we now call home. We honor the Takelma, Shasta, and Latgawa peoples, whose ancestral homelands continue to be cared for by their living descendants, including the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. We are grateful for the stories, knowledge, culture, and enduring presence of the Native peoples who have called these lands home since time immemorial.
Geography: SHASTA, TAKELMA, MODOC, KLAMATH
Our stories are part of the history of this place.
REMEMBERING AND TELLING OUR STORIES
De La Raíz was born from a desire to remember, reclaim, and make visible the stories that too often go untold: our families, elders, migrations, labor, traditions, struggles, joys, and the ways we have built community and belonging across generations.
Rooted in Southern Oregon’s Latine communities, De La Raíz is a community-led storytelling and preservation project that gathers, honors, and shares our histories through oral testimonies, research, and visual storytelling. Grounded in truth-telling, intergenerational dialogue, and collective memory, the project centers our lived experiences, challenges stereotypes and erasure, and resists narratives that ask us to assimilate or forget.
At its heart, De La Raíz is an act of remembering, belonging, and reclaiming our stories—honoring where we come from, recognizing who we are, and preserving what we carry for generations to come.
“Remembering that we have created history here.”
WHAT LIVES AT THE ROOT
Stories
Family, migration, memory, tradition, joy, and lived experience.
Art
Visual storytelling that preserves culture, identity, and place.
Community
Gathering, connection, collaboration, and collective belonging.
Creative projects that bring these stories and experiences into the world.
Projects
Our Stories Through Art
CURRENT PROJECT · 2026
10 community members. 10 stories.
A collection of video stories featuring community members from Talent, Oregon.
ERICA’S ROLE
Video Production + Story Collection
IN COLLABORATION WITH
Talent Business Alliance + Talent Historical Society
Through Marilú's story, we explore the deep connections between land, family, memory, and legacy. The land holds more than history; it holds her father's presence, his work, and the roots he planted for future generations.
Remembering family roots & Almeda Fire
Where Music Takes Root: A Mariachi Family’s Journey.
FROM THE ARCHIVE
Stories, gatherings, and projects through the years.
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The Things That Do Not Burn
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Elements of Home
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Noche de Cuentos
STORIES FROM DE LA RAIZ
Stories of family, migration, work, tradition, struggle, joy, and belonging.
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Our Team
Erica Alexia Ledesma
- Founder
Erica Alexia Ledesma is a first-generation xicana born and raised in Southern Oregon with ancestral roots in México. Erica is a visual artist, youth mentor, and community organizer currently based in Takelma Land (Medford, Oregon). Her work centers visual art and story sharing to build community and address her cultural identity.
In 2018, Erica co-founded a project called Noche de cuentos, which works with the Latinx members to craft and share their story in the community. In 2019 Erica partnered up with The Hearth– becoming the director of the Latinx Story Project creating a project called De La Raíz (from the roots) that focuses on gathering stories and sharing them online.
She believes in the power of telling and reclaiming our stories as a means of remembering and spiritual healing. Erica received Bachelors degrees in Ethnic Studies, Cultural Anthropology and Spanish from the University of Oregon. But she would say that a lot of her experience comes from being chismosa and curious.
THE STORY CONTINUESRooted in memory.
Growing through community.
LET’S CONNECT
Ready to Start a Conversation?
ERICA ALEXIA
Director of Project De La Raíz
delaraizproject@gmail.com
PO Box 144
Phoenix, OR 97501
Have a project, workshop, commission, gathering, or collaboration in mind? Set up a meeting with Erica to share what you’re working on and explore what creating together could look like.
SET UP A MEETING
Select a preferred language
STAY CONNECTED