On this week’s episode of Spirit & Liberation, host Francisca Porchas Coronado welcomes Janet Arelis Quezada, a queer, Black daughter of Dominican migrants, spiritual elder, poet, and cultural worker whose life bridges movement spaces, sacred practice, and creative expression. Crowned to Oyá in 2004 in the Cuban-style Lukumí tradition, Janet brings decades of spiritual practice and political organizing to this conversation. She’s worked in communities across the U.S. from the Bronx to the Bay, from L.A. to Miami building collective strategies to end sexual violence, support LGBTQ visibility, and cultivate healing spaces rooted in justice. In this episode, Francisca and Janet explore: 🌀 The meaning and legacy of Regla de Ocha, and how it relates to and differs from other Afro-diasporic spiritual traditions like Ifá, 📣 What it means to be politically conscious in spiritual communities and what happens when that awareness is missing, 📝 How poetry and writing become tools of remembrance, connection, and processing for Black queer spiritual practitioners, Janet closes the episode with a heartfelt offering from her own poetry collection for listeners to hold close in the days ahead. Spirit & Liberation is a limited series podcast, brought to you by the Latinx Therapists Action Network, exploring the intersection of sacred traditions and political struggle. Each episode invites you into conversation with organizers, spiritual practitioners, and healers committed to weaving ancestral wisdom into the fight for our collective liberation. This series explores how spirit moves through our movements—offering tools, stories, and truths for these times.