Steve Llamas (YA-MA-SSS) is a versatile artist and cultural scholar, originally from warehouse-infested Fontana, California. He earned his BA in Theatre Arts with a minor in Chicanx/Latinx Studies from UC San Diego in 2023.

 

Born into the complex narrative of american assimilation, Steve found a deep sense of identity within the evolving Chicanx Movement. His work centers on revitalizing and reconnecting with ancestral mythologies, histories, and knowledge, as pathways to collective liberation. This approach involves exploring how the reclamation of ancestral narratives and knowledges can serve as a catalyst for broader social and political transformation, fostering the potential for liberation across communities. Through committing to art education, community support, and anti-colonial practices, Steve envisions a world without borders.

 

Steve’s theatrical journey has expanded from acting to sound design, playwriting, directing, and collaborative work. He is driven by the transformative potential of Necessary Theatre for oppressed communities. Steve sees storytelling as a potent tool for advocating social change, achieving collective liberation, and engaging with our Nepantla to embrace the complexities of our identities and experiences. By activating this space and using it as a source of empowerment, understanding, and connection with others, we can move closer to the world we dream of.

 

Steve’s latest adaptation of Mexica, Aztec legend, La Mujer Dormida, reclaims the Indigenous legend of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatépetl as a poetic act of resistance against empire, patriarchy, and generational cycles of harm. Set during the ceremonial festival of Panquetzaliztli, the play follows Izta, a young princess expected to sacrifice her autonomy for political alliance, who refuses to be offered up as a symbol. Together with Popo, a revolutionary poet who believes in the power of love and imagination, they dare to envision a future beyond conquest.

United by their love for each other and their shared longing for change, they confront inherited violence, generational trauma, and the myth of power. Through lyrical storytelling, the weight of what's been passed down, and the cultural memory carried in both body and land, La Mujer Dormida becomes a call to transform sacrifice into liberation and to imagine a future rooted in care, not control.

 

In his musical endeavors, Steve is involved in two solo projects:

sleepiestevie: This project, functioning as an open journal since 2015, blends rhythmic melodies with his distinctive spoken word style. Often performing in the San Diego area, his music can be described as emo, skramz, post-whatever label. Themes in his music reflect his personal experiences of dealing with generational trauma, healing from an abusive lineage, and the transformative journey of personal growth.

 

sleepielover: Under this electronic experimental music persona, Steve explores a range of influences, from trance, hardstyle, and glitchcore to emo and symphonic elements. This project serves as an outlet for expressing and experiencing emotions in a different way.