What does a mental health journey look like? How can art, music, and therapy bring us to better self understanding and self love? In this episode, Portland Community College student Jose Perez Salazar interviews Joaquin Lopez, one of the creative laureates of Portland, Oregon. They discuss the healing power of art, what it means to listen to your parents’ music, and how Lopez found meaning in staging and singing Latino gay stories. This is our first conversation co-produced by a first-generation student. Many Roads to Here is a production of The Immigrant Story. Many thanks to Jose Perez Salazar for co-producing this episode with me. And huge thanks to Joaquin for this conversation, and for his beautiful music. This episode was recorded at Portland Community College and generously funded by the Zidell Family Foundation. Gregg Palmer did our post production. Music was composed and performed by Joaquin Lopez. Our executive producer is the undeniable Sankar Raman. For more stories, visit our website, listen live at prp.fm, or stream us wherever you get your podcasts.