BONK! Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month at The Sanctum

Nestor “The Boss” Gomez was born in Guatemala and moved to Chicago undocumented in the mid-80’s. He is a seventy-plus times Moth Slam winner, and 2022 National Storytelling Association Grand Slam winner. He is also the creator, producer, curator and host of 80 Minutes Around the World, a storytelling show that features the stories of immigrants, their descendants and allies. To learn more about Nestor check his web site NestorGomezStoryteller.com

Janice V Rodriguez is a Chicago based entrepreneur, comedian, and storyteller. When not building an unnecessary spreadsheet or micromanaging others, she is performing her unique brand of stand up. When she’s on stage, her goal is to bring a fresh perspective to topics related to her Latina culture, Indiana upbringing, and her professional and personal lives.

Ivan Ramos (He/Him/His) has spent the last twenty years teaching, writing, and performing poetry in Chicago while he built a career in nonprofit social services coordination and administration with a variety of organizations. He has collaborated with local musicians, producers, DJ’s, and other poets. Ivan earned a B.F.A. from Columbia College Chicago and has been featured in numerous poetry anthologies including Word Curves and Columbia Poetry Review. Ivan also co-founded Ground Up the Urban Collaborative, which from 2002-2004 brought teaching artists into the Chicago Public School System.

Author of 6 books, Nicholas Ravnikar has been sober since 2011 and lives with a number of mental health diagnoses, including Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar 2 and ADHD. He taught as a full-time college professor, newspaper copy editor, success coach and marketing copywriter. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Naropa University. His writing has appeared in Beatnik Cowboy, The Literary Hatchet, Moss Trill and NewPages.com and The Georgia Review.