“SER” Migratory Artist Collective - los portales

los portales is a performance work choreographed by Xochitl Loco in collaboration with “SER” Migratory Artist Collective. Filled with magical realism, los portales navigates the familiar and unknown using prop manipulation, voice distortion, a surprise dance and Mexican line dancing. A full-length performance exploring access and queer visibility, los portales, is an epic following the voyage of a spiritual warrior awoken amidst a void-like realm of smoke and mirrors. Called to embark on a saga towards transcendence the warrior must cross portals traversing ever-shifting mitotes (states of “fog”) guided by the alebrije (animalistic spirit guide). Wielding only a swinging wooden baton that must be surrendered to continue the journey through the unknown, the warrior contends with past, present, and future, facing the ever-present gaze of the mirror. A love letter to L.A., los portales reflects on lifecycles, becoming, and belonging through thoughtful memorialization and the reclaiming of rites of passage and space.

Xochitl Loco (they/them/theirs), director of “SER” Migratory Artist Collective and multi-disciplinary world builder uses choreography and performance as catalysts to bridge people together through collective imagination. Born and raised in Southern California, Xochitl earned a MFA in Choreographic Inquiry from the department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at UCLA (2025) after achieving a BA in Film and Creative Writing from UC Berkeley (2015). As a Chicanx artist, Xochitl’s work is rooted in politics of identity and culture. Xochitl has performed on stages worldwide from The Ford LA, UCLA’s Glorya Kaufman

Dance Theater, The Bing Theater at USC, and in Guanajuato, México. Xochitl’s movement expertise is expansive and centered in West African and social Latin dance forms. Xochitl trained with Diamano Coura Dance Company in Oakland and has choreographed and performed with Los Angeles-based dance company, Contra Tiempo.

Xochitl has created and presented 30-minute performance work “las artes sanarte” in Atotonilco, Guanajuato as part of Camino al Arte’s first cohort of the Social Impact Artist Residency working with locals from Atotonilco, using visual and performing arts as a catalyst for self empowerment. Realizing the importance of arts education, Xochitl has led multiple dance enrichment workshops for students of Long Beach Unified School District through Dramatic Results, and Newport-Mesa Unified School District through José Costas Contempo Ballet teaching Hip-hop, Bomba, West African dance, and Folklorico. Xochitl’s mission is to provide healing through dance and artistic collaboration fueled by culturally affirming movement and teaching practices.

“SER” Migratory Artist Collective (SER MAC) is a fluid group of intergenerational multi-disciplinary artists organized by Xochitl Loco. The first group of SER MAC artists was assembled utilizing Long Beach City College student artists in 2021. Mission driven, the goal of SER MAC is to create access to physical and emotional healing through the arts while acting as a platform for underserved communities through intentional story telling. SER MAC has expanded its reach over the years, assembling a group of community artists in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico during Xochitl’s Social Impact Residency at Camino al Arte in 2025.