Kayatta Patton: ‘She’s an inspiration’

Name: Kayatta Patton

Age: 44

Title or position: Artist

On the job since: 2001

Hometown: Born in Oakland and lived in Sonoma County from 2013 until August, when she moved to Berkeley

Why Kayatta is someone to watch:

Since 2013, Kayatta has captivated Sonoma County audiences with her socially conscious lyrics and driving beats. In the summer of 2022, she wants to re-launch “The Precipice,” a monthly hip-hop event she spearheaded featuring local artists of marginalized communities, which has been on hold since March 2020. Kayatta released her album “Beautiful and Messy,” about being a queer Black woman, on Juneteenth last year and is now at work on a new album, celebrating “Black joy,” which she plans to launch in the spring.

What others are saying about Kayatta:

“She’s an inspiration for a lot of us. She’s like a prophet. She talks about politics through storytelling and music and stays current without being boring. She makes these uncomfortable topics digestible and has important conversations you wouldn’t normally have.” — Erica Ambrin, a local singer who has collaborated with Kayatta for the last 10 years

What Kayatta says about 2022:

“I’m excited but also nervous for this new album. I want to create something better than the last. And I’m ready to get back on stage. Being on stage is where the magic happens — looking out and seeing people singing your songs and connecting with the lyrics. I’m excited to share what I’ve been working on. I hope to continue creating that supportive space for our queer communities and for people of color. I want to recreate what it means to be a queer Black artist.”

– MYA CONSTANTINO

Name: Jesus “MrChuy” Garcia

Title or position: Rising social media star playing to Latino humor under the name MrChuy

On the job since: Garcia posted his first video 12 years ago, when he was in junior high

Age: 25

Hometown: Born in Greenbrae, but living in Petaluma for the last 17 years

Why Garcia is someone to watch:

With his weekly comedy episodes, Jesus “MrChuy” Garcia is an online sensation with more than 4 million followers. His 2.7 million followers on TikTok alone make him, according to advertising bean counters, a “celebrity.” Performing under the name MrChuy (Chuy is a common nickname for Jesus), he delivers goofy humor geared to fellow Latinos who will recognize and relate to the family characters and stereotypes he spoofs in his home videos. With a bath towel wrapped around his head, he often plays a typical Latina house mom. The budding comic, who speaks three languages fluently and has a degree in business from Sonoma State University, is ready to take his comedy to the next level. In 2022, he’s determined to “break the internet” and become one of social media’s most popular Latino comics while also branching out into voice-over work and TV roles.

What others are saying about Garcia:

“He’s really goal-oriented, and he’s been able to succeed at everything he’s put his mind to. But he’s got to head to LA in order to transition to bigger things. ... But obviously, he has a head start over millions of people. Chuy has been very successful up to this point, and he’s still super-young. But I tell him all the time, it’s time to step up and go with the big boys.” — Jay Mendoza, fellow Latino social media comic with the meme page, “Mexican Problems”

What Garcia says about 2022:

“I want to get the confidence to do live comedy, because I just want to grow within myself. I feel I can do much more that just videos that I’ve been doing for the last 12 years. With videos, you can do it however many times you want to get it right. Live, you have only one opportunity to get it right, and if you miss that punch line, you’re done.”

– MEG McCONAHEY

Name: Victor Temple

Title or position: Dance teacher and executive director of New World Ballet of Santa Rosa

On the job since: 2005

Age: 51

Hometown: Born in Republic, Alabama, and raised in Chicago. He has lived in Sonoma County since 2013

Why Temple is someone to watch:

After an impoverished early childhood in the South (“I don’t think I had a pair of shoes until I was 5,” Temple said), he and his family moved to Chicago when he was 8. Eventually, Temple studied classical ballet at the Chicago City Ballet School and later was accepted into the elite Dance Theatre of Harlem School in New York City. He danced with that ballet company from 1992 to 1996, then spent four years in China, teaching, dancing and creating award-winning choreography. It was in California, while performing with the Oakland Ballet for five years, that Temple launched his mission of community outreach by reuniting kids with their parents. When Nadine Cole, founder of the New World Youth Ballet in Arcata, invited Temple to take over the company in 2005, he leaped at the opportunity. He moved the company to Santa Rosa in 2013 and continued to teach and perform at schools, senior centers and nonprofits such as Kid Street Theater. The New World Ballet provides ballet instruction to a diverse group of students of all ages and incorporates global dance styles from hip-hop to West African dance.

What others are saying about Victor Temple:

“I was drawn to the fact that there were multicultural people in Victor’s studio. I’m half Thai, and my daughter is half Hispanic. Victor really took me under his wing, and he incorporated me into the company. It’s just a beautiful confluence of kids and adults, contemporary and hip-hop. I love how his artistry speaks to everyone, because he doesn’t do just classical ballet.” — Tiffany Jimenez, a nurse and COO of the Petaluma Health Center and principal dancer with New World ballet. Her daughter, Trinity, 11, practices ballet with New World Dance.

What Temple says about 2022:

“We’re looking for a new home so that we can expand and accommodate more artists and more students. We want to make dance accessible to everyone, and we want to really do positive works for the community and have more community-based programs. The International Dance Festival (in September) was sold out and very successful. We would like to do that again, twice a year, in the summer and the winter, and to do performances in the spring and the fall. Right now we’re coming back from COVID, and everyone has been off for two years. This spring, we’ll be coming out with new works and new collaborations with world-class dancers and choreographers. If I can teach kids to be better people, with all the self-discipline that is required for classical ballet, then we’re taking a positive step in making the world a better place.”

– DIANE PETERSON