Marcelo Felipe Garzo Montalvo

Marcelo is a first-generation Chilean-American musician, organizer and lifelong student. He is the son of Dra. Lucy del Carmen Montalvo-Hicks and Dr. Vicente Gabriel Garzo Toro, and the grandson of Dona Elba Toro Donoso and Profesora Ana Hicks; all from Valparaiso, Chile. He spent his childhood with his familia in San Diego, CA. He recieved his formal education through the California Community College system, which enabled him to transfer to UC Berkeley to complete his B.A. in Comparative Ethnic Studies in 2009. He is currently continuing his higher education as a graduate student in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, where he is training to become a scholar/activist and professor in the movement for a relevant education for people of color. Over the past few years Marcelo has participated in the struggles for food justice/food sovereignty, prison abolition, bike-based transportation, and public education. He draws his primary inspiration from the work of Gloria Anzaldua, Grace Lee Boggs, Octavia Butler, and his Mamá.