Road Scholars Speaker Spotlight: Jasmin Cardenas

A first-generation American storyteller and arts educator, Jasmin Cardenas grew up in Chicago surrounded by the humanities. As a kid, she'd notice the flyers at her local library and community center and entered art contests organized by the Chicago Public Library.  

Cardenas knew about Illinois Humanities for most of her life and recalls attending an event hosted by the organization featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and historian Studs Terkel. During college, she would track down Road Scholars Speakers to see presentations about waterways, architecture, and Chicago and Illinois history.   

In 2022, Cardenas was one of 14 commissioned artists and humanists featured in Envisioning Justice RE:ACTION, a virtual exhibition and activation kit by Illinois Humanities. Cardenas created a two-part puppet play “Tú Eres mi Otro Yo” with artist William Estrada. The PUPPETS + RESISTENCIA project examines the ripple effects of harm on a family and within a community. 

Years later, Cardenas is now part of the 2026-2027 Road Scholars Speakers Bureau roster, the program's largest cohort to date.  

"I feel very proud to have gotten to be selected to be a Road Scholar. It was something I've known about for a long time and pursued so I'm excited. I just feel really honored and really fortunate," said Cardenas.  

Her presentation WorkersTEATRO: Applying Theater to the Fight for Workers Rights tells the story of the current fight for workers' rights in the Chicagoland area. Available in both English and Spanish, it uses a script created by working Illinoisans highlighting their labor concerns as temporary workers in factories, street vendors, and domestic care workers. 

The program introduces participants to an interactive theatrical technique called Theater of the Oppressed, developed by Cardenas' teacher and mentor, Augusto Boal. Cardenas said Boal initially did not want to work with her because she was an actor. The technique is meant for regular people, and no theater skills are needed to use the approach. 

"The scenes are not actors. They're regular people who are experiencing this harm and are looking for support," she noted. "This is a tool to help them."   

She first began using Theatre of the Oppressed while serving as assistant director of Lookingglass Theatre Company in 2017. Lookingglass was putting on a play about workers' stories in Chicago.  

The story of Isaura Martinez, a Mexican American mother and longtime factory worker, stuck out most to Cardenas. Martinez had begun working at a vodka factory as a cleaning custodian when a horrific accident occurred. A worker's arm got stuck in a machine, and the factory asked Martinez to clean up the blood and bodily fluids. Employees were threatened to try to cover up the incident and the individual hurt in the incident was back on the factory line days later.  

"This sounds like a third world country," Cardenas thought, "but in fact, they were talking about factories right here in Chicago."  

Despite laws and regulations in place like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), factories continue to sweep incidents under the rug and workers fail to speak up out of fear of losing their jobs.  

Cardenas asked Martinez and the team of workers if they'd be willing to participate in a theater workshop as it might be helpful and valuable for them. The workshop was well received and engaged both Spanish and English speakers from a variety of backgrounds. Many of the workers reminded Cardenas of her own family, and she knew she could not just walk away.  

"All I have had is my heart, knowing that I can't sit with this by myself. I can't ignore the stories of hardworking people who are robbed and discriminated against," expressed Cardenas. 

Soon after, WorkersTEATRO was officially formed with members exploring their experiences of discrimination and exploitation. The group of working people in Chicago use theater, storytelling, and other artistic forms of expression for the purpose of education, liberation, and change.  

"At the end of the day, it was working people who gathered at Haymarket Square and demanded to have eight hours of work," said Cardenas. "Those were just moms and dads who needed a wage and needed some basic things. They didn't have all the answers, but they still showed up and that's what we still do today. We might not have all the answers, but we should show up."  

WorkersTEATRO members have performed all over the country and taught workshops using the Theatre of the Oppressed technique. The tool involves body communication to create images around truth and individual experience. Participants react to one another and express themselves through movements. Cardenas enjoys seeing people used to looking down and being invisible at work be invited to look up and make eye contact with each other to heal and feel seen through their theater work.  

"That instant human reaction causes connection," said Cardenas. "As humans, we tell stories all the time with our bodies. By leaning into each other's humanity, we want to help, know more, or better understand, and that can be enough to move people from empathy, curiosity, and compassion to action." 

Cardenas believes in the technique as a way to bring people together and problem solve without the need to have all the answers but instead collectively sharing ideas to get closer to a solution. As a facilitator, she approaches each individual with love and care no matter their background and continues to listen and ask questions.  

"When I think of the humanities, I think of growing empathy and growing compassion and asking questions about who are we as a human race? How are we going to lean in to help each other during a difficult time or spotlight a situation that shouldn't be happening and then make a change?" asked Cardenas.  

Her workshops allow anyone to experience the technique and learn how to apply it to any field. Before focusing on labor, Cardenas used Theatre of the Oppressed to unify communities and better understand collective wants and needs. She led a nine-year project creating community cohesion in the North Lawndale and La Villita neighborhoods.  

As a long-time arts educator, Cardenas also utilized Theatre of the Oppressed in schools to manage tension between students, teachers, principals, parents and boards. Additionally, she used it to address issues around domestic violence, race and immigration and taught techniques to groups including faith-based leaders, LGBTQ communities, juvenile justice students and incarcerated individuals.  

"It's about creating a caring community and being actively engaged in caring for others with my skills," said Cardenas. "I know story and I know the humanities. I know how to ask questions that make the heart stutter, that make the heart stop and listen and lean in. I know how to uplift a moment and shine light on it."  

Cardenas continues to use her experiences and skills to organize and problem solve for her comunidad and for those who often don't get traditional support.  

"We just make it happen. That's what WorkersTEATRO has been for me. Hearing these horrific stories of trauma and pain and saying: We can't leave this alone. We can't forget about this community. What are we going to do? How are we going to meet this person's needs?"  

Now as an Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speaker, Cardenas has the opportunity to travel around the state and share her decades of work and expertise. She appreciates being part of the program amongst incredible peers and has attended presentations by other Scholars, including writer and historian Mike Matejka.  

Typically, Cardenas facilitates workshops in community with people, so it's a different experience to reflect on and present about her work. Part of the program is a more traditional presentation, while the rest is embodied practice. 

"I feel really grateful that Illinois Humanities was willing to meet me halfway and allow me the opportunity to change up the structure of the experience," said Cardenas. 

Her first presentation hosted by Fox Valley Folklore Society brought a diverse audience of college students, retirees, and mothers. Cardenas is excited to look beyond socioeconomic status and build new relationships outside of the Chicagoland area. She hopes being a Road Scholar will allow her to present in rooms with new audiences. She'd like to engage owners of large companies who may be unfamiliar with and surprised by some of the issues and harm.  

For nine years, WorkersTEATRO has created space for working people to gather, share, support, and advocate for one another. Cardenas has kept this labor of love alive but may need to sunset the project or make changes to make it more sustainable. She'd love to see the community grow through volunteers, especially for support with administration, fundraising, and marketing. Anyone interested in getting involved with WorkersTEATRO can reach out via email to workersteatro@gmail.com. 

In July of 2026, Cardenas and WorkersTEATRO held a performance and month-long exhibition at 18th Street Casa de Cultura in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. The exhibition highlighted how they've responded to the needs of workers and created supportive spaces over the past nine years through stories, tears, laughter, and comunidad. Visitors were also able to view artifacts including worker tools, photos, scripts, video, audio, publications and props used to tell their stories. Through a collaboration with Chicago-based photographer Diana Solis, portraits were taken of each member to honor their essence along with their labor and activities of joy. 

"As humans, we wear lots of hats, and we're not just workers, and we're also not just actors or performers," said Cardenas. "I wanted to have an image that was just the essence of the person, and then also have an image of them in their work, and an image of them in their performance work with WorkersTEATRO."