Imagínate Los Ángeles

Crystal R. Barajas Rivera

Imagínate Los Ángeles is a short documentary in Spanish that centers on voices from the artist’s neighborhood. Through simple but profound questions–"Si pudieras imaginarte el futuro, cómo sería?" (“If you could imagine the future, what would it look like?”) and “Cómo imaginas el futuro climático o el medio ambiente?” (“How do you imagine the climate future or the environment?”)—the film invites everyday people to imagine and share their visions of the future. Their responses are compiled and accompanied by English captions to make it accessible to a wider audience.


The work not only documents spoken words but also captures the immediate environment of each interviewee. Storefronts, sidewalks, murals, and the environments of Los Angeles’ streets become part of the narrative, grounding each imaginative response within a lived place. This approach allows viewers to feel both the presence of the speakers and the community they live in.


The artist’s role in shaping this work is deeply rooted in place and identity. Having grown up in Koreatown, she created Imagínate Los Ángeles using only her iPhone and a microphone, walking just a few blocks from her home to engage with neighbors willing to share their voices. Her position as a Spanish-speaking resident of Los Angeles uniquely situates her to bridge linguistic, cultural, and geographic divides. By recording these local conversations, she elevates perspectives that are often underrepresented in dominant media portrayals of the city, while also acknowledging that many voices in her neighborhood remain unheard. Her goal is to create space for imagination as an act of resistance and care.

Crystal R. Barajas Rivera presents "Imagínate Los Ángeles" to the press during the opening of "Imagining Climate Futures" during NY Climate Week 2025. Photo by Erick Trujillo.

Crystal R. Barajas Rivera presents "Imagínate Los Ángeles" to the press during the opening of "Imagining Climate Futures" during NY Climate Week 2025. Photo by Erick Trujillo.

Crystal R. Barajas Rivera presents "Imagínate Los Ángeles" to the press during the opening of "Imagining Climate Futures" during NY Climate Week 2025. Photo by Erick Trujillo.

Crystal R. Barajas Rivera presents "Imagínate Los Ángeles" to the press during the opening of "Imagining Climate Futures" during NY Climate Week 2025. Photo by Erick Trujillo.

Crystal R. Barajas Rivera

30, Los Angeles, California USA

Crystal is a proud first-generation Latina who does not come from a traditional art background. She does not have a portfolio of past works or academic training in the arts. The last time she experimented with filmmaking was in a high school elective film class. However, she is the eldest daughter from a single mother household and storytelling is weaved within her culture. Though conversations about the environment were not part of her upbringing, she has learned to listen deeply, adapt, and approach challenges with courage.

She believes that regardless of language, we are all connected, not only with each other but also with the environments we inhabit. When considering the climate future in the year 2075, she remembered Octavia Butler’s words: “It seems inevitable that my Utopia would be someone else’s hell.” This reflection sparked the creation of Imagínate Los Ángeles, a short documentary in Spanish that amplifies the voices of her Spanish-speaking neighbors. Crystal views this act of uplifting communities, whose perspectives are often excluded from climate conversations, as her responsibility. In her reimagined future, survival and resilience are collective, grounded in collaboration across diverse communities to explore adaptive and sustainable strategies against climate change.

By filming in Los Angeles, she roots the work in a city both culturally rich and deeply vulnerable to climate and environmental injustice. What makes her presence essential is not formal training, but trust. She approaches neighbors not as subjects to be observed, but as collaborators in envisioning alternative futures. Imagínate Los Ángeles is as much about listening as it is about imagining. It reflects Crystal’s personal connection to Los Angeles while honoring the resilience and creativity of those who live, work, and dream within it.