This story was produced for KCRW's 24-hour Radio Race.

In the city of New Orleans - the Big Easy - it's a syrupy, sultry, slow passage of time. For Johnny Angel, time changes everything.

NOLA: Crawfish and Cowboys

A Studs Terkel Working interview for a smartphone society.  Finalist in the 2015 Third Coast Short Docs Challenge.  Co-production with Aaron Leeder. 


Where Do I Even Start?

Jasmin Mara López is a journalist, documentary filmmaker, and audio producer based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Born in the U.S. with familial roots in México, her childhood was affected by issues experienced on both sides of the U.S.- México border. This instilled in her a strong passion for immigrant rights, youth empowerment, and social change.

In 2007, Jasmin founded Project Luz, a non-profit initiative that empowers youth to share stories within their communities utilizing audio and photojournalism techniques. She has worked for USC Annenberg’s Civic Engagement and Journalism Initiative where she coordinated a program that trained immigrant youth in journalistic ethics and practice, and she was a recipient of the 2015 Society of Professional Journalists’ Excellence in Journalism Award for her documentary Deadly Divide: Migrant Death on the Border. 

Jasmin is currently working on Silent Beauty, a film about her family’s history with child sexual abuse and their culture of silence. She is also developing an installation with the voices of dozens of survivors to accompany the film. Jasmin participated in the 2017 New Orleans Film Society Emerging Voices Mentorship Program, 2018 UnionDocs Summer Documentary Lab, and was awarded the 2017 Third Coast Radio Residency at Ragdale, 2018 Southern Documentary Fund Production Grant, 2019 Chicken & Egg Pictures Accelerator Lab, 2019 Jacqui Jones Memorial Scholarship by Black Public Media, and the 2019 Artist Residency and Fellowship at Ragdale.