We had the good fortune of connecting with Felipe ‘Senyaotl’ Monjaras and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Felipe ‘Senyaotl’, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
A habit that helped me a lot throughout my journey was always striving to learn more from multiple people at the top of their game. Creating ‘libraries’ on my phone or YouTube account of people like Annie Leibovitz or Lindsay Adler talking about their process, techniques, concepts,etc, and continuing my education in photography.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m always excited to create. Whether that be a photo concept, a video, or a story, the medium doesn’t matter to me. Only the ideas. Professionally, it wasn’t easy obtaining what I do now. Convincing my parents that a technical school was better than a 4 year college was a huge hurdle, but it opened up many doors for me and a lot faster in a year, than the 4 year college had done in the same amount of time I had already been attending.
From the early stages of my career, I caught on that as a indigenous Chicano I would have a tough time jumping into the industry, though I had the same qualifications as any other film student. My first few years trying to get work as an PA in film/TV I heard radio silence from employers. My parents told me about the discrimination they’ve faced based solely off of their names associated with their race and ethnicity , so I opted to change mine on resumes to “Phil’ as opposed to “Felipe”. I also created my all-American white voice for phone interviews. The name change itself was enough to receive call backs for positions.
It’s what you have to do.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I like to have something planned out for any mood I could be in. Feeling low-key but want to have a communal experience? Game night with wine and food from Eately Dallas.
For going out, it’s easy to find creative events that go beyond the norm.
Cidercade, paddle boarding at White Rock lake, or taking a walk at Fabrication Yard for graffiti art.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d love to shout out Jorge Rosales who helped me navigate my first foray into the advertising industry. Kurly Tlapoyawa & Ruben ‘Tlakatekatl’ Arrellano who have taught me to question everything and always seek the truth in things no matter what.

Website: Senyaotl.com

Instagram: Senyaotl

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felipe-monjaras

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