I recently changed my name

"Why did you do it?"

For the last couple of years, I've been on a journey to cement and understand my identity. My name was always a bittersweet source of confusion and disconnection, I felt far away from the women who raised me and always felt a strong pull to have their names and heritage with me in a more significant way. In Colombia (my home country), you receive your father's last name first, and your mother's last name second. Since I immigrated to the U.S. when I was a 19-year-old woman, my mom's last name kept being pushed to the sidelines, and at the time I hadn't found a way to reclaim it or make it mine because my mother's name always took more space on the page. At the same time, not having my anything of my grandmother's heritage anywhere on my name felt disingenuous to the person that I am today.

Being an artist, our name is the only thing we carry with us everywhere we go. I wanted my name to be purposeful, and coherent with the path I'm on and the human I am becoming. And that's how my name was birthed. I'm now, Francesca Santodomingo Albericci, taking my mom's last name and my grandmother's last name, and an Italian first name to carry my grandmother's heritage. For my stage name, I'll be using Francesca Santodomingo. Being Ángela María was a beautiful thing and I carry that name (somewhere in me as well) with much pride and love, for it got me where I am today and it made me who I am today.

As of this year, and after many years of wanting to take this step...here I am to represent them, myself, and our history. So if you see this name around here, where Ángela María Ramos was before, please know that it is still me, just still becoming and learning how to honor myself more every day. I'm sharing the news here on this platform to reach former colleagues turned friends, friends, you (if you don't know me yet!), and all the network of people with whom I've had the privilege to share so many experiences. I wanted to share the news to continue to foster these connections and to include you in this transition which brings me so much joy.

Sending tons of light! And honor your truth, every day.

Thank you for reading me :)