My name is José Luis “Lou” Catalan. I am an immigrant, a DACA recipient, a writer, a self-taught musician, a documentary filmmaker, an historical analyst, and a public speaker existing at the intersection of education and art. 

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My work begins with a contradiction: teaching U.S. history all while living outside the promises my curriculum proclaims. From that tension emerges my mission: to challenge the mythology of American exceptionalism while still believing in the radical possibility of a better United States. One built not on denial or nostalgia, but on education, imagination, and justice. I believe this country can be reimagined and rebuilt—not by erasing its past or smoothing over its contradictions, but by confronting them honestly, creatively, and courageously.

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Central to my work is storytelling as resistance. Western-driven narratives have long defined who belongs, who matters, and who gets remembered. I aim to disrupt those narratives by centering immigrant voices and treating history not as a closed book, but as an ongoing argument that demands participation.

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At the heart of everything I do is education. As an undocumented student, learning was not just a pathway forward, but an act of liberation. I believe education can still connect us, unsettle us, and ultimately transform us, no matter where we come from or what borders we were born behind.