Chezale Rodriguez is a Tucson-based, multi-faceted artist who has spent most of her life dancing, teaching dancing, and conceptualizing choreography. She’s also a deeply gifted hip hop artist and singer-songwriter.
On September 3, 2023, Chezale’s life changed forever when she was in a nearly fatal, head-on collision resulting in a spinal cord injury that left her partially paralyzed from the waist down.
Her road through rehabilitation has been long and is far from over but she has faced it with an inspiring fusion of grace and guts. She is also the first to acknowledge the pain and grief that goes along with having one’s mobility muted when the very act of movement is an essential part of her creative identity.
One year later, on Tuesday, September 3rd local performers and supporters will gather on the Plaza at Hotel Congress to sing, read poetry, and yes, dance to honor Chezale’s journey and raise funds for its continuance. More information and tickets are here.
Home Stretch host Hannah Levin was recently able to spend time talking to Chezale about how the accident has impacted her life in all the multi-faceted ways one might expect—and in some ways you might not.
