MARIANA TIRSA

Musician · Interdisciplinary Artist · Community Builder

  • Based in: Asheville, North Carolina

  • Identity: Bilingual musician, interdisciplinary artist, creative facilitator, community builder

  • Current core themes: Mexican-American heritage, feminine ancestry, bilingual expression, cultural memory

  • Current projects: 3 months in Oaxaca, Mexico (Winter 25-2026) — language immersion, cultural reconnection, workshop facilitation, songwriting, community building, & next album germination.

About Mariana

Body of Work

01 · Musician

bilingual singer-songwriter, folk/Latin/contemplative traditions, Americana, alt-country, three albums recorded

02 · Interdisciplinary Artist

music, spoken word, visual art, installations, textile, ceramics, community-based practice

03 · Creative Facilitator

workshops and collaborative spaces for voice, story, journaling, archetypes, and meaning-making

Artist Residencies

2025-26 · Oaxaca, Mexico — 3-month cultural immersion, workshop facilitation, and album development

2017 · The Lake District, UK — Songwriting artist in residence for Ray Fest, UK. Three week immersion in the UK with two songs written and recorded with workshop presentation.

Ongoing Projects

  • Mujer — Album & Tour (performances, community settings, accompanying workshops)

  • Mi Voz / My Voice Workshop Series — bilingual community arts workshops: Frida Kahlo art journal as touchstone; music listening + art journaling + spoken word circle

  • Community Arts Programming — creative spaces for communities around identity, memory, expression

MUJER (Woman)

Mujer (Woman) is my debut bilingual album and the origin point of my interdisciplinary practice. Released in 2025, it weaves music, poetry, and spoken word across English and Spanish — drawing from my mother's memoir journals, the mystical tradition of the rosary, and three months of deep immersion in Oaxaca, Mexico, where I reconnected with my Mexican heritage and found my artistic voice. More than a record, Mujer is the work that taught me that music, visual art, storytelling, and community facilitation are not separate paths — they are one. It is a tribute to my mother, Alicia Cahue, a reclamation of Latina feminine creativity, and a living document of what happens when an artist finally comes home to herself.

  • Mi Voz + Poem

    (c.Mariana Tirs, Alicia Cahue 2023)

    En estas paginas desnudas

    Digo lo que no puedo decir

    Mi corazon no aguanta sufrir

    Hora por hora

    Noche y dia

    En mis lagrimas repremidas

    Mido lo que quiero soltar

    En la poesia de San Juan

    Veo mi voz poeta

    Mi corazon lucha vivir

    Pulmon y pecho

    Mano y braso

    Voy a escribir

    Voy a escribir

    Mi vos, mi vos, mi vos …..

    Esta es mi vos, esta es mi vos

    Mi vos, mi vos, mi vos….

    Esta es mi vos

    Esta es mi vos

    • Poem 

    In Answer To your question

    Why are you here? Or one of the things I never dreamt about.

    I know so little about poetry yet today I want to write a poem in the style of San Juan de la cruz.

    Where do I look for such poetry?

    I’m studying poetry for the first time in my life

    Probabaly a revelation in my life is about to come

    For poetry is the second most beauitful thing that exists in the world for me

    Even if I don’t understand most of what poets say

    Perhaps here now at at last I will understand what poets do mean

    I would like to write like as San Juan de La cruz

    Becasue I want to write poetry about my relationship with God

    That is what I’m here to learn 


    En los caminos mysteriosos

    Sigo mi fe espiritu y alma 

    En las oraciones de mi vida

    Pido por el artista y poeta

    Mi corazon pide a dios

    Calma y paz

    Letra y aire

    Voy a escribir

    Voy a escribir

    Mi vos, mi vos, mi vos …..

    Esta es mi vos, esta es mi vos

    Mi vos, mi vos, mi vos….

    Esta es mi vos

    Esta es mi vos

    En los caminos mysteriosos

    Sigo mi fe espiritu y alma 

    En las oraciones de mi vida

    Pido por el artista y poeta

    Mi corazon pide a dios

    Calma y paz

    Letra y aire

    Voy a escribir

    Voy a escribir

    Mi vos, mi vos, mi vos …..

    Esta es mi vos, esta es mi vos

    Mi vos, mi vos, mi vos….

    Esta es mi vos

    Esta es mi vos






  • My Voice

    (lyrics by Mariana Tirsa & Alicia Cahue c.2024)

    In these naked pages
    I say what I cannot say

    My heart cannot bear to suffer Hour by hour
    Night and day

    In my repressed tears
    I measure what I want to release

    In the poetry of San Juan
    I see my poetic voice

    My heart struggles to live

    Lungs and chest
    Hand and arm

    I will write
    I will write
    My voice, my voice, my voice .....

    This is my voice, this is my voice

    My voice, my voice, my voice.... This is my voice
    This is my voice

    - Poem-

    In Answer To your question
    Why are you here? Or one of the things I never dreamt about.

    I know so little about poetry yet today I want to write a poem in the style of San Juan de la Cruz.
    Where do I look for such poetry?
    I’m studying poetry for the first time in my life

    Probably a revelation in my life is about to come
    For poetry is the second most beautiful thing that exists in the world for me Even if I don’t understand most of what poets say
    Perhaps here now at at last I will understand what poets do mean
    I would like to write like as San Juan de La cruz
    Because I want to write poetry about my relationship with God
    That is what I’m here to learn

    In the mysterious paths
    I follow my faith, spirit and soul

    In the prayers of my life
    I ask for the artist and the poet

    My heart asks God for Calm and peace

    Word and air

    I'm will write
    I'm will write
    My voice, my voice, my voice .....

    This is my voice, this is my voice My voice, my voice, my voice.... This is my voice, This is my voice

  • Mariana Tirsa: lead vocals tracks 1-6, keyboard synth track 5, piano tracks 1 & 6

    Alan Burrows: bass tracks 2,3,4, & 5

    Jack Daniel: drums tracks 2,3,4, & 5

    Cheryl Cher T Pepper: percussion track 5

    Eliah Kurko: bells and vocal chorus track 5

    Michael Kurko: vocal chorus track 5

    Joseph Manzello: electric guitar tracks 3 & 5

    Robert Musseman III: acoustic guitar 1,2, 3, 4, 5, & 6, harmony vocal tracks 2, 3,4,& 5,

    Jana Pochop: synth performance, programming & bass tracks 1& 6

    Robin T. Smith: piano tracks 2,3,4, & 5

    Jekaterina Grigorjeva: violin track 5

    Sadie Ward: harp track 5

  • Production (Mujer, Mercy, Starlight Love, Roses): Mariana Tirsa and Robert Musseman III

    Production (Mi Voz): Jana Pochop - Golden Hour Production, Albuquerque, NM

    Engineering: Jake Waters  (Fire Sation Studio, San Marcos, TX) and Andre Moran (Cedar Creek Studio, Austin, TX)

    Mixing: Max Lorenz (Good Danny’s Studio) and Russell Tanner 

    Mastering: Russell Tanner

    Photography: Elena Mudd Photography (front cover and …)

    Photography: Mariana Tirsa (collage photo)

    Photography: Omar Mena Photography (group photo)

    Graphic Design: Emily Shirley

  • Mi Voz (My Voice) — tribute to mother's unfinished dream as a poet; lyrics from her memoir journals; spoken word from her published poem; inspired by St. John of the Cross

  • Mercy — mystical traditions, the prayer of the rosary, held by mother and grandmother across generations

Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico -3 Month Artist and Cultural Immersion

Dec. 2025-March 2026

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International Community, I was living in Oaxaca City

International Community, I was living in Oaxaca City

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Mural of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo

Mural of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo

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Mountains of Central Mexico leaving Oaxaca

Mountains of Central Mexico leaving Oaxaca