Upon arriving in the Pacific Northwest in the U.S., Monica Rojas realized that many people did not know about the history of slavery in Peru. In 2009 Monica Rojas combined her artistic experience as a dancer and musician with her background as a cultural anthropologist to launch the DE CAJóN Project. Deeply aware of the historic roots and contemporary manifestations of Afro Peruvian arts and culture, DE CAJóN was envisioned as a community-engaged artistic platform to educate and raise consciousness about the presence and historical resilience of people of African descent in Peru. Through DE CAJóN, Rojas brought several iconic Afro-Peruvian artists to the Pacific Northwest forging groundbreaking collaborations between international and local artists, fundraised to support initiatives in Peru, facilitated multiple projects, workshops, residencies, lectures, as well as small and large scale artistic and educational performances.