Coming at you from the Amen Corner of the 2025 Dallas Catholic Youth Conference (DCYC), Oscar Rivera joins the BeatiDudes at the traveling tiny table. As the emcee of DCYC, Oscar is the common thread between every speaker at the conference.

A New York Mets and Las Vegas Raiders fan, Oscar Rivera was raised in the inner city of Waterbury, Connecticut, and was taught early on how to be a survivor. His method of avoiding the streets and its promises, became the art of Hip Hop (or Hip-Hop Rap if you’re Jeff). Oscar takes his knowledge of the faith and inspires youth and young adults through his music, talks, retreats, and personal testimony. His life has been devoted to the New Evangelization of the Gospel and his upbeat contemporary approach to the good news has made the message easy to understand, follow, and relate to. Christianity is not boring, and Oscar does not intend to be either.

Oscar leaves Paul Kolker, Nick Bezner, and Jeff Schiefelbein with something powerful as he urges adults to wake up and show the youth that they have a purpose in the Church right now, not later.