Join Proyecto Latina @ Poetry Fest

Saturday, April 25, 2009 @ 2:30 p.m. in the Video Theater

Its poetry month and we are taking the chisme box and our favorite Latina poets with us to the 10th annual Poetry Fest @ The Harold Washington Library.

Featured readers: Cristina Correa, Stephanie Gentry-Fernandez, Irasema Gonzalez, Diana Pando.

Poetry Fest is a free festival of poetry readings, workshops, performances and discussions, all under one roof.

Mangocentric Chicago

One Book, One Chicago events are still ongoing. I hope you have had a chance to read or revist The House on Mango Street. Maybe you had the opportunity to see Sandra Cisneros read at the Harold Washington Library. Through my work with Proyecto Latina I had the exciting opportunity to interview her, that interview aired on Radio Arte tonight and will be posted here for folks that missed it. I hope you can join us this Monday, April 20th for Proyecto Latina, mangos are our theme and we are excited to have a preview of Tanya Saracho's musical adaptation of The House on Mango Street. Tanya also shares the art process of how she took a lyrical narrative and modified it for the stage.

PROYECTO LATINA READING SERIES Monday, April 20, 7:00 p.m. Radio Arte 1401 W. 18th St. Mangos, Chismes y Mucho Más! This monthly reading series promotes and features emerging and established Latinas of all written and performance disciplines from Chicago. This month's event honors Sandra Cisneros and includes a sneak peak at Tanya Saracho's adaptation of The House on Mango Street. Proyecto Latina is a collaborative between Teatro Luna, Tianguis Books, and Mariposa Atomica Ink. For more information, go to www.proyectolatina.org. Lecture: Mango Street Revisited-Youth, the Community/Barrio, and Immigration in Mexican Chicago Tuesday, April 21, 6:00 p.m. DePaul University-McGowan South Building 1110 W. Belden Ave., Room 108 Come to DePaul for a lecture by Juan Mora-Torres, Associate Professor in the Department of History. In the spring of 2006, over a million people, including large numbers of young people, marched in Chicago to demand civil rights for the undocumented population. This lecture/presentation revisits key themes in Sandra Cisneros' novel, The House on Mango Street - the meaning of community, the politics of the youth and issues of immigration in the making of contemporary Mexican Chicago. Free and open to the public; no reservations required. STAGED READING OF THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET Monday, April 27, 7:00 p.m. Steppenwolf Theatre - Upstairs theatre 1650 N. Halsted Ave. This fall, Steppenwolf will present Sandra Cisneros' inimitable work about growing up Latina in Chicago. Adapted by Tanya Saracho, co-founder of Teatro Luna, this play will bring the world of Esperanza-her friends, family and neighbors, her dreams and her heartbreak-to vivid life on the stage. This reading presents Chicago actors performing scenes from the adaptation-in-progress. Free event, reservations required! Call (312) 335-1650. COMMUNITY FORUM ON IMMIGRATION Wednesday, April 29, 7:00 p.m. Chicago Public Library Logan Square Branch 3030 W. Fullerton Ave. Join fellow Chicagoans from all backgrounds for a "town hall" meeting on the topic of immigration. The evening will feature a short reading, input by local activists, and your conversation. This program is presented as a partnership between the Chicago Public Library, The Guild Complex and Latinos Progresando.

I'll be leading a couple of Spanish language discussions for The House on Mango Street. You can join me at the West Belmon Branch this Tuesday, or in May at the Albany Park Branch. You can get the full list of Spanish language discussions in the One Book, One Chicago resource guide here.