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.

From the Guild Complex: Palabra Pura

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Palabra Pura, Frances Trevino and Tony del Valle
@ Decima Musa, 1901 S. Loomis, Chicago (Pilsen neighborhood)
Reading begins at 7:30 p.m.
Free admission. All ages. Books for sale.


















Frances Treviño de Santos was first published by Pecan Grove Press in 1999 in a chapbook Mama & Other Tragedies. That same year, she was a fellow for the National Endowment for the Humanities for integrating U.S. Latino Literature in the secondary classroom. She is the recipient of the 2000 Premió Poesía Tejana Award for The Laughter of Doves, which was published through Wings Press. In 2001 she received a grant from the Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Foundation. Her current book of poems, Cayetana, is also published by Wings Press. From 1999-2002, she was a member of "Women of Ill-Repute: Refute!" - a performance group that deconstructed issues of culture and identity. Treviño de Santos teaches British Literature to high school students for the San Antonio Independent School district.














Tony del Valle is a published writer of fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. For the past thirty years he performed as a singer, pianist and guitarist in a touring orchestra and recorded several albums of Latin music as composer, arranger, songwriter, and pianist. He also has taught music and visual arts in the Humboldt Park community where he painted various murals. He is currently seeking to publish a novel entitled The Royal Road, part of which has appeared in Chicago West Side Stories. Del Valle has presented his fiction, poetry, research, and music performances at various conferences, workshops and community events, and he continues his work as a professor of English.

Workshop with Taco Shop Poet, Tomas Riley

Last Thursday, September 18th, Tianguis hosted a poetry workshop led by Tomas Riley and sponsored by the Guild Complex. This is the second workshop of its kind (learn about the first one here), we love the creative energy this type of gathering brings to our space. We had some familiar faces amongst us, as well as newbies and some old students of Tomas Riley that joined us for the evening. We will keep you posted if similar opportunities become available in the future.

07.23.08:Cohort Residency Reading

SHERYL LUNA and DAWN LUNDY MARTIN
This WEDNESDAY, July 23
California Clipper, 1002 N. California, (Augusta and California), Chicago
Doors open at 8:00 p.m. Reading begins at 8:30 p.m.
Free admission. 21 and over show. You must have i.d.

What is a cohort residency you ask? The Guild Complex in partnership with Cave Canem and the Andres Montoya Prize of Letras Latinas has arranged for two premier poets -- one Latina, one African American -- to be placed in residency together at Ragdale. Our aim is to expand the diversity of residency programs, to open professional creative opportunities for writers of color, and to enrich the exchange between writers. Sheryl Luna read in our inaugural year of Palabra Pura. Her collection Pity the Drowned Horses was selected by Robert Vasquez for the 2004 Andres Montoya Prize and published by the University of Notre Dame Press. Dawn Lundy Martin is the winner of the 2006 Cave Canem Prize. Her collection of poetry A Gathering of Matter/A Matter of Gathering was selected by Carl Phillips and was published by the University of Georgia Press. You don’t want to miss the inaugural reading of this groundbreaking collaboration.

Hosting our first poetry workshop

Traffic

Sewer stink fills his lungs

tortillas on his face like a mask

candlewax drips over time like tears

rubber body suit melts into the grooves of the day

there is a red light behind his eyes

cry, cloaca, cry

what did you stop doing?

Listed above is the group poem that was written last Thursday when a small group of folks came together at Tianguis for a free poetry workshop with Naomi Ayala. The event was sponsored and made possible by the Guild Complex.

I can't begin to express how grateful and honored we felt for such a wonderful opportunity for both Tianguis and for the community members that got to participate. Naomi was a blast and we had so much fun, there were lots of laughs and jokes and ultimately we all walked out armed with a writing exercise and a new poem.

Stay tuned, because Ellen at the Guild Complex hinted about doing this again next fall. We will make sure to keep you posted.