#palabristas

[amplified-life]

#Palabristas in #Duluth (at Duluth, Minnesota) https://www.instagram.com/amplifiedlife/p/BwNcKNeBhi9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1jdes74q8qost

[rscspokenword]

Poem: For Brown Boys ( BLC)

Sometimes you just have to put it out there. Some have heard this poem before. When i was writing this i sent it to Brandon, to get his feedback. He was my muse at times. He loved it and cried. He thanked me for writing it and sharing. I've finally edited and feel comfortable sharing with the rest of the world. Saw fitting to debut it around his birthday. Feel Free To Share.

      For Brown Boys

  This is for brown boys trying to be men,

who learned to use a glock before the age of ten.

Never taught to speak with a pen.

Whose youth was lost way back.... when?

This...

this is for them.

  Whose cell block, a mirror reflection.

Caged up, no outlets, no friends, no connections.

Who dream in morse code and speak in hymns.

Who chose street corners as their next of kin.

And shoved my inhibitions into this pen.

They told me!...

to write

for them.

  Whose stories only make the 10 o’clock news.

Who learn to live the blues before they could tie their shoes.

  They are forgotten boys who turned into men.

Who want to raise sons...

Teach them songs of struggle, love

To remind them what they are made of.

So when they walk the tightrope, climb the ladder

The essence of their dreams is the only thing that matters.

  This...

this is for them

  Who know the value of life.

Seen it evaporate into gasped air.

Who craved for your attention but you didn't care.

Who want to raise daughters into red queens.

Whom believe in all thats forgotten and unseen

Who see the bright light where you see dim.

  This...

this is for...

  Short order cook boys.

4am newspaper delivery boys.

Door knocking organizing boys

Agitators for change channeling inner organized noise.

  For boys without a voice.

Trapped by fear.

For claiming who they are.

For loving being queer.

  For every boy forced to grow up too soon.

For their innocence lost and lost wombs.

For those whom never experienced the metamorphosis of their cocoon.

  Who ink stories into their flesh.

So they become visible.

So we become invincible.

  This...

this is for you,

  This is for them..

  No!..

    THIS IS FOR US!.

  Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria

[rscspokenword]

Introducing Ladybug

A video introducing the soon to be released single Ladybug from my upcoming EP titled DON'T LET THEM ERASE YOU. Ladybug will be available 11.24.11

[rscspokenword]

International Women's Day- These Hands-Red Queens of the World

Photo by Andrew MacDonald When i wrote this poem back in 2005 my intention was to pay tribute to all the hard work that the women in my life have done in order to make me as a person, but to also speak on the lack of recognition that women get, specially in Latin America. this has become one of my favorite pieces to perform and with today being International Women's Day (we should celebrate this on a daily basis is my opinion) and the fact that today it was reported that 25% of the households in Peru are being held by single mothers. it seems write (like my pun?) to post this, To all the Red Queens of the world! These Hands These hands are an extension of me like the pen is an extension of the writer Like the mic is the extension of the MC. These hands have crossed borders time zones, ideologies trying to break free as they caress the paper through the ink in found in my words. These hands have been the focus of ridicule because of their size and texture. Too smooth to be hands of labor. Too small to be able to provide. Too feminine. Like that is suppose to be an insult, When in fact that’s the best compliment these hands can receive. Because to me women are the center of the world. They make the household run and run the household And let men think that they are in charge. They will do anything to feed their families while men sit drinking disgust mixed with depression. Some work after street lights come on Others balance corporate worlds and families. Others study, work and are mothers and husbands. Many have the innate urge to survive that I am glad that the women in my life have passed it down to me. Because I never craved the taste of disgust always craved the feeling of action And my hands are that action. When I write When I raise the fist When I stop the ignorance blinding my people Who think we are treated equal. Who think that the white picket fences is the epicenter of acceptance. Who think that the white picket fences is the epicenter of acceptance. And honestly these hands have never been accepted. And I am glad because without the rejections, the stares, the putdowns That fueled my perseverance like it has fueled the women in my life to survive I would not have the power and will to do this (raise the fist). So if you want to offend my machismo Get in line because it left me. When I held my daughters in my hands And realize that women are healers They are precious, they are the center Givers of life, whether through the womb or through indigenous myths. Red Queens programmed to survive To keep their seeds alive Because a woman’s job does not end with the 9 to 5. And if these hands still look feminine to you All I have to say is two words Thank you.

[rscspokenword]

The Nature of Avatar by Paul Udstrand

So, whomever says there isn't intelligent conversation going on facebook is truly mistaken. Most of you have probably seen AVATAR by now either by 3D or IMAX. well i for personal reasons (if you can't figure it out, you don't know me very well! but if you have no clue here #BAGUA) won't be paying to see it. My wife Nubia, went to go see it and i quote, "you would of walked out 20 min into the movie" (thats why i love her!) Everyone else tells me not to criticize it without seen it, but i am, not because i hate James Cameron, my issue lies on the portrayal of the blue people and the white messiah savior complex that oozes out of the movie. Trust me, i am writing a poem about this with Guante. But in regards to the movie Well my fellow wordslinger Carter Meland posted this as a note on his facebook page. its a response to seeing the movie and it brings great questions. Now taking a page out of MIKE MYERS in "Coffee Talk" read and discuss! Thanks to Paul for letting me repost this. you can reach him at [email protected] " One of the many really big ideas that Avatar bombs us with is the interconnectedness of nature. We’re all connected and our planet is a living thing. Of course this is too difficult to imagine here on earth so we have to go Pandora, and with the help of the Indians we find there we can learn our lesson. But what does Avatar really tell us about nature and this whole interconnectedness thing? To begin with, despite their proximity to this nature we’re going to connect to, apparently the natives are helpless until a white guy comes along. They are incapable of recognizing the danger they face until the white guy warns them, but why? Well, they can’t comprehend the danger because they can’t comprehend the white man’s technology, that much is obvious. But how is it that the natives of this amazing neurally networked planet can be so helpless in the face of the white mans technology until a white guy shows up? Turns out it’s not just the white mans technology the native don’t comprehend… they don’t comprehend their own technology either, and that’s where nature comes in. Here’s what Carlota said to me this morning: “We were talking about Avatar in the car pool, and I was talking about the history of Cameron waiting his whole life since he was a teenager for the technology to catch up to him, so he could make the movie. The problem is you can tell this story is the product of a teenage boys mind. Once they got the technology he should have found an adult to write a movie”. First, note, I’m not the only one thinking critically about Avatar. Carlota nails it. What happens when a teenage white boy confronts complex issues like indigenous sovereignty, spirituality, and sustainability? You get Avatar. One characteristic of the teenage boys mind is it tends to be rather concrete, not a lot of room for subtlety. The problem is, how do we connect with nature? Well, the indigenous answer is “we don’t have to, we ARE nature”. But remember this teenager is a white guy, so people stand outside of nature, which makes it necessary to connect with nature. So how do we make this connection? Well obviously we need an interface, like a USB connection. On Pandora we can interface with nature via our hair. So the way to understand nature is realize that it’s a technology like a computer. The reason the natives are so helpless is they don’t understand the technology at their disposal until the white comes along and shows them how to use it. So is this promoting sensitivity and appreciation for the Indian world view? Is this an opportunity to learn about our connectedness to nature and appreciate natural diversity? On the contrary, it perpetuates the very colonialism it claims to be speaking against by re-stating the European notion that we stand outside nature, and that natives who live in nature just don’t get it. We come as liberators but some of us are assholes. The real treasure of Pandora isn’t “unobtainium”, it’s the power of nature, the technology at our feet, if the natives understood that they’d be invincible. Does treating nature like a technology enhance our appreciation of nature or does it reduce it to an underutilized tool? Does such a world view promote sustainability or confirm that natural resources are an untapped potential. Is the future of Pandora now to become a laboratory for white guys to understand the nature of neural nets? Is Pandora destined to be the big computer that will finally answer the big question of life, the universe and everything? Will the white man ever grow up? We can only hope these questions will be answered in the sequel". written by Paul Udstrand

[rscspokenword]

New Verse for the Swine Flu Poem.

SO me and Brandon Lacy Campos have been working on this SWINE FLU POEM, i honestly have had writer's block for the last 6 months..but last night i broke through. i thought i share. Of course, its raw, but damn it. its great to feel this excited about writing again! "Its been decided I am having my tia give this whole country a cleansing Let her pass the egg over this nation Get rid of the illness we call racism And if that’s not enough i am bringing the shaman That took me in that day in Cuzco So he can show me the truth with coca leaves And if that don’t work i'm calling for an insurrection so it does leave. Cuz this illness has caused famine Brought back manifest destiny Now we killing Mexicans cuz we feel like it Shoot fathers in the back and broadcast it worldwide Kill Hmong youth and plant the evidence Shoot up houses and always ask questions later Question, do you all still wanna call me a hater? Walk a block in my frontera and quarter of a mile in my shoes And you will find it the longest trail of tears And the heaviest shoes filled with lies and broken promises Perhaps then you might begin to see why we write And if I could transform our words into a vaccine i make sure to call Obama and over a beer convince him and the FDA to bypass congress and make this mandatory so we can be infected with the truth take a page out of Hans Carlson a la carte and call this a POEMdemic and the virus Contagious Poesis yes I am diagnosing this nation and tell them we hold the vaccine. COME FIND US!" and here is a video..forgive my eye movement i was reading it.

[rscspokenword]

May 1st Reflection

No poem for right now, but if me and Brandon Lacy Campos get our gears cranking we can have a "swine flu poem" ready to counter attack all the bad press the brown people are getting so far. but today is May 1st. 1ero de Mayo and if some of you remember in 2006, there was a national call out for action to show support for immigrants, i am happy to say that on that day 40,000 plus showed up to the steps of the cathedral in St. Paul and marched as one to the steps of the capitol. i have never seen so many people in one place, it was beautiful and as i was listening to piolin and calling my mom to pick her up all i could think was that this memory is a special one, cuz i got to share it with my madre. she always told me that she thought i shoulda been born in the 60's , but hey las cosas se repiten. Its been 3 years now and people have asked me what the purpose of the marches were, since no legislation was passed and i tell them that in my opinion it was a show of force, a stand against injustice and a call to action. a resistance. sure, extreme right wing people used it as a tool for their propaganda but WE used it to show the world, que no somos invicibles, and we can unite across cultural and geographical differences. Man, it was beautiful to see all types of brown faces that day. but its also important to understand that the fight is not over. Just cause we have a POC presidente does not mean that things will be easier. Como se dice LA LUCHA SIGUE! so today, if you don't get a chance to go out to a march, or protest, at least printout this flyer! and post it in your office,car, home, apt donde sea. show some solidarity. you can print it out off the CIMARRONES website May Day Flyer

[rscspokenword]

Things to do Week of 3/16-3/20

Spring is in the air! which means outside, outside outside and poetry. I like to report that things are going good in the project i have embarked in. I will be posting poems for your feed back on a weekly basis. so check http://www.mnworldslinger.com every monday evening and i will have poems for you all to read. i also got a twitter account for all you twitter heads. you can follow me at http://twitter.com/rscspokenword This thursday is the last installment of Last of The Record Buyers a producer showcase featuring the amazing Medium Zach ( 1/2 of the dynamic rap duo Big Quarters, 2 chicano brothers making great rap music) below is a video for the show, check it out...i got friday off work for this reason..well not really, but you get the drift. Minnesota come show support Also don't forget that on saturday March 28th it will Open Mic time @ El Burrito Mercado from 7-9pm. I will send reminders soon. NO SPECIAL GUESTS. so bring all the people to come hear you. spread the word. Also Mark Down This Date! URBAN GRIOTS' Spoken Word Awards Show An evening of historic recognition, noted nominees, awards, music and dance highlighting the magnitude of the celebrated Spoken Word community in the Twin Cities and beyond. Not to be missed performances by Twin Cities finest spoken word artists, groups and DJs. A night to Celebrate and Remember!! Dress to Impress!!! Friday April 3rd The Varsity Theater - Dinkytown Doors at 8pm. Music 9pm. $3 before 9:30pm • $5 after 18+ Presented by the MN Spoken Word Association and community allies. For more information email [email protected] www.myspace.com/mnspokenwordassociation call 612-288-9491. YO AND OTHER PALABRISTAS WILL BE PERFORMING. SO...IF YOU LOVE BROWN POETS..YOU BETTER BE THERE!!! Big Quarters Sophmore Album will be released on Cinco De Mayo here is an interview with Brandon All Day provided by Funk Mass Funk Mass Interview with Brandon AllDay also here is a review i wrote of their album debut Cost of Living Review of Cost of Living Finally, much love and respect goes out to my hermano of the palabra, Paul Flores for spending time with me and helping create some inspiring words that will be released sooner then later...much love PFLO! Stay Tuned, Big News Coming soon...