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PRESS RELEASE
January 17, 2018 |
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Contact:
Tony Diaz
[email protected]
(713) 867-8943
www.NuestraPalabra.org |
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Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say begins its
We are Bringing Back Our Live Monthly Live Showcase |
Houston, Texas, January 17, 2018.
This is the first full year since the overturning of the ban of Mexican American Studies in Arizona. To celebrate, Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say (NP) is bringing back its monthly showcase leading up to its 20th anniversary celebration.
Tony Diaz founded the group in 1998. Nuestra Palabra began as an open mic for Latino authors combining the aspects of a formal literary reading, with community workshops, and Latino literary traditions-in English, Spanish, and Spanglish.
No one thought there was audience for Latino literature. NP has been debunking that myth for two decades now.
Tony Diaz, NP founder, said, "We are celebrating the end of the ban of our history and culture by going back to the essential. Our Nuestra Palabra showcases were the foundation for so many writers, thinkers and leaders. We were liberating our community's voice and launching several movements at the same time."
We are also expanding the showcase to include not just poets, writers, and playwrights, but also scholars, professors, community leaders, and elected officials. Our work has cultivated other forums for writers; however, some of our most dedicated supporters have never been able to share their work on our stage because they are not specificly poets or fiction writers. We are changing that to include even more voices.
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The Latino Agenda:
Surveying the Community |
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We are also adding the Latino Agenda. As the activists, writers, thinkers, educators, professionals and the intellectuals of the Latino community, we can't let others dictate our future or define who we are. On that note, every month we will conduct the Latino Agenda Survey at each showcase. This survey will assess which issues are the most important to our community and measure their views.
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Civic Engagement:
Nuestra Palabra Plans to Register 2,000 voters. |
We will have voter registration at each showcase. But that is not enough.
In January, we will recruit volunteer Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrars for a workshop. Participants will then be eligible to register voters from their neighborhoods, schools, churches, quinceañeras, barbecues, pachangas, soccer matches, etc.
In February we will launch a major voter registration campaign-the likes of which has never been seen.
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Wed. Jan 31, 2018
7pm Free. TBH 333 S. Jensen
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Who: Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say (NP)
What: NP begins its 20th Season
When: Wednesday, January 31, 2018. 7pm - 9pm. Free.
Showcases will take place every last Wednesday of the month up to Wednesday April 25, 2018-the 20th Anniversary of Nuestra Palabra.
Where: Talento Bilingue de Houston 333 S. Jensen, Houston, TX 77003
Why: The voice of the Latino community is vital.
The January 21, 2018 showcase will focus on Education.
The February 28, 2018 showcase will focus on voting.
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January Line Up
Focus on Education
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* Sineria Ordóñez, Interim Executive Director at Houston Hispanic Forum
* Award-winning writer and professor Daniel Peña reads an excerpt from his new novel BANG.
* NP Alum and Librotraficante Co-founder Laura Torres shares an homage to the late education icon John Britt, Lee College, Baytown, Texas.
* Sol Creative Media founder Sol Macias, editor of the anthology Latinas Rising, shares some of her new poetry.
* Educator and writer Matt Rosas, author of The Legend of Mariquita and Other Short Stories, will share some of his new work.
* Hosted by NP founder writer, activist, and professor Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante.
* And you!
Open mic to follow.
Folks still have time to sign up for the open mic by emailing: [email protected]. Or sign up that night. Space is limited. Presenters may be invited to share their work on the NP Radio Show which airs Tuesdays 6p-7p on 90.1 FM KPFT.
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NP History
Some Highlights
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* Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say founded April 1998 in the party hall of Chapultepec Restaurant in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, Texas.
* The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show begins broadcasting on 90.1 FM KPFT in March of 2001.
* NP organized the Latino Book and Family Festival 2002-2007 -the largest book fair in Houston and one of the largest in Texas, drawing up to 30,000 people to the GRB Convention Center.
* NP has cultivated 14 Latinos who have earned Master's degrees or Master of Fine Arts in Writing.
* 5 NP alums were the founders of the 2012 Librotraficante Caravan, which joined a national movement to defy Arizona's ban of Mexican American Studies.
* Several NP alums have gone on to great careers in writing: Russell Contreras is now a reporter for the Associated Press; Alvaro Saar Rios is a professor and his plays have been produced nation-wide; Poet Carolina Monsivais is completing her PhD and has published 2 collections of poetry; Journalist and poet Icess Fernandez is a Professor of English at Lone Star College-King Wood, Lupe Mendez co-founded the Librotraficante Caravan and is founder of Tintero Proejcts; Poet Jasmine Mendez has her 2nd book coming out in March, and there are many others.
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www.NuestraPalabra.org
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