Bios:

Angélica María is an internationally touring Chicana poet & singer from Los Angeles, residing in Mexico City. She is a finalist for both the National Poetry Slam 2018 and The Women of the World Poetry Slam 2019. Her work uses storytelling to highlight femme narratives within latinidad in order to heal & empower.

Her work has been featured on digital platforms such as Tedx, Facebook, where her poem “Femenina Divina” was featured in their 2020 campaign “My People My Power” and racked up over 5 million views.

Angélica’s work has also been featured in literary works such as The Breakbeat Poets Anthology: LatiNEXT, 2020 on Haymarket Books, Girls Becoming Women, 2021 on Workman Publishing, and The Latinx Poetry Project on Alegria Publishing 2020.

In 2019 she signed with Conscious Campus to bring her knowledge of poetry & writing workshops to university campuses across the country. Some of these campuses include Harvard University in Boston & Pratt University in New York.

She currently resides in Mexico City where she is working on her latest project “Feminina Divina” an EP that works as a fusion of music & poetry inspired & derived from the power of the divine feminine.

Melania Luisa Marte is a Black writer, poet, and speaker from New York living in the Dominican Republic. Marte’s poetry explores many subjects including her Caribbean roots, Black feminism, and self-love. Her most viral poem “Afro-Latina” was featured by Instagram on their IG TV for National Poetry Month and has garnered over 9 million views. Her work has also been featured by Ain’t I Latina, The Root, Teen Vogue, Facebook, Telemundo, and People En Español.

Marte ranked 5th at the 2018 Women of The World Poetry Slam Competition, and a finalist at the 2018 Individual World Poetry Slam Competition in San Diego, California. Melania won two Audie Awards for her most recent voice over work co-narrating novel-in-verse, Clap When You Land by National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo. Marte’s latest commissioned work includes a commercial poem for McDonald’s ‘Hacer Mas’ scholarship campaign as well as starring in and writing a unique poem for Facebook’s 2020 Heritage Month celebration.

When she’s not writing or performing, you can find her resting in her hammock or meditating as a self-professed ‘nap queen.’ Marte’s current writing project is exploring Black preservation through land cultivation, herbal-ism, and naps as a bridge to connect to ancestral knowledge.

Program:

Together, artists Melania & Angelica have curated a spoken word showcase entitled “Adios America” an interactive poetry performance tackling issues of immigration, anti-blackness, and intersectional feminism within latinidad. In their set they spotlight these crucial issues using a compelling fusion of song, humor and literary magic. Their set is an hour long and offer a 30 minute Q&A afterwards, along with a writing workshop to introduce students to the power of reclaiming narratives.

Workshops:

Say My Name

How do we say our names? or better yet, what do our names say about us?  Why is it so accepted for society to alter and muddle our names for convenience? What does this say about history, language and assimilation? In America there is a negative stigma attached to names rich with accents and rolled letters. They are in constant danger of being silenced, and butchered. In this workshop, writers learn to reclaim the power of their names by first looking at their origins and meanings. From here, writers begin to see their birth title not as a burden but a badge of honor.

A Pledge To the Body

People of color carry centuries of colonization, shame, and violence in our bodies. Latinas at an early age become hyper sexualized in society. We are either fetishized or shamed for our style of dress, our hair, or our hips. Women are accustomed to hating some part of ourselves, a terrifying 91% of us as a matter of fact. It is our job as women, to rewrite this narrative. Often we think of a pledge as a written allegiance to our country, however it is about time we began writing them to ourselves. In this workshop, writers identify a part of their bodies they have always been taught to hate and write a dedication to it. Through this process, writers can uproot shame and become patriots of their own skin.

Negra Soy

Open discussion // Poems dedicated to the obstacles people of the African Diaspora face in America’s political climate as multi-hyphenated beings. Social injustice, available resources within the community, and creating fellowships that help build the community.

Love Your Selfie

Daily struggles of battling mental health illnesses. A thorough break down of Anxiety and Depression.  Healthy ways to overcome the challenges faced with stepping into the world. Using Technology as a tool and not a hindrance to mental health.

Virtual Open Mic – Poetry as Self Care

Kick-Off: National Poetry Slam finalists Angelica Maria & Melania Luisa kick off the night by sharing a 20 minute reading of inspiring pieces that have helped them heal in their own journey as writers. At the same time, the open mic list is passed around for writers to sign up & share their work.

Open Mic: Prior to the event, students are prompted to think & write on the following questions:

-What have you survived in the last month? -What are three things you are proud of? -Write a love letter to yourself or to something that gets you through the worst of days -What fills your cup more than anything else?

One by one students are selected to share a piece on their journey of healing, whatever that may look like. By opening space for students to share their own experience, we are able to use writing as a tool to express & uplift during the toughest of times.

Mindful Poetry – Creating in Times of Uncertainty

Students will review work from three different authors of color that have used writing as a tool to combat uncertainty. They will exercise writing as an outlet to validate their experience & heal through difficult times. Students will leave the workshop with a new knowledge of poetry & a new form of therapy. Above all we will move through the ways poetry can be used to release, reveal, and inspire.