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Attn NYC! Latino Rebels and The Phoenix present: Words and Music For Miguel Algarín

2:29 pm By Maegan La Mala · Arts|Lo Que Hay|New York|Poetry · 1 Comment

15 Jul 2011

Note: I am honored and excited to be participating in this benefit for Miguel. The Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe was the first place I ever read poetry at the ripe old age of 18. I remember Miguel sitting by the door. I remember how nervous I was and how special it felt to be reading there, a place of such history. Grateful to add mi granito de arena among so much talent and community love.

The iconic Miguel Algarín is a man deserving of various accolades, among his most noteworthy being founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café in the Lower East Side in the early 1970s—a place where marginalized voices founded a movement and created a home that Allen Ginsberg once described as “the most integrated place on the planet.” Out of the Nuyorican Poets Café were born books and legends—too many to report here.

So what’s the point?

The man responsible for carving a space for literary and counter-cultural expression in the urban war-zone of the 1970s Lower East Side/Loisaida is in need of our help. Miguel is being forced to vacate his Lower East Side apartment this summer. As a 70-year-old disabled man this is proving to be quite a challenge. So to help offset the cost of his legal fees and other expenses we are throwing a party to raise money for him.

Así mismo.

As a living icon who has given a platform to thousands of marginalized voices in his lifetime, we feel that this is the least we can do for Miguel and hope that you can join us in our celebration in honor of him. Yes, the goal is to raise money, but the way in which we’ll do that is by having fun. Come join us as we revel in the Lower East Side/East Village poetry and performance legacy he helped create…

(Note: All money raised will go to Miguel Algarín. Neither The Phoenix, Latino Rebels, nor the performers will receive any funds raised—we are all volunteering our time.)

When: Sunday, July 24 · 4:00pm – 10:30pm

Where: The Phoenix
449 E 13th St/Avenue A – East Village – 21+
New York, NY

What : A benefit/fundraiser hosted by Charlie Vázquez

Featuring Penny Arcade, Machete Movement and San Juan Hill

With Carlos Manuel Rivera, Bonafide Rojas, J Skye Cabrera, Rob Vassilarakis, Papo Swiggity Santiago, Pietro Scorsone, Gabrielle Rivera, Jani Rosado, Karen Jaime, Maegan “La Mala” Ortiz, Odilia Rivera Santos, Tod Crouch, Deborah Magdalena and Jeny Nilenie and surprise guests!

All are welcome…$5 suggested donation but no one will be turned away…

If you are not in the NYC area or cannot attend but would like to help support, you can make an online donation aqui.

Resurrected, Make/Shifted, and Returned from Los Angeles

6:15 am By Maegan La Mala · Arts|Culture|Events|Los Angeles|Poetry · Comments Off

3 May 2011

Regular readers will note that posting, tweeting and Facebooking has been light to non-existent. It’s not that there hasn’t been a lot going on : more empty words from Washington on immigration while politicians and the media have seemingly discovered the “R” section of the dictionary and want us to as well when it comes to the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Revenge, Relief, Remembrance, Reaction. I was engaged in some “R” words of my own. Reading y Relaxation.

Two Saturdays ago, I had the honor of performing in an amazing collaboration put together by the author and curator of talents, Charlie Vázquez. Resurrection, a series of performance and poetry pieces took place on Easter Eve at los Kabayitos Theater inside the Clemente Soto Velez complex of the Lower East Side of NYC. I shared space with Aravind Adyanthaya, J Skye Cabrera, Lola von Miramar (Larry La Fountain-Stokes), Carlos Manuel Rivera, Vanessa Martir, Charlie Vazquez, y Steven Maldonado. There was also visual art gracias to the Organization of Puerto Rican Artists, Inc. (O.P.Art) before and after the show featuring art by Everardus Bogardus , Giovanni Caravaggio, Pepe Villegas, Rafael Rosario-Laguna,
Luis Carle, and Peter Madero III. I only saw portions of the performance but there will be a video available shortly and honestly the warmth I received from the other artists and the full house really resurrected me as an artist. So thank you to all who came to the show including our own Bianca Laureano, fellow Latina artista Alicia Anabell, City Council Woman Melissa Mark Viverito, and Puerto Rican activist Pedro Julio Serrano.

From there it was onto Los Angeles. What was originally just supposed to be a vacation and participating in May Day LA, turned into my West Coast reading debut thanks to the amazing people behind the Make/shift Reclamation Tour, Jess Hoffman and Hilary Goldberg, who just happened to be in Southern Cali at the same time I was. I read a new poem at Cal State Los Angeles and share space with Jess, Hillary, Fabiola Sandoval, tk karakashian tunchez with Film/Video/Audio by Alexis Pauline Gumbs and imMEDIAte Justice.
Read more…

Hoy en NYC : Homenaje a Ricardo León Peña-Villa “El Poe”

7:26 am By Maegan La Mala · Colombia|New York City|Poetry · Comments Off

8 Apr 2011

It’s National Poetry Month : step outside of what you know and head into Queens where talented poets and artists from Latin America will gather to remember one of their own, recently passed friend Ricardo León Peña-Villa. Ricardo was not only a poet but an activist who played a key role in the struggle for housing in the Lower East Side.

Cuando : Friday, April 8 · 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Donde: Teatro Natives
82-22 NORTHERN BLVD, JACKSON HEIGHTS, NY 11372
Tren #7 hasta la parada 82nd Street

El Colectivo Poetas en Nueva York invita a la comunidad neoyorkina a rendir homenaje y celebrar la vida de Ricardo León Peña-Villa “El Poe”, quien falleciera recientemente en la ciudad. En esta ocasión miembros del Colectivo Poetas en Nueva York se han integrado a la organización del evento para unir esfuerzos en la realización de un homenaje de despedida a una de las figuras más destacadas de la diáspora latina en New York durante los últimos años.

El evento de homenaje tendrá como epicentro el teatro NATIVES ubicado en el 82-22 NORTHERN BLVD, JACKSON HEIGHTS, NY 11372, en donde se harán presentes diferentes agrupaciones musicales de calidad internacional, entre los que se destacan Edy Martínez, Pablo Mayor y Folklore Urbano, Samuel Torres, Gregorio Uribe, Mario Barreiro, Daniel Reyes Llinas, Café Dorado y muchos más, quienes interpretarán composiciones propias y letras de Peña-Villa. Además se contará con la participación de poetas residentes en la ciudad de Nueva York.

Durante el evento que se realizará el 8 de abril de 2011, desde las 6pm, se celebrará la vida, la poesía, la música, el legado, la lucha pacífica y de revolución cultural, de este hombre que falleciera el pasado 11 de Marzo.

Así mismo el Colectivo Poetas en Nueva York, está organizando como apertura del evento una Masa Alegre (manifestación alternativa poética de toma de calles) que se realizará el mismo 8 de abril a las 5pm, y que emulará un carnaval de despedida, que partirá de la calle 83 st y Roosevelt Ave, hasta las instalaciones del teatro Natives. En esta Masa Alegre se cantarán coros de memoria a “El Poe” y se leerá su poesía durante el recorrido.

De antemano agradecemos su colaboración y participación activa en este evento en respaldo de quienes construyen la cultura. Los eventos serán totalmente gratis y abiertos a quienes quieran participar y acompañar a “El Poe” en esta celebración de despedida.

La palabra nunca muere / The Word Never Dies : Rest in Peace Ricardo Leon Peña Villa

1:51 pm By Maegan La Mala · New York City|Poetry · 1 Comment

11 Mar 2011

I was going to urge Queens, NYC area people who were not planning on attending the UPR Solidarity Event in el Barrio tonight to head to Terraza 7 Train Cafe for a fundraiser for the poet Ricardo Leon Peña Villa, who had struggling with his health and was in the hospital.

It was with great sadness that I received the news that “El Poe”, as he was affectionately called (and with a certain amount of reverence, I may add), passed on today at 11:55 am in Manhattan.

I was blessed enough to have shared poetic space with Ricardo. I have been to his home numerous times to party, converse, drink, and share dance (and other cositas ricas). It was in his apartment in the Lower East side where I met my most recent baby daddy, and she has been blessed by the muses ever since.

I urge all who can to come out to Terraza tonite to celebrate Ricardo’s life and the words that he gave the earth to remember him by. Also help support his familia as they make sad decisions that come with the inevitable reality of humanity.

Terraza 7 Train Cafe
40-19 Gleane Street NY 11373
Elmhurst, NY
7-10 pm
7 train to 82nd Street

Columbus Day Observed

9:14 am By Maegan La Mala · history|Poetry · 7 Comments

11 Oct 2010

Today is not a celebration, except of our survival, our resistance. It is not a day to claim national pride on the corpses of others. It is not a day off, it is a day on. A day on which to learn & teach. It is day to connect with your ancestors and pass that knowledge onto your children, because so many years later, we are still here, fighting.

Columbus Day Observed
Copyright 2006, Maegan la Mamita Mala Ortiz

I wanted to sleep in today,

Warm beneath my sheets,

Warm inside my house,

Leaving the early crisp October chill just beyond my comprehension,

Behind barred and shaded windows

That keep me and the public shielded from reality

But the sound of US sponsored bullets

Ricocheting off of innocent Iraqi skin

Shook me from my sleep and pulled me out of bed

A screaming reminder me that no matter what the calendar says

It’s still the same colonization invasion game going down

On this so called U S of A holiday.

I wanted to mourn today

Stay home and dress in black for the Palestinians and Lebanese killed by Israeli soldiers today.

I wanted to light candles for Afghanistan

Burn incense for the first nations

And cry my eyes out for Filiberto y Puerto Rico.

The 500 plus years old wounds bleed fresh

Spilling raped, mixed blood.

And I wanted to fast today

Deny my body the comfort

Of first world fast food disposable genitically modified drugs

But my children,

Born and yet to be born

Demanded to be fed

Demanded answers for their homework from the halls of miseducation.

Because she has off today

to celebrate her so called discovery

And I am left nervous

Wondering if when I remind her of the truth

She’ll agree that we were better left uncivilized.

I wanted to celebrate today,

By torching court houses and tearing down prison walls,

bombing national monuments

And taking back every last thing that has been stolen from me and those before me

From us.

I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs a huge

“FUCK YOU y VETE PA’L CARAJO”

to the spirit of Columbus marching down Fifth Avenue

and the Italianos using genocide as costume for their pride

But I was too busy struggling to survive today.

I was too busy working today.

I was too busy counting change to get onto the under constant terror alert subway today,

With its cops with machine guns standing in front of NYPD recruitment ads

the ones with the White cop hugging a Latina viejita?

I had to get to my job

as a 12 dollar an hour corporate whore for hire

Watching billions of bloody dollars

Being robbed from the third world and the third world within.

Finally when the day comes to a close

And I return

Defeated by another day

I can drown my sorrows in the made for t.v. scripted news

Falling asleep to the drone of lies we’ve gotten too used to.

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue

And got lost

But not lost enough.

You’re Invited! NUEVA YORK at the Woodlawn Cemetery featuring VL’s Mala

2 Oct 2010

New York City area peeps: yours truly will be participating in this tour giving an extra special performance of an original piece written just for the event gracias to el Museo del Barrio. So if you are interested, RSVP and come through.

Woodlawn Cemetery, 501 East 233rd Street, Bronx, NY
Sunday, October 10, 2010
2:00pm – 4:00pm
FREE ADMISSION

Prepare for the most lively cemetery experience of the year. As part of Nueva York, El Museo is partnering with the Woodlawn Cemetery and City Lore to offer a walking tour of the final resting places of renowned Latinos Celia Cruz, Carmen Miyares de Mantilla, Juan Machado, and others. Learn more about these notables through Calaveras, a form of poetry created during Day of the Dead celebrations to humor celebrities, performed on-site by poets and spoken word artists.

Please note: Participants should meet at the entrance of The Woodlawn Cemetery, located at the Jerome Avenue entrance.

Subway Directions: Take the #4 train (Lexington Avenue express or local) to the end of line – Woodlawn Station. At the base of the station, walk about a half block, and the Jerome Avenue entrance will be on the right.

RSVP required at www.elmuseo.org/en/event/nueva-york-woodlawn-cemetery

NUEVA YORK en el Cementerio Woodlawn en el Bronx

Domingo 10 de octubre del 2010
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Cementerio Woodlawn, 501 Este de la Calle 233, Bronx, NY
Entrada: Gratis

Prepárate para la visita al cementerio más alegre del año. Como parte de Nueva York, el Museo del Barrio se ha asociado con el cementerio de Woodlawn y City Lore para ofrecer un recorrido a pie de los sitios donde descansan latinos y latinas ilustres que forman parte de la historia de Nueva York, incluyendo Celia Cruz, Carmen Miyares de Mantilla, Juan Machado, entre otros. Aprende más sobre estos notables a través de Calaveras, una forma de poesía recitada durante el Día de los Muertos con la que con humor e ironía se honra a los familares difuntos, y que será presentada por poetas y artistas in situ.

El grupo se reunirá en la entrada del cementerio Woodlawn, ubicada en la Avenida Jerome y la Avenida Bainbridge.

Cómo llegar: Toma el tren # 4 (Avenida Lexington expreso o local) hasta Woodlawn, la última estación. Una vez en la calle, camina media cuadra y verás a tu derecha la entrada al cementerio sobre la Avenida Jerome.

Reserva tu asistencia: www.elmuseo.org/en/event/nueva-york-woodlawn-cemetery

NYC Event : Rhythm, Rhymes and Revolution: Artist Benefit for recently released Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres

1:49 pm By Maegan La Mala · New York City|Poetry|Puerto Rico · 2 Comments

17 Aug 2010

Friday September 17th, 2010 at 7:30pm
East Harlem Cafe 1651 Lexington Avenue (btwn. E104-105th St.)
Take the 6 train to E. 103rd St.

Join us for a night of incredible poetry, rap and spoken word as we unite to help our brother former Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres!

Carlos Alberto, freed from 30 years in jail this July, is trying to open up a ceramics workshop in Puerto Rico! He needs our help to pay rent, buy supplies and many other expenses!

Come through and Help our brother Carlos Alberto, make his dream a reality!

Featured artists:
The Welfare Poets
Prisionera
(not4)Prophet
Sandra Maria Estevez
Papoleto Melendez
SPIRITCHILD
Steve Bloom

Image Via / PR Sun

LATINA PANIC! Tonite in NYC

8:57 am By Maegan La Mala · Arts|GLBT|literature|Poetry · Comments Off

28 Jul 2010

Charlie Vázquez, not only is a talented writer, but he knows how to bring together other talented writers and put on a thought provoking and entertaining evening.

He does it again tonight, Wednesday, July 28, at Nowhere in the East Village at 8PM. Nowhere is at 322 E 14th St (between 1st and 2nd). Charlie will be presenting Alicia Anabel Santos, J Skye Cabrera, Gabrielle Rivera, Meriam Rodriguez, Sherisse Alvarez, Nivea Castro and featured reader Karen Jaime.

Make sure you stay for a little bit of charanga, salsa, son y meneo after. Mala promises it will be well worth it.

Stupid America

11:11 am By la Macha · history|Poetry · Comments Off

14 Jul 2010

Speaking of Chicano and violent revolution and the 60s…I found this poem here and it gives just a bit of the background of Chicano organizing back in the 60s. It came with the following poem, which I found to be a bit male centric, but very important and interesting anyway.

stupid america

stupid america, see that
chicano
with a big knife
on his steady hand
he doesn’t want to knife you
he wants to sit on a bench
and carve christ figures
but you won’t let him.
stupid america, hear that
chicano
shouting curses on the street
he is a poet
without paper and pencil
and since he cannot write
he will explode.
stupid america, remember
that chicano
flunking math and english
he is the picasso
of your western states
but he will die
with one thousand
masterpieces
hanging only from his mind.

~ Lalo Delgado (1930-2005)
(from Chicano: 25 Pieces of a Chicano Mind, 1969)

VL’s Own Maegan One of 5 Influential Puerto Ricans Creating Buzz!

8:43 am By BiancaLaureano · Activism|Arts|Culture|New York City|Poetry · 6 Comments

12 Jun 2010

If you live in NYC then you had the opportunity to see Vivir Latino’s Maegan La Mala in AM New York. Maegan is one of two women who made the list of five Puerto Ricans who are making “buzz,” which is code for creating social change in the community in NYC and internationally!

We are so proud that poet’s, mami’s, writer’s, and radical women of Color media makers were represented through the work our Maegan continues to create! Here’s a close up of her section!

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