Sor Juana Festival: Letras Palabras y cantos
Saturday, May 16th, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

An evening in which poetry, literature and music come together and form part of the Sor Juana Festival.

Dawn Herrera and Lisa Alvarado bring the art of spoken word to the stage, while opening for acclaimed authors Gwendolyn Zepeda author of Houston we have a problema and Claudia Guadalupe Martinez author of Smell of Old Lady Perfume.

The evening will end with a live concert Chicago's very own Alla, a band formed by three young Chicano artists with an amazingly broad gamut of tastes and musical interests: producer/guitarist Jorge Ledezma, his brother Angel Ledezma on drums, and vocalist/ guitarist Lupe Martinez.

The trio created a unique sound which encompasses some of their favorite styles of music from the last four decades (from German Krautrock experiments, Motown, Brazilian Tropicalia and cosmic jass to the lush romanctic harmonies of traditional Mexican trio music and to Brian Wilson and Phil Spector's symphonic pop nuggets of the 60's), while paying homage to their Mexican heritage.

Proyecto Latina: Reading Series & open mic
Monday, April 20th @ 7 p.m.

Proyecto Latina is taking poetic celebrations beyond poetry month and well into May when they welcome Chicago poet Johanny Vázquez Paz as the next feature. Johanny shares her humor, wit, and work. Held at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th St. Free. As always open mic and chisme box will be ready for contributors.

Johanny Vázquez Paz was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She holds a Master of Arts in Hispanic Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Indiana State University. Her book Poemas callejeros / Streetwise Poems was recently published by Mayapple Press (Michigan, 2007). Bio and event details.

Wind Shifts hits Palabra Pura
Wednesday, May 20th, 7:30 p.m.

The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry
Edited by Francisco Aragon
Forward by Juan Felipe Herrera
272 pages, paperback
Price: $17.95


The groundbreaking anthology Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry will make its Chicago stop. The anthology has been on tour to six cities across the U.S. for the last two years. Featured poets include Rosa Alcala, Kevin Gonzalez, Carolina Monsivais and Lidia Torres.

Free admission. All ages. (Please note there will not be an open mic for this reading.)
Held at Decima Musa, 1901 S. Loomis. The Chicago reading is presented by The Guild Complex and Poetry Magazine.

Tianguis Bookclub
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Our virtual bookclub is now reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the pulitzer prize winning novel by Junot Diaz. Look for discussion updates at El Literati.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
By Junot Diaz
trade paperback, 352 pages
Price: $14.00

Look for discussion updates at El Literati. Meet Cynthia Nambo, my partner-in-crime in all things pertaining to the Tianguis Bookclub, she put together a lovely set of guidelines to keep in mind as we kick-off our dialogue.