Tuesday, October 27, 2009 @ 7:30 p.m.
Paul Martínez Pompa
Book Launch & Reading

Part of the Chicago Book Festival events, a book launch and reading of My Kill Adore Him by Paul Martínez Pompa at the lovely Estrella Negra, 2346 W. Fullerton Ave on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. Presented by Tianguis Books, Letras Latinas, and The Guild Complex.

My Kill Adore Him
by Paul Martínez Pompa
with an introduction by Martín Espada
$13.00

My Kill Adore Him is a collection of poems from Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize--winner Paul Martínez Pompa. With a unique, independent voice, Martínez Pompa interrogates masculinity, race, language, consumerism, and cultural identity in poems that honor los olvidados, the forgotten ones.

Paul Martinez Pompa is the author of Pepper Spray, a chapbook of poetry published by Momotombo Press in 2006. His first full length collection, My Kill Adore Him, selected by Martín Espada as winner of the 2008 Andres Montoya Poetry Prize, was recently published by the University of Notre Dame Press. His poetry and prose have been anthologized in Telling Tongues and The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry.

Read an interview with Paul Martinez Pompa here.

Friday, October 9, 2009
Vive La Hispanidad

We will be at Vive La Hispanidad on Friday, October 9, 2009. If you are attending make sure to stop by our table and say hello.

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, May 18th @ 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
.
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.

Proyecto Latina: Reading Series & open mic
Monday, March 16th @ 7 p.m.

Proyecto Latina has some top-secret surprises to share in March but we can't quite tell you about it yet.

What we can tell you about March is that we are excited to welcome La Vida Bella Ensemble to present The Brown Girl Chronicles: Puerto Rican women and resilience, written and directed by Yolanda Nieves. Brown Girl Chronicles is a sold-out show that is currently scheduled for a four day run during the first week of March. Whether you scored tickets or missed out we invite you to join us for a very special Proyecto Latina that will feature the director's cut of Brown Girl Chronicles--un antojito of all new work.

What are the Brown Girls Chronicles? Stories, voices and songs that long to be heard; the stories of how race, ethnicity, gender, and colonialism shape the lives of marginalized women. They are the stories of second generation Puerto Rican women who, in their day to day lives,are the embodiment of struggle for independence of the mind, the soul, the heart, and the body.

Proyecto Latina provides a platform to showcase work by Latinas. It is a collaborative between, Tianguis Books, Mariposatomica Ink and Teatro Luna. In it's fourth year, the reading series takes place the third Monday of every month, it includes a feature, an open mic and a a chisme box! Proyecto Latina Radio Airs Sundays @ 6 p.m. on WRTE, 90.5 F.M.

Join us on Monday, March 16, 2009 @ 7 p.m. Held at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th Street.

Proyecto Latina: Reading series & open mic
Monday, February 16th @ 7 p.m.

Michelle Otero arrives from New Mexico to feature at the next evening of Proyecto Latina. We are honored to have her and hope you will join us to discover the power of her work.

Michelle Otero is the author of Malinche's Daughter (Momotombo Press, 2006), an essay collection based on her work with women survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Oaxaca, Mexico.  Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Artful Dodge, Puerto del Sol, Upstreet, Brevity, Great River Review, and Metamorfósis, a Spanish-language anthology published by the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Her awards include a Fulbright Fellowship, an Association of Writing Programs Intro Journal Award, and fellowships from the Anderson Center, the McCune Foundation and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund.  Otero is a founding member of The Women Writers' Collective, an El Paso-based group that showcases the talents of women writers and artists while raising awareness of women's issues. In Albuquerque, she performs with Las Meganenas, a repertory theatre troupe that uses performance to raise awareness of issues facing Latinas. She holds a B.A. in History from Harvard University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Vermont College.

Read more about Malinche's Daughter, including an interview with Michelle Otero at our Momotombo Store.

Tianguis presents...
A reading to inspire the traveler
Friday, February 6, 2009 @ 7 p.m.

Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines
By Stephanie Elizondo Griest
trade paperback, 336 pages
Price: $14.00


We are thrilled to have Latina travel writer, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, joins us for a reading of her third book, Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines. Booksigning. Books for sale. Free.

RSVP not required, but recommended (info (at) tianguis.biz)

Held at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th Street.

Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlands
In 2005, Stephanie Elizondo Griest ventured to her mother’s native Mexico to do a little root-searching and improve her “Tarzan Lite” Spanish. She stumbled upon a burgeoning social movement that shook parts of the nation to its core. MEXICAN ENOUGH chronicles her journey, from the narco-infested border town of Nuevo Laredo to the highlands of Chiapas. She investigates the murder of a prominent gay activist, sneaks into prison to meet with resistance fighters, rallies with rebels in Oaxaca, and interviews scores of migrant workers and the families they were forced to leave behind. Travel companions include a Polish thief, a Border Patrol agent, and a Dominatrix. Part memoir, part journalistic reportage, MEXICAN ENOUGH illuminates how we cast off our identity in our youth, only to strive to find it again as adults—and the lessons to be learned along the way. --Washington Square Press, August 2008

Stephanie Elizondo Griest has mingled with the Russian Mafiya, polished Chinese propaganda, and belly danced with Cuban rumba queens. These adventures inspired her award-winning memoir AROUND THE BLOC: MY LIFE IN MOSCOW, BEIJING, AND HAVANA (Villard/Random House, 2004) and guidebook 100 PLACES EVERY WOMAN SHOULD GO (Travelers’ Tales, 2007). She has explored five continents and once drove 45,000 miles across America in a Honda Hatchback named Bertha. A 2005-2006 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University, she recently won the Richard J. Margolis Award for Social Justice Reporting. Visit her website at www.aroundthebloc.com

Read more about the book, including reviews and a book excerpt at El Literati.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, January 19th @ 7 p.m.

We invite you to join us for the first Proyecto Latina of 2009, have cake and wine with us as we clebrate that the calendar marks three on our initiative to showcase the wide variety of Latina talent in Chicago. We are kicking off our fourth year with poet Yolanda Cardenas.

More about Dr. Cardenas....
In a city known as a mecca of arctic cold, bizarre weather and medicine, a modern day Dr. Zhivago emerges. Currently, Dr. Cardenas is serving as the music director of Proyecto Latina Radio on 90.5FM WRTE Radio Arte but her radio debut was on NPR's "848" which aired a poem in a segment about the Proyecto Latina Open Mic series. In 2007, Yolanda participated in "Niki Nights: Literature and Music in the Garden" at the Garfield Park Conservatory as well as in the National Museum of Mexican Art's "Sor Juana Festival." In 2006 she was a semi-finalist in the 13th Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Award and her work appeared in "Afternoon Wine: Vicios, Sueños y Confesiones" a compilation of poems in a chapbook featuring her writing group. In 2004, Yolanda Cardenas completed her family medicine training, while fine tuning the art of medicine,  this Chicago native also honed her writing. Although there's no Russian revolution in her future, she's primed for social change and a medical revolution.

Tianguis Art Feature: Adelita Pata de Perro
Opens Saturday, November 29, 2008

opening reception: Sat. Nov. 29th, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Adelita pata de perro is Jennifer Priego's photograghic journal of Adelita, a character that was inspired by the women who fought in the Mexican Revolution. Priego's Adelita is a hyper-ethnic woman wandering the world on an ever changing journey, and on her voyage of discovery she encounters symbols of power, femininity, sex, and cultural imagery. She finds herself in different situations and places that take her from Paris, to Rome and sugar cane mills in Mexico. There are thousands of photographs that have been collected over the last six years, for the first time ever Priego will be exhibiting a small portion of embellished and adorned original pieces that were taken in Paris.

*******

Listen to Jenny Priego's interview with Proyecto Latina Radio, which aired earlier this month where she talks about her art process and her upcoming show
Adelita, pata de perro.


12 min, 29 sec

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, November 17th @ 7 p.m.

We are switching things up a bit this third Monday of November and last Proyecto Latina for 2008. We are featuring YOU, and your thoughts and/or stories--how will you tell your children or future generations how you spent this last and most historic election day? Get on the open-mic list and share with us. We are also turning the chisme box into a suggestion/reminder box for the new leadership of our country.

Join us on Monday, November 17, 2008 @ 7 p.m. Held at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th Street.

Reading: Raw Silk Suture by Lisa Alvarado
Wednesday, October 29th @ 7 p.m.

We are thrilled to welcome Lisa Alvarado for a reading of her latest book:

Raw Silk Suture is a diamond sharp collection of poetry by Lisa Alvarado

In this stunning collection, Lisa Alvarado wields the pen and cuts deeply to the heart of Chicanisma, female identity, the use and misuse of the body, its restoration, and the power of love. With finely etched free verse, each subject is explored to the depth without hesitation, and boldly revealed.

Lisa Alvarado is a poet, performer, and installation artist and is the author of two award-winning chapbooks, Reclamo and The Housekeeper's Diary; the latter also a one-woman performance which toured nationally. Lisa is also the co-author of the acclaimed young adult novel, Sister Chicas, written with Ann Hagman Cardinal and Jane Alberdeston Coralin. She is the recipient of grants from the Department of Cultural Affairs, The NEA, and the Ragdale Foundation, and is also a journalist, contributing reviews and interviews to La Bloga, and Blogcritics.org.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, October 20th @ 7 p.m.

This month we are featuring, one our very own Diana Pando. Diana Pando will be reading a selection of poems that she is compiling for a future chapbook called The Daze and Nights of Mariposa Atómica.  She is a poet / writer and likes to flex her public relation skills to support Latinos in the arts and nonprofits impacting Latina women and girls. Diana’s kryptonite includes: Cupcakes, military history, coffee, social media and dancing with her niece in the aisles of el Gigante supermarket in Mexico City.

Her current projects include: Co-producer of Proyecto Latina Radio on 90.5 WRTE and one of the founders of Proyecto Latina, open mic a collaborative project between Tianguis Bookstore, Teatro Luna and Mariposa Atómica Ink. Recently two of her poems have been selected for a Mexican/Chicano anthology being published through DePaul University. 

Over the summer she became Teatro Luna’s newest artistic associate. She is part of a writing ensembles for American Theatre Company’s  Border Project Initiative, Teatro Luna’s Restaurant Spanish and a future Teatro Americano production. At this time she maintains a blog called Art Botanas.
She is a current member of the Latina Leadership Council of the Chicago Foundation for Women and the Latino Giving Circle of the Chicago Community Trust. Her vision is to continue to build community between the arts and philanthropic community.

She is the former managing director for Teatro Vista and has worked with DeLaTorre Fine Arts, Teatro Luna and Luna Negra Dance Theatre
as well as a former contributing writer for Dinero Magazine. She has been a local featured poet for Palabra Pura an open mic initiative through
the Guild Complex. She has also been a contributing writer for the critically acclaimed Teatro Luna show MACHOS.

Currently, she is thrilled to be a Sr. communications trainer for the Community Media Workshop helping nonprofit organizations tell their stories
and promoting news that matters.

Join us on Monday, October 20th @ 7 p.m. Held at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th Street. For complete bio and event details.

Pilsen Open Studios 2008
Sat., Oct. 18, & Sun., Oct. 19 2008
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tianguis is excited to be participating in Pilsen Open Studios. This year our number is 7 so keep an eye out for it on your map (hint: we are across the street from the CTA Pink Line, Damen stop ). We will be featuring the artwork of Giselle Mercier.

Pilsen Open Studios is an artist organized art walk that takes place during the third weekend in October. Each year artists, galleries, spaces and cafes open their doors during special hours. Over 30 spaces and 60+ artists.

Giselle A. Mercier is a professional artist and arts educator with a culturally rich and multi-disciplinary approach to curriculum development in youth arts.  She is a seasoned program developer and project leader with over 15 years of experience in partnership building and community arts programming.   Giselle is a passionate and dedicated arts administrator that has worked with Chicago's most prestigious cultural and educational organizations: The Art Institute of Chicago, The School of The Art Institute of Chicago (currently),   The Dance Center and the Center for Community Arts Partnerships of Columbia College Chicago , The National Museum of Mexican Art, Performing Arts Chicago and Randolph Street Gallery.  An accomplished lecturer and curator, Ms. Mercier is originally from Panama and has both her BFA and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

*Please note that we will be open on Sunday, October 19th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of the Pilsen Open Studios.

The Guardians, book signing and reading with Ana Castillo
Friday, September 19, 2008 @ 7 p.m.

Ana Castillo will read and sign books on Friday, September 19, 2008 @ 7 p.m. at Tianguis.

Space is limited, and will be on a first-come first-serve basis so plan to be there early to catch a seat.

The Guardians by Ana Castillo will be released into paperback on September 9, 2008.

The Guardians is a suspenseful, moving novel about a sensuous, smart, and fiercely independent woman. Eking out a living as a teacher’s aide in a small New Mexican border town, Tía Regina is also raising her teenage nephew, Gabo, a hardworking boy who has entered the country illegally and aspires to the priesthood. When Gabo’s father, Rafa, disappears while crossing over from Mexico, Regina fears the worst and sets out to find him. Between the ruthless “coyotes” who exploit Mexicans while smuggling them to America and the border officials who are out to arrest and deport the illegal immigrants, looming threat is a constant companion on the journey. What follows is a beautiful, stark desert landscape and vivid characters with strong voices and resilient hearts. The Guardians serves as a remarkable testament to enduring faith, family bonds, cultural pride, and the human experience.

Ana Castillo is the author of the novels “Peel My Love Like an Onion,” “So Far From God,”  “Sapogonia,” and “The Mixquiahuala Letters” as well as the short story collection “Loverboys.” Her books of poetry include “My Father Was a Toltec,” “I Ask the Impossible,” and “Watercolor Women/Opaque Men: A Novel in Verse.” Her accolades include a Carl Sandburg Prize, a Southwestern Booksellers Award, and an American Book Award. She taught creative writing at DePaul University until 2006 and she frequently lectures at colleges and book festivals around the country. She currently lives in New Mexico.

This class has been filled, but you may rsvp to be added to the waiting list. Tomas Riley will lead a poetry workshop. This workshop is free of charge, to participate RSVP is required. To reserve your spot, send an email to info@tianguis.biz.  

This workshop is sponsored by the Guild Complex and will be held at Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen. Tomas Riley will also be featuring in September's Palabra Pura. Details here.

Tomás Riley is a poet, writer, educator and a veteran of the influential Chicano spoken-word collective The Taco Shop Poets.  Tomás has performed his unique blend of Chicano bilingualism, cultural politics and lyricism across the country. His written work has been anthologized in Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, Chorizo Tonguefire: The Taco Shop Poets Anthology, Pacific Review and various journals and literary publications. Most recently his first solo collection of poetry, Mahcic, was published by Calaca Press in December 2005.  He holds an MA in American Literature with an emphasis in contemporary ethnic-American discourse, has taught from the elementary to the collegiate level, and is a founding member of the San Diego visual and performing arts space The Voz Alta Project. Currently he works as the Deputy Director of Programs at Streetside Stories a literacy based arts organization for young writers in San Francisco. For Riley's complete bio visit him on myspace.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, September 15th @ 7 p.m.

We’re thrilled to have Achy Obejas return to feature at Proyecto Latina this Monday, September 15, 2008. 

The most recent projects from Achy Obejas are: Havana Noir, a groundbreaking collection of crime stories set in the Cuban capital and This is What Happened in Our Other Life, Achy's first poetry collection. 

Havana-born Achy is the author of several books including: Days of Awe, Memory Mambo, and We Came All the Way From Cuba So You Could Dress Like This? An award-winning journalist, she worked for more than ten years for the Chicago Tribune writing and reporting about arts and culture.  She writes regularly about Latin music for the Washington Post and about books for In These Times.  During her career, Achy has received several journalism awards including a Pulitzer for a Tribune team investigation, two Lambda Literary awards, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in poetry, and residencies at Yaddo, Ragdale and the Virginia Center for the Arts, among other honors.  Her work has been translated into many languages and she has lectured and read her work in the U.S., Cuba, Mexico, Spain, Argentina and Australia, and has served as the Springer Writer-in-Residence at the University of Chicago and the Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of Hawai'i. Achy Obejas is currently the Sor Juana Visiting Writer at DePaul University in Chicago.  For a complete bio on Achy visit her website.

Friendly reminder Join us at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th Street, on the corner of 18th and Blue Island for this event. Event details.

Break through with energy healing
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 @ 2 p.m.
Held at Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen Ave.

Isabel Garcia will be holding free orientation on energy healing.  Find out how Reiki and healing with crystals can strengthen body, mind, and spirit.  She has recently established a practice and is excited to be working in the Pilsen community. Isabel is  trainedin a variety of methods including: chakra balancing and Reiki.

A quote from one of her clients sums it up:
"Isabel is avehicle for personal transformation. I experienced a release from long-standing physical ailments and emotional limitations. She is incredibly skilled, yet humble, and easily approachable; understanding she is a conduit for personal transformation."

The purpose of the event is to reveal how this kind of work can enhance your personal growth and to  allow people to see for themselves the tremendous impact it can have. Isabel will also offer a demonstration of this dynamic process.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, August 18th @ 7 p.m.

Dawn Herrera-Terry is our featured artist for the next Proyecto Latina on Monday, August 18th. Dawn will present poems from her work in progress, "Rosas Encendidas." For this chapbook project, Dawn is translating love poems written over the past seven years, from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish. The poems are intricate, dreamlike and passionate explorations of past lives and loves--chisme boxes in themselves! The title of the chapbook comes from the ranchera "Los Laureles," a mariachi standard and the one Dawn always requests second, after "Volver."

¡Ay, qué laureles tan verdes!
¡Qué rosas tan encendidas!
Si piensas abandonarme mejor quitame la vida;
Alza los ojos a verme
Si no estás comprometido

Dawn Herrera-Terry is a lover of words--their sounds, their meanings and the spaces between them. A Teatro Luna Artistic Associate, Dawn presented her solo play Portales as part of the Oye/Listen! series and acted in the probadita presentation of Machos at San Antonio's Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Dawn also works with Stillpoint Theater and with BESITOS (Bilingual Education Students Interacting to Obtain Success) at Kansas State University to develop community-written and performed shows that put everyday truths on stage. Most recently, she co-created Walkabout Theater's War Garden, a family-friendly show about conflict and vegetables that toured to community gardens across Chicago. She is a former writer and director with the Manhattan Experimental Theater Workshop.

Friendly reminder Join us at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th Street, on the corner of 18th and Blue Island for this event. Event details.

Through August 17, 2008
Paloma Libre in the Windy City

Esmeralda Baltazar artists, educator and co-founder of the Crib Collective in North Lawndale and Little Village will be presenting a collection of nichos-- representative of the time she spent in Chicago. Esmeralda will be heading to the Big Apple at the end of the summer and this exhibit marks a bittersweet farewell to Chicago.

More about Esmeralda and this exhibit at our blog, El Literati.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, July 21st @ 7 p.m.

Desiree T. Castro will be sharing excerpts from her current project, The Cabrona Chronicles at the next Proyecto Latina on Monday, July 21st. An exploration of vital turning points in women's lives and those moments that trigger daughters to avenge their families, wives to leave their husbands, timid girls to have fist fights, students to discipline teachers, and grandmothers to mumble in their sleep," Te estoy viendo cabrona." Ginger Gallardo, Desiree's sister and contributor to the project will be accompany the readings with musical selections.

Desiree T. Castro is an actress, writer, arts-educator, dancer and mother. She was recently seen in Teatro Luna's hit play, "MACHOS," where she assumed 'Diego' as her alter-ego and was one of the collaborative writers for the play. Soon after, she wrote a Solo piece on motherhood that was featured in Teatro Luna's SOLO-TU play.  Since 2004, she has been a Company Member of the renowned Barrel of Monkeys Theatre Company where she performs throughout the city in Chicago Public Schools and at the Neo-Futurarium in the ensemble's critically acclaimed on-going production, "That's Weird Grandma!" Passionate about the potential of art in society beyond her own work on stage, Castro has worked with over 2,000 school children teaching creative writing, dance and theatre with Barrel of Monkeys, Department of Children Home & Aide Society, Lifeline Theatre, Redmoon Theater, Little Village Community Development Corporation and Northeastern's Chicago Teacher's Center. Desiree has found that writing about the most embarrassing, lets-not-talk-about-it, and 'that's not important' moments, are the most liberating. We don't realize the weight of silence until we speak. Aside from her current writing projects, Desiree is also pursuing a BA in Public Policy at DePaul University and lives everyday as a balancing act between raising her 2 year old son, working, school and squeezing in the art and tacos to maintain her sanity as she envies people who sleep more than 6 hrs a night. Jerks.

Friendly reminder Join us at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th Street, on the corner of 18th and Blue Island for this event. Event details.

Proyecto Latina welcomes Liza Ann Acosta as our June feature. Liza Ann enjoys teaching courses in ethnic literatures and creative non-fiction, and is studying Finnish in preparation for a trip to Helsinki in search of her favorite band HIM--she will be sharing from her collection of short fiction--tales of sexy debaucharies that shy people sometimes take.

As a young girl, Liza Ann Acosta (a.k.a. Analisa) was rescued one snowy March evening in the jungle of Brooklyn by renegade Benedictine gypsies who practiced tattoo making and studied the collected works of Thomas Merton. They kindly dropped her off at the southern coast of Puerto Rico. This explains, in part, her current passion for Korean soaps and boybands, her focus on literary works exploring complicated cultural identities, and her coffee-drinking samurai cat, which she has named Mimisan.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, May 19th @ 7 p.m.

Proyecto Latina welcomes Teatro Americano as our May feature. Teatro Americano presents Bien Educada, with Adriana M. Cardona and Mayra Almaraz. Directed by Ricardo Gamboa.

About Bien Educada
Immersed in the city's educational system in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, Mayra Almaraz & Adriana Maria Cardona work as an educator and youth worker respectively and navigate their experiences on the job as well as reflect upon their own personal encounters with that institution of education.  From Colombian nuns and pointing Polish fingers to the heart of Chicago's inner city classrooms and youth, Almaraz and Cardona touch upon a range of issues ranging from race and class to adolescent development and culture clash in that little place we all know too well: school.

About Adriana Maria Cardona A Colombian immigrant who has been living in the United States since 1997. Back in Colombia, Adriana performed for El Pequeño Teatro, a small theater company in the city of Medellín. During her childhood years, she performed Zarzuelas at El Colegio El Carmelo from 1988-1990. After 8 years of living in Iowa with little involvement in theater, Adriana joined the Gateway Dance Theater in the city of Des Moines. Currently, Adriana works at Big Picture High School in Back of the Yards and is really exited to be in Chicago pursuing her passion for theater through Teatro Americano.

About Mayra Almaraz An educator born and raised in Chicago's Northwest side, is a product of the parochial school system from kindergarten through college. As the youngest of ten children of Mexican immigrants, her experiences in a pre-dominantly white school system influenced her development as an educator in the Chicago Public Schools. In this piece for Proyecto Latina, she shares her insights both as a student and teacher.

We are thrilled to be taking part of this book fair, we invite you to look for the Tianguis booth on Saturday, May 17th and check out the most recent titles by Momotombo Press. The fair will be from Thurs., May 15th to Sun, May 18th but we will only be there one day. Held at University of Illinois at Chicago, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted. This event is free and open to the public. Details here.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, April 21st @ 7 p.m.

The April feature for Proyecto Latina is Marcy Rae Henry author of The CTA Chronicles and forthcoming novel Cumbia Therapy. Friendly reminder to join us at the studios at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th Street, on the corner of 18th and Blue Island for this event.

Tianguis will be hosting the next Chicago area comadrazo, we hope you can join us this Friday, April 11th from 6 to 8 p.m.

The comadrazos take place in Chicago and across the country and are events we truly look forward to. There are no dues, no officers, just comadres getting together to meet, have great conversations and find ways to support each other in many ways. Las Comadres started in Austin, TX in 2000. Since April, 2003, 50 cities have been launched and about 5,000 comadres added to the lists. For details about this movement: www.lascomadres.org.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, March 17th @ 7 p.m.

Proyecto Latina moves to a new venue this March, Josephine Gasca, our next feature a writer and bellydancer will surely welcome the space. So make sure to join us at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th Street, on the corner of 18th and Blue Island.

Josephina Gasca graduated from Columbia College with an MFA in Creative Writing. In Chicago, she helped run the family drywall business, raised an amazing daughter, taught in Columbia's Fiction Department and gathered enough material for several novels. She moved to the East Coast a little over four years ago to devote more time to her writing and artistic pursuits. Her teaching repertoire now includes dance. She writes and bookkeeps by day and belly dances by night.

New Title by Momotombo
Author reading with Aaron Michael Morales
Saturday, February 23rd @ 2 p.m.

From Here You Can Almost See the End of the Desert
by Aaron Michael Morales
with an introduction by Luis Alberto Urrea

Now available @ Tianguis and for online purchase.

"Morales seduces then abducts and we are carried away by the torrents of his endless sentences until we come up for air, gasping and astonished. This is not to say that these stories […] are prettified tales. Indeed, violence is the skin of these stories. Yet, we understand and we ache and that’s the best argument for reading fiction. So hear me and pay attention: Aaron Michael Morales is poised to startle." — Helena María Viramontes

"[Aaron Michael Morales] is a genius at putting the reader in a narrative bind before anyone knows what happened. This is subversive and sly work, as knowing in its effect as it is exciting to read. For all its thrilling nature, and for all his hard-edge style, this is a deeply moral effort. Morales wrestles with nothing less than the parameters of the human soul. Community, responsibility, even love are here, while eros, violence, fear, dread and a dark exultation fly through the nightscapes of these pieces."
— Luis Alberto Urrea

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, February 18th @ 7 p.m.

UPDATE:
Due to significant street closings along 18th street we will be holding February's Proyecto Latina at Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen.

Proyecto Latina celebrated its second anniversary this past January, and we will be kicking off our third year by featuring, Elizabeth Sandoval. UPDATE:
Due to significant street closings along 18th street we will be holding February's Proyecto Latina at Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen.We do want to make sure that you take note that we are moving Proyecto Latina to a more spacious venue to better accommodate everyone. We will be meeting at Radio Arte, 1401 W. 18th Street, on the corner of 18th and Blue Island.

Elizabeth Sandoval is a Chicago-born writer/performer who's lived most of her life in Los Angeles--and has made her way back home to Chicago! She is a credentialed schoolteacher, having taught elementary school students in a bilingual classroom setting in Los Angeles. She has studied acting, improv, and music in L.A. and Chicago-- and her favorite alma mater thus far is Second City Chicago! Her original comedic musical, "The Not-So-Young and the Very Restless", was performed in 2007 in Chicago, and she is looking to re-mount it this year. Elizabeth's writing has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, USA Today, Los Angeles Daily News and other L.A.-area papers, on Batanga.com, Commonties.com, and Chitowndailynews.org. She is a regular contributor to Chicago Public Radio. Love and thanks to family and friends, who are her most precious treasures in life.

Sunday Feb. 10th @ 1 p.m.
Kreative Souls Healing Jewelry Show

Proyecto Latina: Special Anniversary event

Its a night to put your pen and papelitos away, and instead whip out your dancing shoes, and open up to inspiration. Proyecto Latina invites you to join us and celebrate our 2nd Anniversary on Saturday, January 19th 2008 at Junior's Sports Bar, 2058 W. Cermak Rd. (In Pilsen and a couple of blocks away from Tianguis.) We're bringing back highlights--crowd favorites of course--from our past features list to help us mark this wonderful occassion with amazing words, music and dancing. And we are super excited to cap the night off with two Proyecto Latina newcomers our two featured DJ's to put more groove in our night: La Primitiva and Spacerwoman.*

We get started at 7 p.m. Free admission and antojitos (while they last).

Silvia Rivera	Amanda Torres
Wendy (Gwen) Vargas	The Luna Blues Machine
La Primitiva	Spacerwoman

We owe a very BIG thanks to Radio Arte and Junior's Sports Bar.

*No open mic for this January event. We will be bring back the open mic with the February edition of Proyecto Latina.

Elevation by Krista Franklin

Exhibit through January 7th, 2008

Held at Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen

This December our walls will be decked out with the poetic and thought provoking collage artwork of Krista Franklin. Swing by to see one of Krista's seven original art pieces, as well as her lovely trademark journals.

Krista Franklin is a poet, visual artist and educator from Dayton, OH who currently lives and works in Chicago, IL. Her poems and visual art have appeared in several print and web literary journals including Clam, Callaloo, Warpland, Obsidian III, nocturnes 2: (re)view of the literary arts, MiPOesias.com, and in the anthologies Bum Rush The Page: a def poetry jam and Gathering Ground. Her artwork has been published on the covers of several books; Leadbelly by Tyehimba Jess (Wave Books, 2005), Gravity U.S.A. by Jacqueline Jones LaMon (Quercus Review Press, 2006), and most recently What Yellow Sounds Like by Linda Susan Jackson (Tia Chucha Press, 2007). She has exhibited nationally in solo and group exhibitions in Chicago, Minneapolis and Iowa, and was awarded a Community Arts Assistance Programs Grant in 2007 for Seed (The Book of Eve), her Artist Book inspired by the novels of science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler. Franklin has also performed her poetry internationally in featured readings at The Guild Complex, The Hothouse, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, Elastic Arts Foundation’s 3030, the ETA Performing Arts Center, Speakeasy in London and Manchester, UK, Book Jam, and Alphabet Soup in London, UK.

Sunday, December 23, 2007
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Jewelry Trunk Show with E&J Designs
The perfect way to add the final touch to your holiday shopping, whether your picking up some final gifts or treating yourself to something special.  Join mother and daughter team, Jolie and Eva--the jewelry designers and Pilsen natives behind E&J Designs. They will be at Tianguis this Sunday, December 23rd with a lovely and sparkling spread of their  popular handcrafted jewelry.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, November 19th @ 7 p.m.

The next Proyecto Latina, and final 2007 open mic, is Monday, November 19th @ 7 p.m. Our feature is the wonderful writer and performer, Amanda Torres who has given us previews to her magnificient and touching prose during past open mics. We can't wait to hear what she will have in store for us. Also, remember that the Chisme box and open-mic is not to be missed. Free. Join us at Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen.

Amanda Torres is a singer, teacher, filmmaker, writer, and slam champion. She has performed in cities around the world, including London, L.A, and San Francisco and is deeply committed to the word and the development of young people’s artistic as well as leadership skills. She is currently attending Columbia College Chicago.

Tianguis: books.tea.cultura is excited to be participating in Pilsen Open Studios, we will be featuring the artwork of Naomi Martinez and Jose Arceo. Mark your calendars and make sure to look for our number on the map, join us in celebrating our second anniversary with birthday cake. More details forthcoming.

José Armando Arceo (b. Chicago) and raised in the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago. At a young age he was influenced by artist Rene Hugo Arceo. While
a teenager, Jose took on his own graffiti and its influences. Later he joined the Yollocalli Youth Museum where he learned different printmaking techniques, basic drawing & painting, and curating. After Yollocali, he began experimenting with his own approach to mural painting, airbrushing and graffiti. Today he continues to experiment with silkscreen printing, stenciling and tattooing.

Naomi Martinez born in 1977, is an all-natural Chicago grown Xicana artist. Her interest in art began in high school with her discovery of her local graffiti art scene and the Mexican social muralist movement of her father’s native land. She learned painting and pottery skills as an Apprentice Artist at Gallery 37 with the Marwen Foundation. She later enrolled at Columbia College Chicago for acting and photography but with no major in mind soon dropped out. After her college experience she became a road trip enthusiast and even had a brief stint as a poet and Rock en Espanol band singer. She revisited painting and aerosol art in 2000. More recently she has designed and hand sewn Monstrochika pouches and stuffed monstros while completing volume one of Monstrochika Comix. She has also collaborated with other local women graffiti artists on various murals around the Chicago. Naomi is inspired by both nature and metropolis, graffiti, comics, her childhood in the city and her pets. She is currently a legal secretary by day and Monstro Factory worker by night.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, October 15th @ 7 p.m.

The next Proyecto Latina is on Monday, October 15th @ 7 p.m. In honor of Teatro Luna's new Machos production, Proyecto Latina will present our first ever male feature, the wonderful Paul Martinez Pompa. Make sure to join us, because our third Proyecto Latina collaborator, the fabulous Diana Pando will be mistress of ceremonies for the evening.

And well you know that el Chisme box and open-mic is not to be missed. Free. Join us at Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen.

Paul Martinez Pompa studied at the University of Chicago and at Indiana University, where he served as a poetry editor for Indiana Review. His chapbook, Pepper Spray, was published by Momotombo Press in 2006. His work has also appeared in the journals Borderlands and Barrow Street and the anthologies The Wind Shifts and Telling Tongues. He currently teaches at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, September 17th @ 7 p.m.

Proyecto Latina in September:

The next Proyecto Latina is on Monday, September 17 th @ 7 p.m. Our September feature is the vibrant work of Gwen Vargas, who will be sharing with us some of her gems including a collaborative presentation with Yadi Jade.

As always there will also be Chisme box and open-mic . Free. Join us at Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen.

Wendy Vargas, or Gwen, as she is also known as, has married the arts in all
its forms. A Latina poet/lyricist who has been part of the Hip Hop culture
and lifestyle since she was a little girl, breakin', graffin' and rhyming
every chance she got. She has hosted and been part of the line up for local
events such as Hot Sh*t at the Hot House and Ladies Love Hip Hop, however,
her strong passion for the arts doesn't end there. She is an aspiring
actress, proud to be currently working with Teatro Luna. Previously seen
performing improv on Second City Theater's main stage, Gwen has been a cast
member of UIC's production of The Vagina Monologues for the past 4 years,
helping raise thousands of dollars for battered and sexually abused women
and girls. An advocate, ally, and feminist, Gwen plays an important role as
an activist in many communities and organizations, helping raise awareness
and unveil social injustices in every form. Having worked side by side with
Orgullo En Accion, she has helped put together The Chicago Dyke March and
Chicago's first ever Latino Pride Picnic, having also co-hosted this years
event. Gwen La Roka, Ms. Jaqueline of all trades.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, August 20th @ 7 p.m.

Proyecto Latina in August:

Join us for the next Proyecto Latina on Monday, August 20th @ 7 p.m. Our August feature is Stephanie Gentry-Fernandez , she shares from her collection of poems. As always there will also be Chisme box and open-mic . Free.

Join us at Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen. For event details.

Raul Niño: Reading and Booksigning
Thur. July 26, 2007@ 7 p.m.

Raúl Niño's exquisite chapbook Book Of Mornings is now available through March Abrazo Press. Niño has taken time to meditate over and perfect these gems, and has also designed the cover.

Raúl Niño is the winner of the Sister Cities Award in 1992, an award that took him to Mexico City on a reading tour to help foster stronger culture ties between Chicago and Mexico City. Niño was the recipient of the Significant Illinois Writers award in 1993, presented by Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet Laureate of Illinois. His poems have appeared in anthologies such as Power Lines, published by Tia Chucha Press, and New Chicano/Chicana Writers, published by the University of Arizona Press. Rough Sutra, his next manuscript is scheduled to be published by MARCH/Abrazo Press in 2008. Raúl Niño lives in Chicago.

Final Book Club Discussion on The Devil's Highway
Wednesday, July 11th @ 7 p.m.

If you've been thinking about joining us, this is the final book club discussion on, the award winning, and Pulitzer Prize finalist:

The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea

The book is a true story about a 2004 account of a group of Mexican immigrants lost in the Arizona desert on a deadly stretch known as The Devil's Highway or La Carretera del Diablo.

Held @ Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, July 16th @ 7 p.m.

Proyecto Latina in July:
Freedom Show, open mic, & chismes...

The next Proyecto Latina is on Monday, July 16th @ 7 p.m. Our July feature is Dionna Griffin-Irons, she shares excerpts from her solo work, "The Freedom Show: A Solo Act," which has received two year support from The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and coverage on Chicago Public Radio and Fox TV's: A Closer Look. As always there will also be Chisme box and open-mic . Free.

Dionna Griffin-Irons is an alumna of The Second City Detroit mainstage
with five revues to her credit. She has performed with The Chicago
Second City e.t.c. and mainstage resident companies along with Theatre
on the Lake, Black Orchid and Improv All Stars. In her current role as
Director of Outreach & Diversity at The Second City, she produces and
identifies new diverse voices in sketch comedy and improvisation. An
avid writer, educator, performer and producer, Dionna enjoys working
both sides of the stage. Her writing will also be featured in an upcoming anthology "WORD by WORD: Women, Writing and Incarceration." The Freedom show will mount at Theatre Building Chicago in February 2008 after the birth of her first child due in September. Celebrate women and freedom! Email
dionna@dmgfreedom.org for more info.

Open mic Also, remember that we love to open up the stage to everyone but can only allow 8 participants. Come prepared for the open mic. We're a super friendly audience and we wanna hear your work. And if you're super shy, that's okay, just bring the good energy, sit back and enjoy.

¡Ask a Mexican!: Reading and Booksigning
Wed. July 18, 2007

Reading @ 7 p.m. RSVP required. Space is limited. Booksigning @ 8 p.m. Open to all.

Gustavo Arellano, author of the hilarious book, ¡Ask a Mexican!, returns to Chicago and will be invading Tianguis, Wednesday, July 18th to do a reading and booksigning. ¡Ask a Mexican! explores the clichés of lowriders, busboys, and housekeepers; drunks and scoundrels; heroes and celebrities; and most important, millions upon millions of law-abiding patriotic American citizens and their illegal-immigrant cousins. Gustavo Arellano's book is a compilation of his award winning column, ¡Ask a Mexican!

Gustavo Arellano is a contributing editor to the Los Angeles Times, has appeared on Today, Nightline,NPR's on the Media, The Situation with Tucker Carlson, and the Colbert Report.

To RSVP please call 312.492.8350 or email: info@tianguis.biz.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, June 18th @ 7 p.m.

Proyecto Latina in June:
Lisa Alvarado, open mic, & chismes...

The next Proyecto Latina is on Monday, June 18th @ 7 p.m. Our June feature is Lisa Alvarado, author of Sister Chicas, and The Housekeepers Diary. She will be sharing with us from her new body of work including her new poetry manuscript And we'll also be divulging your favorite gossip tid-bits from the chisme box and as always there will be an open-mic for interested participants. Free. Event details.

Lisa Alvarado is a poet, performer, and installation artist, focusing on identity, spirit, and the body. She is the founder of La Onda Negra Press, and is author of Reclamo and The Housekeeper's Diary, originally a book of poetry and now a one-woman performance, and is the recipient of grants from the Department of Cultural Affairs, The NEA, and the Ragdale Foundation. The Housekeeper's Diary, which dealt with her experiences as a domestic for one of Chicago's wealthiest families, premiered nationally in Washington, D.C. in 2001, as a co-production with Sol y Soul and Gala Hispanic Theater. In 2002, The Housekeeper's Diary was performed to sold-out audiences and critical acclaim in Chicago. She has performed throughout the U.S. and in Mexico. Lisa and her work has been featured in the Reader, The Chicago Tribune, Latino USA/National Public Radio, and Public Radio International. In 2006, her first novel was released, Sister Chicas (written with Ann Hagman Cardinal and Jane Alberdeston). Sister Chicas is a coming of age story concerning the lives of three young Latinas living in Chicago.

Lisa is the Thursday columnist for La Bloga. You can read more about Lisa and her work at www.lisaalvarado.net.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, May 21st @ 7 p.m.

Proyecto Latina in May:
Paloma, open mic, & chismes...

...not necessarily in that order, but its starting to feel like Telenovela hour at Proyecto Latina and believe me, that's okay. The next Proyecto Latina is on Monday, May 21st, 7 p.m. @ Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen. Our May feature is Paloma Martinez-Cruz and we can't wait to hear "Ganda," a short story about a woman's isolation in a troubled marriage and the choices she makes when a married man begins to notice her.

Paloma Martinez-Cruz, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of North Central College in Illinois. Originally from California, she received her Ph.D. in Latin American Literature from Columbia University in New York . Her areas of specialization include U.S. Latino/a writing and performance, Mexican fiction, and Brazilian literature, film, and popular culture. Paloma endeavors to include hemispheric perspectives in her teaching and research, publishing and presenting on topics such as shamanism and globalization, East Los Angeles low riders, Brazilian cordel literature, Cinema Novo, and hemispheric questions of gender and colonization. She is currently at work on a book-length study on mestiza wise women. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

Open mic Also, remember that we love to open up the stage to everyone but can only allow 8 participants. Come prepared for the open mic. We're a super friendly audience and we wanna hear your work. And if you're super shy, that's okay, just bring the good energy, sit back and enjoy.

crafty calendar dates @ Tianguis

The Cornhusk: Beyond Tamales
Saturday, May 12th

Patricia Carlos Dominguez will provide a brief history and instructions on how to make a cornhusk alcatraz (calla lily)--just in time for mother's day. Bilingual workshop, limited to ten participants, rsvp required. 2 to 4 p.m. Cost: $10, includes supplies.

Hooks & Needles: Stitching Circle
Thur. May 10th @ 7 p.m.

Last month was our first crochet, knit and chisme session. Pattern ideas, and techniques were exchanged and there was plenty of stitchin' and bitchin' going on. We invite you to join us once again this month. Bring your own hooks or needles, the yarn and project of your choice. Always wanted to learn? Join us and I'm sure we can help get you started. Free.

Tianguis Book Club Discussion
Wednesday, April 25th @ 7 p.m.

We're finishing up Achy Obejas' lovely and inspiring book, Days of Awe, about Alejandra San Jose's journey through family and Cuban history, and the balance of identity as she struggles with being Cuban, Jewish and American. Its hard to sum up this book briefly, but a few words do easily come to mind: lyrical, sexy, poetic.

We invite you to read along with us. If you have already read it, we encourage you to revisit it and join us.

On New Year's Day, 1959, Alejandra San Jose was born in Havana entering the world through the heart of the revolution. Fearing turmoil in Cuba, her parents decide to flee to the U.S. ending up in Chicago. As an adult, Ale returns to her homeland and begins exploring identity, as she uncovers family history. Days of Awe is also on sale at Tianguis.

Proyecto Latina: More than Poetry, open mic
Monday, April 16th @ 7 p.m.

Proyecto Latina April feature:
Silvia Manrique brings a touch of Brazil

The next Proyecto Latina is on Monday, April 16th, 7 p.m. @ Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen. We are excited to have Silvia Manrique as our April feature, she will be playing bossa nova for us. We can't wait!

Silvia Manrique is a Chicago-based musician. Currently a vocalist/percussionist with Barioca, a band that specializes in the sounds of Brazil. Silvia has had a passion for Brazilian music since she stumbled on an Astrud Gilberto recording at the Chicago Public Library when she was 10. Her father, a music aficionado and fan of the 1960's Brazilian pop movement in America, frequently played Sergio Mendes and Stan Getz, piquing Silvia's interest from an early age. It was in college that she met a Brazilian guitarist that introduced her to the art of performing bossa nova and from then on, it was her musical focus. Learn more about Silvia here.

Open mic Also, remember that we love to open up the stage to everyone but can only allow 8 participants. Come prepared for the open mic. We're a super friendly audience and we wanna hear your work. And if you're super shy, that's okay, just bring the good energy, sit back and enjoy.

Chicas, remember that April is National Poetry Month, we especially encourage you to come out and share a poem during our open mic.

Proyecto Latina is a collaborative between Teatro Luna, Tianguis, and Mariposa Atomica Ink. Go here for the complete scoop.

MONSTROCHIKAS HAVE ARRIVED!

Monstrochikas are the super hip brainchildren of Naomi Martinez. According to their creator, these adorable characters are forest dwellers and are usually accompanied by monstritos and cats. Maybe you're one of the lucky few who adopted a monstrito in the last year. Now there are three postcards to pick from, take some home, keep them around for when you need to write a special friend, or to frame and enjoy as art.

To celebrate--Naomi and her monstritos are scheduled to take Tianguis by storm--we will be hosting a special presentation of Naomi's art work. Make sure to join us for the opening reception:

Friday, April 13th, 2007 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Naomi Martinez was born in 1977 and is an all-natural Chicago grown Xicana artist. Her interest in art began in high school with her discovery of her local graffiti art scene and the Mexican social muralist movement of her father’s native land. She learned painting and pottery skills as an Apprentice Artist at Gallery 37 with the Marwen Foundation. She later enrolled at Columbia College Chicago for acting and photography but with no major in mind soon dropped out. After her college experience she became a road trip enthusiast and even had a brief stint as a poet and Rock en Espanol band singer. She revisited painting and aerosol art in 2000. More recently she has designed and hand sewn Monstrochika pouches and stuffed monstros while completing volume one of Monstrochika Comix. She has also collaborated with other local women graffiti artists on various murals around the Chicago. Naomi is inspired by both nature and metropolis, graffiti, comics, her childhood in the city and her pets. She is currently a legal secretary by day and Monstro Factory worker by night. Visit Naomi's myspace.

Hooks & Needles: Tianguis Stitching Circle
Thursday, April 12th @ 7 p.m.

Crocheting has come a long way since your abuelita was making bright color doilies for your mami's vitrina--the same can be said for knitting. The selection in yarns these days is a far cry from the limited choices that Woolworth's once offered. We will be hosting our first crochet and knitting circle. Bring your own hook or needles, the yarn and project of your choice. Always wanted to learn? Join us and I'm sure we can help get you started.

Proyecto Latina in March features:
Silvia Rivera's shoebox poems, and the Chisme Box

The next Proyecto Latina is on Monday, March 19th, 7 p.m. @ Tianguis, 2003 S. Damen. We are excited to have Silvia Rivera as our March feature and we're also anxiously anticipating the introduction of the chisme box.

Silvia Rivera was born the year of the monkey, and as such can sometimes display characteristics of being imaginative, responsible, humorous, witty, curious, clever, and sneaky. These traits have gotten her in a lot of trouble over the years, both good and bad, but have most recently aided her in the pursuit of her ultimate dream-being a featured poeta at Tianguis. When she’s not scribbling thoughts on scratch paper, Silvia manages 90.5fm Radio Arte and dreams of world peace, or at least peace of mind.

Also, remember that we love to open up the stage to everyone but can only allow 8 participants. Come prepared for the open mic. We're a super friendly audience and we wanna hear your work. If your super shy, that's okay, just bring the good energy, sit back and enjoy.

Its official, we have a book club now! And we've made our first selection.

The Alchemist, Paulo Coehlo's bestselling book, is a fable about following one's dreams, listening to one's heart, and reading life's omens.

We invite you to read along with us. This is an inspiring and beautiful book. If you have already read it, consider revisiting it.

We will be meeting to discuss the book on
Thursday, Feb. 22nd @ 7 p.m.

The Alchemist is also on sale at Tianguis. Available en español, El Alquimista.

The Luna Blues Machine @ the next P.L.

The next Proyecto Latina is on Monday, February 19th, 7 p.m. @ Tianguis. Remember our new location is at 2003 S. Damen. Make sure to save the date and join us.

We're sooo excited to be bringing back The Luna Blues Machine. Can you believe that they were our February act last year? And we can't rave enough about the creativity and talent that Maritza and Belinda Cervantes possess. Music, check, acting, check, craftiness, check. In January 2006 Luna Blues Machine won the 8th Annual Talent search at the Underground Wonder Bar, both Cervantes sisters have appeared in Teatro Luna productions, and their innovative corduroy creations (bags, blouses, skirts) are currently available for purchase at Tianguis.

Also, remember that we love to open up the stage to everyone but can only allow 8 participants. So come prepared for the open mic. We're a super friendly audience and we wanna hear your work and we're still anxiously anticipating a knock knock joke. And if your super shy, that's okay, just bring the good energy, sit back and enjoy.

Proyecto Latina is a collaborative between Teatro Luna, Tianguis, and Mariposa Atomica Ink. We are excited about showcasing Latina talent and are always seeking outgoing Latina poets and performers for our monthly open mic series. Proyecto Latina takes place the third Monday of every month. Its an open mic so everything's game: Poetry, spoken word, music, monologues, shorts y en el idioma que prefieras.

Proyecto Latina finally home!

Proyecto Latina will once again be moving, this time to its permanent home, the new Tianguis location at 2003 S. Damen. Make sure to save the date and join us.

Come prepared for the open mic. We only allow 8 participants and this is your chance get a great creative start on the new year.

Our first featured act of 2007 is Diane Herrera. Diane's work as a writer and performer includes several ensemble projects with Teatro Luna as well as ¡Salsation! Her newest project is the sketch comedy troupe Midtown, which will perform at the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival 2007 this January. Her first solo play, “The Dress”, was performed in Chicago as part of Teatro Luna’s production of Solo Latinas, and her second solo play “The Job” premiered at Sola Voce Estrogenius 2005 at manhattansourcetheatre in New York. L.A. credits include writing and performing in the sketch comedy show Barrio Speedwagon at IO West and The Comedy Store. Diane is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory, and has a BFA in Playwriting from The Theatre School at DePaul University (formerly the Goodman School of Drama).