East Valley Voices OUT LOUD slide show - ENJOY

 

EAST VALLEY VOICES SLIDESHOW

East Valley Voices OUT LOUD - a photographic sampler...

QUICK PHOTO TOUR OF

EAST VALLEY VOICES OUT LOUD

MAY 9TH

RANCHO TENOCHITLAN, COACHELLA, CA

PRODUCED BY 

CRISALIDA COMMUNITY ARTS 

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Culturas Music and Art
The East Valley Rep

 All photos by Christian Mendez, except AMFM portrait (photog unknown as of today)

This album is only a tiny sampling from the vast feast of performances, music, djs, visual artists, actors, rappers, cooks, and community art-consumers who made the event unforgettable.  More images and video coming soon!

The Crisalida Van made its debut at Rancho Tenochitlan on May 9th -- lots of guided tours, info sessions, and Q&A's about the project and how the vehicle can be used in the community!

Danzantes del Sol mezmerized the crowd with their authentic Aztec dances, music and gorgeous costumes  Bravo!

Talk about color!

Crisalida workshop leader/poet Maria Galaviz spoke about her work in Mecca, and read her own heartfelt poetry.

One of the aspiring poets from the Crisalida-sponsored workshops, Senora Garza, read an original piece.

Local singer-songwriter Giselle Woo wowed the crowd with her original songs.

Poet Francisco Rodriguez presented a "praise poem" commissioned by Crisalida to celebrate the life's work of Leonardo Espinoza, a Mecca resident who we interviewed.  Next step, bring Francisco to Leonardos' home so he can hear the poem for himself.

AMFM, the Coachella Valley's home team of hip-hop.  Left to right (myself) AZ, Verz, Rolo, Skyhigh, Giant.  AMFM tore it up and lifted the crowd onto their feet!

The beautiful, funky cafe at the Rancho where great conversation and dollar tacos were consumed.

Spoken word artists Arturo Castellanos performed three original poems with with and humor.

The East Valley Voices OUT LOUD event was a huge success with about 100 people swinging by.  Big thank you to Yaya Ortiz, Ruben Gonzalez, Culturas Music and Art, Carlos Garcia, SDC Sound and Eddie Ruiz, Miles and Monroe Productions, all the performers and support personnel, and volunteers --  It was a huge job, and we DID IT!

Listening, Playing, Cutting, Grooving, Planning...

 The week that was!

Story Corps group

We had two terrific training sessions for local artists and activists who want to be part of the Crisalida outreach team.  The group jumped right in to the theater games and storytelling exercises I gave them and then we looked at the Story Corps do-it-yourself kit and discussed ways that we could bring this out to the Coachella Valley.  At a follow up meeting I gave each person the assignment to do an interview with someone whose story they’d like to hear.  This is another step in developing a story corps of the East Valley.

Plotting the workshop...

The agenda...

Theater game duets...words, voice, gesture...

Among the participants was Maria (pictured below with her son Marco), a local poet who has deep involvement with the Purepecha community in Mecca.  I am delighted that Maria will be doing a series of poetry/creative writing workshops with this vital and unique community for Crisalida in the coming weeks.  Excellente!

 Bill and Alma getting into it!

The training crew...

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SAVE THE DATE - MAY 16^TH

WHAT: East Valley Voices OUT LOUD: A Night of Poetry, Song, Spoken Word and Music

WHO: Local songwriters, poets, hip hop artists, spoken word artists, bands and dj’s, Produced by Crisalida and Culturas Music and Art in partnership with College of the Desert, East Valley Rep, and other East Valley groups.

WHEN: MAY 16^TH 7 – 11PM

WHERE: Culturas Rancho Tenochitlan 50471 Polk St. Coachella, CA 92236

Refreshment will be provided, bring food for the table.

Interested in participating?  PM David Gonzalez at the Crisalida Facebook page HERE

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Meet Gina Chapa the Crisalida Project Manager

Behind every great project is a great project manager, and I am beyond happy that Gina Chapa has signed on.  Gina is from the East Valley town of Thermal and has been a staunch advocate for the people and land for most of her adult life.  I first met Gina at the launch of Crisalida at College of the Desert-Indio when she was the Constituent Services Director for Congressman Ruiz.  She impressed me immediately as a “rubber-to-the-road” social activist with great energy and a honed skillset.  I never dreamed Crisalida would find the perfect manager, but we did.  Gina will be managing, coordinating, co-visioning, and communicating to the Crisalida network of community partners, artists, and others.  We have Gina 20 hours a week for the duration of the project!  Please reach out to Gina at gina@crisalida-arts.org

Culturas Music and Art Records Local Bands for Fundraiser

What are Hip Hop, RnB, Reggae, and Funk doing in desert?  Raising money, raising awareness, that’s what.  I was happy to be a fly-on-the-wall for a day of live recording organized by Jon Becerra and friends.  They will be producing an online album to promote local bands, and to raise funds for next year’s Synergy Festival.

Enjoy these snapshots…

 

Members of the Hip Hop collective AMFM

Jon Becerra and colleague...

Awesome sound and recording by Eddie (last name coming!)

Brainstorming future projects...Gina Chapa in center.

Electric Lucy

NEON says it all...bright, light, and welcoming!

 

Leonardo Espinosa Tells His Story, Part 1

It is a privilege to listen to an elder speak.  The simple transmission of wisdom from lived experience is a profound gift to those who hear it, to those who can learn from it.  Crisalida has adopted the motto from Story Corps, (the brilliant national storytelling project founded by David Isay) Listening is an Act of Love/Escuchar es Amar.   That axiom was never truer as Gina and I sat (along with Joe Mota and Nicole Sanchez from the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition), in Leonardo Espinoza’s home in the Casas Uno housing project in Coachella.  With his adorable grandkids peeking around the corner every few minutes Leonardo shared the opening chapters of his story with us…why he came to America from Mexico in 1957, his struggle to adjust, his heartbreak and loneliness, the friends and opportunities that gave him hope, and the courage and strength that allowed him to build a life, a family, a new home.  After a few minutes it was clear that Leonardo’s story could not be rushed, and could not fit within the 75 minutes we had scheduled.  At the end of the session he agreed that we could come back for more interviews, and as a parting gift he sang us this song.  Enjoy Leonardo, you’ll be hearing more from his life as an immigrant, a field worker, an United Farm Workers organizer, and new American.

Leonardo, his granddaughter, yours truly.

CVHC Casas community outreach for Coachella Valley Housing Coalition

I will let the pictures do the talking here…just saying…

The East Valley Rep is Born

It was a thrilling…no, historic, night at the Coachella Valley Art Center in Indio – Desert Dreams, a new play by Laura Araujo Salinas, received its first reading to inaugurate the birth of the East Valley Rep, a theater company devoted to sharing the voices of the eastern Coachella Valley.   A full house welcomed Artistic Director, Carlos Garcia to the stage where he introduced the East Valley Rep, spoke about the EVR’s mission, offered concrete ways to get involved, and then introduced the play.  The all-volunteer group of reader/actors did a terrific job bringing Ms. Araujo-Salinas’ words to life.  Given that many of them drove 2+ hours to get to Indio for the reading, and that this was a “cold” read done without the benefit of rehearsal, they gave dimension and drama to the characters and situations.   After a short break with refreshments provided by Bill Shinsky (founder/director of CVAC, and Crisalida) I moderated a spirited, and quite useful 45 minute feedback session between the playwright, actors, and the public during which many helpful nuggets were offered to Ms. Araujo-Salinas.  Crisalida will be partnering with the EVR over the next year as they continue to grow, show, and blow people’s minds with the power of live theater.

Artistic Director of EVR, Carlos Garcia

Carlos Garcia, Laura Araujo-Salinas, dg.

prepping the readers...

Laura right before we started...

Carlos giving an intro...

All smiles at the end of a great evening.

 

Meet Yreina Ortiz

Remember cutting out paper dolls? remember the joy of scissors and construction paper? Remember the reveal of unfolding cut paper?  I do…it was magic holding those round-edged little scissors, tracing lines, making objects…

Well the art of paper-cutting is alive and well in Indio.  Meet Yreina Ortiz a master practitioner of the art of papel-picado, a traditional Mexican art form practiced for centuries now updated with high-tech precision tools but retaining all the soulful beauty of the craft.  I spent a breathtaking hour learning about Yreina’s art, watching her design, cut, paste…and at the end she gave me a string of mariposas, butterflies, the symbol of Crisalida.  I have asked Yreina to make mariposas out of wood for the van (tissue paper, while wonderfully light and translucent is fragile after all), and to be a workshop leader for Crisalida.  She showed me a book she made using paper cuts and photographs that tell the stories her told her as a child – amazingly beautiful stuff.  Visit Yreina’s website HERE.  Again, enjoy!

Now THAT is what I'm talking about!

 Meet Francisco Rodriguez

Meet Franciso Rodriguez Rodriguez, poet/writer and newly minted community arts worker.  CVHC outreach director Joe Mota introduced Francisco to me and we hit it off right away.  I had asked him to bring some of his writing to our meeting at a local café and quickly heard in his poetry a probing mind and a distinct love of language.  Francisco will be writing a Poem of Praise based on Leonardo Espinosa’s life story.

The Van – Moving on Down the Road

Crisalida Van update

engine – check!

tires – check!

smog test – check!

registration  and plates – check!

The van is getting wrapped with a funky cool look as I write this.

...one more tiny step on the way to greatness.

Building, Building, Building

 

Building, Building, Building...

I once heard the quote "Change is the only constant thing."  And that axiom is true in the CV, and for the Crisalida Community Arts Project.  I arrived in the valley on 2/28 and hit the ground running...

Here are the renderings of what our CRISALIDA MOBILE ART VAN will look like.  It has been a lot of work to get it going...the search, the purchase, getting it to CV from LA, getting the paperwork in order, getting it into good mechanical shape, and now we are REALLY close.  The vehicle wrap should be done soon and we hope to have the van debut on the street by the end of next week!i  Big thanks to Shreds Media for all their support.  Check them out here: www.shredsmedia.com

Please let us know your ideas of how the CRISALIDA MOBILE ART VAN can be of service in the four communities of the grant; Indio, Coachella, Thermal and Mecca -- we look forward to hearing from you!

And away we go...

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DG playing at Coachella Valley Art Center for students from College of the Desert - Indio Campus.

It was a joy to meet the Jacalyn Garcia-Lopez's students at the Coachella Valley Art Center and to share some music, poetry and stories with them.   We had a hearty conversation about how art functions, about the power of myth, and how we must feed our minds with wisdom and beauty.  Afterwards many of these young men and women came up to ask questions and share their stories.  Check out CVAC at
www.coachellavalleyartcenter.org

All smiles with Carlos Garcia and Jacalyn Garcia-Lopez after discussing the formation of the East Valley Repertory Theater Company

 

The newly-formed East Valley Rep, founded by playwright/director/educator Carlos Garcia, and Jacalyn Garcia-Lopez will focus on staging original work for a cross-cultural audience.  Based at the Coachella Valley Art Center (CVAC) in Indio, East Valley Rep’s mission is to develop and empower actors and writers by providing training, support, and a showcase for culturally, socially and educationally relevant productions.  

East Valley Rep theater company makes its debut on the Coachella Valley arts scene with a reading of Desert Dreams, a new play by writer Laura Araujo Salinas, at Coachella Valley Art Center, 45140 Towne Street, Indio on Friday, March 13 at 7 pm.  Desert Dreams will be presented by East Valley Rep, in collaboration with Coachella Valley Art Center’s W.O.W. (Works of Wonder) Program. Production assistance and refreshments are being provided by the Crisálida Community Arts Project of the McCallum Theatre.  Reservations are required and may be made by calling (760) 501-8215 or e-mailing eastvalleyrep@artelunasol.com

Check them out on Facebook: East Valley Rep Happenings

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Crisalida hosted an information session at La Cazuela restaurant in Coachella to discuss our new initiatives and to get community feedback and support.  A hearty conversation was had, as well as some delicious food!

 

Bill Shinksy, Max Felipe Ochoa, Wendy Valdez, Gina Chapa, Marco Galaviz, Christian Mendez, (seated) Carlos Garcia, Jacalyn Garciz-Lopez, David Gonzalez

The CULTURAS RANCHO at book reading

 It is always a pleasure to visit the CULTURAS MUSIC AND ART folks (Yaya Ortiz, Ruben Gonzalez, Jon Becerra, and all the rest!) at the amazing RANCHO TENOCHITLAN in Coachella.  They hosted a book reading by Aneta Cruz, and art display by Cecelia Cruz that was attended by about 50 people with music, conversation and performance.  I was thrilled to be invited to read a section from Aneta's book "The Mysterious Mandolin".  My camera was out of memory, so all I got was this shot from the outside...just trust me, it was a blast.

Stay in touch with Culturas on Facebook: Culturas Music-Arts

And speaking of fun arts happenings...

I received an invitation from Mayra Juarez, the director of the McCarthy Family Child Development Center at COD, to perform for the pre-school kids, many of whose parents are students from the East Valley who use this phenomenal facility while they are in class.  Got to say...I love my job.

ROARing at College of the Desert's Early Childhood Development Center

The future is staring at us!  (as well as some of the pre-k staff, COD leadership, and McCallum staff!)

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Building, building, building...

Gina Chapa and I spent a fascinating and inspiring afternoon with Joe Mota and Nicole Sanchez from the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition.

The Coachella Valley Housing Coalition (CVHC) is dedicated to helping low and very low-income families improve their living conditions through advocacy, research, construction, and operation of housing and community development projects. CVHC has constructed nearly 4,000 homes and apartments for low-income households. In addition, CVHC has developed a variety of resident services for its tenants and the surrounding community.  Check out their website http://www.cvhc.org/

We feel that CVHC will be a great partner with Crisalida and have already scheduled community activities.  More will follow, a lot more...

The remarkable Joe Mota and Nicole Sanchez from CVHC standing in front of a community-building project where a group of families are given material and financial support to build their own home...this is the before picture...

Community members performing sweat-equity on their new homes.  Each family is required to give 40 hours per week to their home, up to ten families work cooperatively with the help of CVHC mentors.

What the finished result will be!  CVHC makes the American Dream a reality for its contituents.

Village green at CASA UNO, one of CVHC's housing projects will be a perfect spot for our Crisalida van to do community outreach.  I will be performing and conducting interviews there next week.

Mural at CASA UNO, a housing project of the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition

Whew.  It is hard to compress all the people, places, images, feelings, ideas and points of inspiration into a 2 dimensional cyber-post...I hope you get the gist of the excitement I feel, and the hope of this project.

More soon...