Writers, Singers and the U.S. Poet Laureate!

Writers, Singers and the U.S. Poet Laureate!

It has been a remarkable week in Crisalida-Land.  Tuesday we were at the Crisalida Poetry Writing Workshop led by Maria Galaviz in the Mecca neighborhood of North Shore right on the Salton Sea.  Thursday we set up our mobile art studio/music venue at The Gallile Center in Mecca, and Friday we hosted the new Poet Laureate of the United States, Juan Felipe Herrera, for a rousing two-hour Skype poetry reading/open mic.

The East Valley is sharing its voice, a lot!

Poetry Workshop - North Shore

Maria asked me to give a workshop to her dedicated students on effective techniques for reading poetry aloud.

Writers doing what writers do, and with team work.

Mano a mano, voice to voice.

The Salton Sea from the North Shore.

Gotta say the students were terrific.

See the class, see the sea...

Maria Galaviz brings home cooked meals to each of her classes, makes for a delicious time.

Tools of the trade...

The poet speaks...

The teacher reads...

Getting down...literally.

It was Mrs. Garza's last class (seated in center with white shirt), so we sent her off in style.

Galilee Center Performance

Another dream came true on Thursday.  Back in September I volunteered at the Galilee Center Food Bank in Mecca and had the thought that one day we would have a Crisalida Van packed with art, a sound stage, and offer music and joy to the weekly gathering of folks who wait for hours for their baskets of groceries.  Though the heat was 115 degrees, and the van didn't yet have A/C, our Crisalida Team of Moises Huerta and Oscar Guevara made magic happen.  The van looked great, Oscar's artwork drew a crowd, and our guest artist, Jesus Galaviz, sang his heart out. 

Delighted that Mitch Gershenfeld, the CEO and President of the McCallum Theatre came out to Mecca to see the project in action.

Jesus Galaviz sang original songs and some popular favorites.

Take note of the butterfly...and the eyes.

Take note of the butterfly...and the cheeks!

The scene...

Visitors inside the van with Oscar Guevara and his remarkable artwork.

Tribute to Juan Felipe Herrera at Coachella Valley Arts Center

Crisalida Community Arts Project raised the roof last night at the Coachella Valley Art Center in Indio in praise for our new U.S. Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera.  Thanks to local artist/photographer Jacklyn Garcia Lopez and East Valley Rep founder, Carlos Garcia we were able to bring Mr. Herrera to the community via Skype.  An enthusiastic crowd of poets, artists, musicians, readers and thinkers gathered to celebrate the first Latino poet laureate.  The deal was if you read an Herrera poem you can read one of your poems...and it worked beautifully, about a dozen poets brought Herrera's words to life, and then got to present their work the crowd.  Once again big thanks to the Crisalida team for making this happen!  Special thanks to Francisco Rodriguez, Mariana and Isidro Zepeda, Moises Huerta, Luis Fausto, Bill Shinksy, Edgar, and Oscar!  Also, big thanks to Sofia Enriquez who brought her stunning visual art to show in/out of the Crisalida van.  These are just a few images...more on the way.

The Giant, (aka Mario Garcia) rendered Mr. Herrera's poetry with a hiphop flavor.

Red sun over Indio.

Notice Mr. Herrera on the screen - he was wonderfully generous, genuine, and fun to hang with.

Discovering the Arts at the Indio Teen Center & the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition

Discovering the Arts at the Indio Teen Center & the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition
By, Lenin Silva

Director of the Indio Teen Center (ITC), Rosalva Campos (right), giving David Gonzalez (left) a tour of the ITC

On the week of December 15, 2014 the Crisalida team had the opportunity to met with Rosalva Campos, director of the Indio Teen Center, and also make connections with Joe Mota and folks from the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition.

David Gonzalez (left) meeting ITC recording artist and assistant at the ITC's recording studio Julian Venegas (right)

The Crisalida team got an in depth tour of the ITC thanks to Ms. Campos. Countless services are offered to youth school year round from weekday afternoons to evenings. Programs ranging from computer labs, graphic arts activities, arcade and billiard facilities, indoor boxing gym and classes, intergenerational activities with conjunction of the local Indio Senior Center, and a studio quality music recording studio available to youths 8th grade through 12th.

Rosalva Campos (left) giving David Gonzalez (right) a tour of the ITC's boxing facilities

Ms. Campos related to the Crisalida team that the ITC's Boxing center is state of the art and open to all youth. It's counterpart gym at the Indio Boy's and Girls Club is more competitive and has the Diaz brothers, Ms. Campos related. Despite the more competitive nature and celebrity trainers, the ITC also has an experienced boxing trainer who is dedicated to training youth and providing athletic guidance to kids at the ITC.

Rosalva Campos (left) and David Gonzalez (right) observing an intergenerational art project done by kids from the ITC in conjunction with their counterparts at the Indio Senior Center

The team concluded the meeting with Ms. Campos by preliminarily setting dates for future engagement with the Crisalida and the ITC. David speculated that perhaps the program may find some "synergy" by actualizing one of our Storycorps inspired "Listening/StoryTelling" projects. Another potential vehicle for collaboration that was speculated on was the assisting in connecting Mr. Venegas, the ITC's music studio guru, with some of the local Hip-Hop artist the Crisalida program has befriended (RowLow, Mario A. Giant, AZ, etc.) in the past couple months since its inception and seeing what type of collaborations might develop through those relationships. David also suggested potentially organizing Crisalida art, literature, and music workshops at the ITC.

The Coachella Valley Housing Coalition's logotype on display outside of their Indio office building 

The Crisalida team also had the opportunity to meet with Joe Mota, a local community leader, and a director at the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition (CVHC). The CVHC is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping less affluent families in need of housing to attain affordable shelter in state of the art housing facilities through the greater Coachella valley. Folks from the CVHC estimate that they serve up to 15 to 20 thousand individuals through their reach who otherwise would be homeless or significantly struggling to make ends meet when it comes to housing affordability.

David Gonzalez (left), Joe Mota (middle), Lenin Silva (right), after the Crisalida CVHC meeting 

Mr. Mota shared that the CVHC organizes countless activities aimed at enriching the lives of the folks who participate in their housing program. The CVHC has housing centers throughout the Coachella valley where programs such at movies at the park, computer literacy, and youth/intergenerational art workshops/activities, are organized by the staff of the CVHC either within themselves or in councutions with outside individuals/organizations. David and Mr. Mota in conjunction with CVHC communications director, Nadia Villagran, speculated potential points of collaboration between the Crisalida project and activities that take place at the CVHC. The first preliminarily scheduled event between the two organizations was a film documentary by Crisalida of a toy drive held by CVHC youth where kids would deliver gifts to seniors living at CVHC facilities. Other points of collaboration included potentially a movies at the park Crisalida listening tent, and potential Crisalida art (youth, all ages, and/or intergenerational) workshops (and/or art exhibitions) to take place at some of the CVHC  housing centers.


Special thanks to Rosalva Campos, from the Indio Teen Center for courteously hosting and giving the Crisalida team a in-depth tour of their facility and thanks also to Joe Mota from the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition for sharing some of his time and providing the Crisalida project with opportunities to potentially collaborate with them in the future. 

Making connections with local leaders

Making connections with local leaders
By, Lenin Silva

"El Chamuco" by Jesus Olivares on display at the INKA shop in Indio 

On the morning of Friday December 12, The Crisalida team had an opportunity to meet with two coachella Valley locals who have made a difference in their community, Jesus Olivares, local artist, graphic designer, and founder of INKA Screen Printing & Embroidery in Indio, and Beatriz "Bea" Gonzalez, community activist and program director of After School Education and Safety (ASES) program for the Eastern Coachella Valley.

Jesus Olivares (left) showing David Gonzalez (right) pictures of art shows that have been held at INKA

 The team met with Jesus Olivares first at his shop/studio in Indio a little before 10:00A.M. Jesus gave the team a tour of his shop as he related experiences he has had as an artist and business owner in The Coachella Valley.

Jesus Olivares giving David Gonzalez a tour around the INKA shop in Indio 

The team also had the opportunity to meet with local community activist, and program director of ASES for the Eastern Coachella Valley Beatriz "Bea" Gonzalez at her office on Church St. in Thermal, Ca. Ms. Gonzalez shared with the team her experiences as the program director of ASES and the passion she has for the work she is doing.

Beatriz "Bea" Gonzalez and David after the team's meeting in Thermal

"I see myself in these kids, they are me," she related. "Our after school programs deal primarily with the arts, I don't like it when kids just cut paper and glue things, or make the turkey's with an outline of their hand, I want them to learn how to read music, and be taught art from local artists."

Bea Gonzalez showing David artwork that she has on display in her office

Ms. Gonzalez mentioned how much pride she has in the ASES drumline program, and how it seems to be one of the most attractive after school programs for youth in the area. She notes that these past couple years some of the kids that have gone through the ASES program in elementary or middle school have now graduated college and started working with ASES, "some of the kids that were in the program early have gone full circle and come back to serve their community.

Both individuals expressed interest in working with The Crisalida Team for future projects, and the team looks forward to see how it may be of service to them and the community. Special thanks to Jesus Olivares and all the folks at INKA, and Bea Gonzalez! for sharing some of their time and experiences with the Crisalida Team.

Locolandia Live!

Locolandia Live!

By, Lenin Silva

During one of the opening performances at the "Locolandia Live!" event

On Thursday the 11^th of December 2014, the Crisalida-Arts project, along with College of the Desert’s Mark’s Art Center, and Riverside County’s Department of Mental Health’s program, “Cup of Happy,” hosted a night of live poetry, spoken word, and musical performances inspired by Lalo Alcaraz’s art on display in Palm Desert California at College of the Desert’s Mark’s Art Center presents “Locolandia Live!”

The penultimate spoken word oration recited at the conclusion of "Locolandia Live!"

The night’s events began a couple minutes past 6:00P.M. Crisalida-Arts project Manager, David Gonzalez, was host and master of ceremonies for the night. Dr. Lisa Soccio, art director and curator of the Marks Art Center, could be seen fastidiously prepping upcoming performers as Mr. Gonzalez opened the night with a poem he had prepared for the occasion.

People in attendance at "Locolandia Live!"

About 25 to 30 people were originally expected, but around the climax of the event there was easily 65 to 80 people in attendance. From College of the Desert (COD) students, to COD faculty, and other local students and educators, the audience in attendance was a potpourri of individuals.

A spoken word performance accompanied by electric guitar background music.

Local artist, and Hip-Hop performers such as RowLow, and Mario A. Giant were in attendance and highlighted the event with a poem/performance. Co-Founder of “Teatro de las Chicanas,” Chicana and women’s rights activist Felicitas Nuñez, also made her way out to Locolandia and presented a lecture on the yonic symbology of “Our Lady of Guadalupe” (The Virgin Mary). Ms. Nuñez related the iconoclastic and syncretistic properties that may be observed in postcolonial Mesoamerican art such as the incorporation of indigenous culture into colonial (European influenced) art, in this case The Virgin Mary.

A young woman who painted her face in the style of La Calavera Catrina 

There was a 15 minute intermission where the folks in attendance were welcomed to tour the Mark’s art Gallery and observe Lalo Alcaraz’s art that was on display there. Mr. Alcaraz was kind enough to supply College of the Desert with about thirteen original prints of his syndicated comic strip cartoon “La Cucaracha,” which may be found on the LA Times Sunday edition, and countless other newspapers across the country.

An audience member observing some of Lalo Alcaraz's work during the intermission at "Locolandia Live!"

Initially the event began with folks reciting poems, songs, and/or spoken word orations inspired by one of Mr. Alcaraz’s prints on display at the Marks Art Gallery. As the night concluded the event turned into an open mic night as folks who wanted to speak but were not prepared jumped on stage and improvised an oration not necessarily inspired by Mr. Alcaraz’s art.

Master of Ceremonies at "Locolandia Live!" David Gonzalez, closing the night with a poem.

The concluding moments leading up to the event’s conclusion resembled a jazzed up 1960’s beatnik poetry reading as Mr. Gonzalez and two of the other performers (one on an electric guitar, and another playing a homemade drum set configured out of a rectangular wooden box and steal drum appendages) closed the night with a call and response type performance with engaged the audience to become part of the performance. The night concluded with a spoken word poem accompanied by the guitar player and wooden box drummer.

Indio Trifecta

It was another amazing day in the Coachella Valley. Started off with a visit to the S.C.R.A.P. Gallery, on the Riverside County fairgrounds, a place where the discarded becomes renewed, where young people get hip to the power of turning refuse into meaningful art. 

Here's a perfect example. The van that used to be the gallery's mobile unit is not driveable any more so it's being recycled as an indoor art space. And all around the gallery there are workspaces chock full of possibilities…materials, work desks, inspirational art, and tons of other stuff ready to inspire young minds. 

For 17 years the founder/director Karen Riley has been a stalwart arts and environmental advocate, artist and educator, teaching kids and their families about the synergy of environmental awareness and creativity. 

I particularly liked the Recycle Bicycle project, and was impressed by how these two-wheelers coasted winningly into the Object Trouvé Art Festival. 

Karen was very generous with her time and ideas, and is eager to be a Crisalida partner. 

Online at: 

https://www.facebook.com/scrapgallery

The next stop was the Indio Performing Arts Center and a visit/tour with Jeannette Knight.  It's an amazing space, with three theaters, lobby space, office space, huge auditorium, a large kitchen, and a great location in downtown Indio. 

Jeanette's many years as an actor, theater educator, teaching artist, and all-around cool person, make her a terrific resource for the community. She told me about the various projects they have going on including the Improv Comedy Festival (which was a huge success this past July) an upcoming production of RED, the play about the abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko, as well as other productions, and several outside companies that are producing shows in the space. 

We brainstormed some ideas about me giving some workshops to support the next round of the Improv Festival. That will be a lot of fun.

Online at:

http://www.indioperformingartscenter.org

After a lunch at the wonderful Mexicali Restaurant on Indio Blvd I dashed over to the Coachella Valley Arts Center, and a meeting with the indefatigable director/founder Bill Schinsky.

A lot of people have this idea -- to create a multimodal community art space with galleries and workshop space, and studio space, but very few actually realize it. Bill has done it, and really well. He told me that come November the center will be at capacity, with visual artists, sculptors, glass artists, metal artists, and a whole lot more. He's come up with a really creative solution to community-based art, and has the chops to keep it going.

Here is Bill standing next to one of his own pieces. 

Bill is also on the boards of several other arts organizations, he is a terrifically integrated and connected person whose heart is absolutely in the right place. 

The 17,000 square-foot space is a marvel to witness. At every turn there is equipment, art, and the sense that new things can happen at any moment.  There are classes, workshops, and a gorgeous gallery space. 

Online at: http://www.coachellavalleyartcenter.org/

Okay, so this place is really starting to grow on me. All the people I have met so far are terrifically dedicated, creative, and determined to make an impact in the valley. I feel like I'm starting to build up a collection of friends and collaborators, and that means I'm starting to feel at home.