Crisalida at Cultura's SYNERGY FESTIVAL in Coachella

Cultura’s “The Synergy Festival” in the city of Coachella
Crisalida’s first steps

Blog entry by Lenin Silva

The Crisalida team around noon at the Synergy Festival in the city of Coachella
(Jeff Norman/The McCallum Theatre)

By, Lenin Silva

Crisalida’s first event was this past weekend the 17th of November, 2014 in the city of Coachella, Ca. The Crisalida team took part in “The Synergy Festival” at Dateland Park near Coachella’s city hall. The Synergy Festival was arranged by an organization called “Culturas.”

Culturas board member, Oralia Ortiz, and her granddaughter greeting folks at the Crisalida tent
(Lenin Silva/Crisalida)

Folks from Culturas were kind enough to provide the Crisalida team a space, tents, chairs, and food for the duration of the festival. The Crisalida team was provided the capacity to execute their first Story Corps inspired project at the outing. Weeks leading up to the event, the manager, spiritual leader, and face of Crisalida, David Gonzalez related “we don’t know what to expect at The Synergy Festival,” but that this event would be a great opportunity for Crisalida to get it’s feet in the water and get an idea of what obstacles and possibilities may lie ahead for the organization.

Over 80 Story Corps questions displayed in Spanish for folks to use as conversation starters as they sat down to interview each other in the Crisalida tent
(Jeff Norman/ The McCallum Theatre)

The Crisalida motto for the day, “listening is an act of love,” displayed on banners in English and Spanish at the main Crisalida tent during Synergy Festival in the city of Coachella
(Jeff Norman/The McCallum Theatre)

Initially the Crisalida team seemed somewhat disillusioned. From 10:00AM until 1:00PM a few local natives curiously came up to the Crisalida tent intrigued and inquisitive about the project, but not necessarily interested in participating in sitting down and talking about themselves. Folks were setting up tents and food stands at Dateland Park as early as 8:00AM, but the festival itself started around 10:00AM. Not until a little after 1:00PM did the Crisalida team get their first willing participants, a valley mother and her son. After breaking in the recording equipment and capturing their first story, more people began rolling in and signing up. It was not unexpected, since the team did not exactly know what to expect, but by sundown the folks from Crisalida were all somewhat elated to discover that about nine to ten folks had decided to sit down with them and relate little gems about their lives in the form of stories, to Crisalida and to each other.

The Crisalida team prepping two potential storytellers for an interview at the interview tent.
(Lenin Silva/Crisalida)

A brief description of the process on how Crisalida documented stories at the event may be described as follows: folks interested in participating in our storytelling project would be briefed ahead of time on how the interviews would take place. Then Crisalida team members would follow by getting their contact information before walking them to a separate tent we had setup at the fringes of the park where the festival took place. There, the team would be able to record the audio with less noise pollution from other activities going on at the time. At the recording tent there was over 80 starter questions on display and available to the participants, the team would suggest to participants that they select at least three or five questions to ask to each other. Once ready, everyone except the two participants, and an audiovisuals technician, would stay at the tent to record the participants as they shared each other's experiences through an active dialogue. 

One of the first participants in the storytelling project, Joe Villarreal, and Sara Conantes, as they concluded their interviews with each other at the Crisalida tent
(Lenin Silva/Crisalida)

At Synergy, there was a great turnout and participation! Some really incredible, moving, and inspirational stories were collected. The Crisalida team documented folks predominantly from Coachella, but not limited to Indio, Thermal, Mecca, and other communities pertinent to the Coachella Valley. This in hopes to capture a picture of what life is like in the valley, and take the pulse of the community by sharing each other's experiences, discovering something new about ourselves, our environment, by giving back the gift of storytelling to those folks who participated.

Mother and daughter, Patricia Silva (left), and Melissa Damian (right), with Crisalida team leader David Gonzalez (far right) helping them out in choosing what questions the pair would ask each other before their storytelling interview
(Lenin Silva/Crisalida)

From the day’s turnout and participation, it's not farfetched to conclude that Crisalida has the capacity to walk through many doors; the possibilities for this project are brimming with opportunity. At the event the team managed to secure contacts and build a rapport with artists, community leaders, healers, and educators such as: Veronica Cordova, who helps empower people with disabilities via the Community Access Center; The Center for Domestic Violence; writer and producer, Trino Martinez; local graphic artist, Josue Miramontes; hair stylist and fashion enthusiast Belen Cortez; the dance group “Mujeres en Resistencia;” Hip-hop performer RowLow, and other young folks from the local hip-hop community; and a handful of other individuals who expressed a desire to work with the Crisalida program in the future.

The performers, Mujeres en Resistencia, concluding their set at The Synergy Festival in Coachella, Ca
(Lenin Silva/Crisalida)

Special thanks to the folks at Culturas for putting this event together! A shoutout to Culturas board member, Yaya Ortiz, for helping us put this event together. Thanks to the venerable brother from Aztlan, community leader, and Culturas board member, Pepe Rivera, who shared some of his experiences and wisdom with the Crisalida team. Also, praises to the city of Coachella for allowing activities like this to happen in their hometown. To all the youth, the chavalitos and chavalitas who came came out to take part in this event, to all the performers, lowrider and classic car enthusiasts (Los Viejitos), artists, educators, motivators, and all the other folks who went unnoticed here, from Crisalida to you, thank you for coming to this event.

Meet our Community Engagement Facilitators

Dear Crisalida Community,

I'm back in New York and Autumn is gorgeous.  After a month in the desert it sure is nice to be around the lush landscape of Hudson Valley.

I have to admit that the Crisalida bug has bit, and hard...I think often about the people I've met, and have a buzzing brain about the possibilities.  So, though I am on the East Coast till December, my heart and mind is with y'all, truly.

I'm delighted to present three of Crisalida's recent hires...more to come.

Meet the Community Engagement Facilitators

Sofia S. Enriquez

 

I was born and raised in the Coachella Valley.

I’ve been painting and creating for about 10 years now.  Encouraging other people to make and understand art is one of my biggest passions…along with eating elotes at the Indio swap meet and finding rare decorative textiles.

Growing up in the Valley has made me appreciate a close community. It’s also made me capable of standing tall through any kind of heat. I’ve become the person I wanted to be since I was a kid here.

This job is exciting because I get to run around all over the valley, and get a chance to meet communities, and find out about old traditions and new subcultures. I look forward to developing and/or inventing creative ways that can help improve the valley.

My area of interest would have to be the art world. It’s the kind of world where everyone has gone mad, but in the most beautiful way. I know there’s a creative side to everyone, I feel like my job is to make that creative chunk of someone’s brain come out and rampage.

(Sofia is a phenomenal artist and illustrator, I saw her work at COD's Marks Gallery and bought a painting!.  She is working on a master list of festivals and visual arts and artists in the East Valley.  You can reach her at sofia@crisalida-arts.org)

Lenin Silva

Growing up in the Coachella valley is like taking a crash course in socioeconomics. The experience has cultivated in me a sense of what it means to live at both ends of wealth. Most of the original works of art and creative endeavors that emanate from the valley not only transcend and evoke abstract universal feelings, but at the same time evoke a brutally obvious concrete truth, that the valley is a service/tourist dominated community which is just starting to find and create a voice for itself

I love telling people the stories they need to know with the insight and context to understand what the story means. This job is exciting because it provides the opportunity to listen to other people’s stories and help folks in the community share their stories with others.

My area of interest is in helping other people, through community outreach, involvement, and activism. Hearing stories of folks who struggle and suffer in their efforts to have a greater part of life’s blessings inspires me to want to help make their voices heard and help them produce positive changes in their experience.  

(Lenin is one of the most thoughtful and articulate young men I have met in a long time.  As the former editor-in-chief of the COD Chaparral Newspaper he was hands-on/mind-on all the relevant news stories that came across his desk.  We only have Lenin for a short time before he heads to UC Berkeley to pursue his Philosophy and Law studies...happy to have this brilliant and soulful man along while we can!  Lenin is currently working to compile a list of health care and elder care agencies for Crisalida. Reach Lenin at lenin@crisalida-arts.org)

Jon Becerra

Growing up here has been challenging; It's always up and down in the valley. But I've gotten to know a community of people who support and help each other. It's made a lot of my personal goals possible to have grown up here. 

This is the first job where I'm not choosing between human services and film production. I've never thought those two worlds would merge; let alone that I could get this opportunity within the Valley. 

I'm fascinated by media. I think commercials, movies, music videos, gifs, selfies, anything visual online or in entertainment is a weird new language we're all learning together. I'm just always looking for a way to be apart of the conversation when it comes to my film production. Which is relatively easy nowadays with the technology we have.  

(Jon is a can-do, multi-media producer who has earned his stripes with social service and arts organizations throughout the valley.  He is spearheading an Instagram story project for Crisalida and is also working on a short feature on the Marks Gallery and some of the local artists who are showing there.  Look for Jon at the CULTURAS SYNERGY FESTIVAL on November 15 where he will be interviewing and recording local peeps. Reach Jon at jon@crisalida-arts.org)

Angels in America -- Coachella style.

DESERT MIRAGE HIGH SCHOOL - COACHELLA

Meet playwright, actor, theater-maker, and long-time dedicated theater teacher Carlos Garcia.  Carlos and I talked in the black box theater in Desert Mirage High School where he has taught for the past ten years.  Carlos spoke to me about the challenges of being a Latino theater artist in a community that doesn't seem to value theater, and especially theater that speaks in 3D matrix of bi-lingual wordsmithing -- niether English, nor Spanish, but that multi-grounded/levitated textual space that reaches across the cultural divide of the mono-lingual monolith.

He has a dream...to create a Latino Theater Company that creates, produces and performs bi-lingual theater that reaches the people of the Coachella Valley, and beyond to the bi-cultural communities that are a growing and vibrant reality in the US.  To that end we cooked up a reading of his play, La Mala, that will be done in the coming weeks at the Coachella Valley Arts Center (see previous blog).  We will do a table read of the multi-character play with a bi-lingual cast of readers, and an invited audience.  A hearty discussion and dramaturgical session will follow.  Please check in on this blog for updates.

I will be giving performance workshops for the advanced theater students at Desert Mirage HS in the coming weeks -- looking forward to that.

COLLEGE OF THE DESERT - INDIO CAMPUS

On Thursday afternoon I visited Jacalyn Garcia-Lopez's Art History class in the brand new Indio Campus of College of the Desert.  The lecture centered on the variety of ways that art "functions" with special attention given to Maxine Greene's notion of "awakening".  I read some of my poetry, and showed clips of Butoh dancing and images from Hiroshima, I performed part of my rhymed-verse version of Sleeping Beauty and told the story of how I got into music therapy (Geraldo Rivera played a major role).  The students were vivacious, curious and engaged.  They said they would be happy to have me return.  Got to say that the students' curiosity got under my skin, in a very good way.  Congrats to COD/Indio for giving these people a place to learn, and to Jacalyn Garcia-Lopez for making an intellectual and soulful space that welcomes them, and makes them want to inquire.

GALILEE CENTER - MECCA

How often do angels toss you a head of cabbage?  Rare, but possible, especially if you happen to drop into the Galilee Center in Mecca on a Thursday afternoon when the weekly food distribution pickup is about to open its doors to 900 needy people.  Meet Gloria Gomez and Claudia Castrorena, spiritual sisters, and the powerhouse duo behind this booming organization that provides not only boxes of food, but counseling, housing help, medical support, a hip thrift shop, and many other much-needed things to the eastern most town in the Crisalida Project's geographical area.

Gloria and Claudia started in Indio with five bucks and a wish to help the poor.  The result was the thriving Martha Center, now running under its own steam, with new administration and a multi-million dollar budget, and bouyed by the everlasting imprint of its founders humble, serious, and deeply compassionate leadership.  Several years ago they decided that they needed to bring their special brand of community work to the poor of Mecca, so once again with only five dollars they began soliciting donations, reaching out to the people, and convincing one person at a time that the impossible was indeed possible, that the most helpless could be helped, that there was hope, that there was food enough, that there were hands to carry, ears to listen, and a voice that would speak when their voices were ignored.

This is the side panel of one of the Galilee pick up vans that travel throughout the region retrieving donations.

The strength of their vision was/is matched by the strength of their character and so the job gets done, one cabbage at a time, one box of food at a time, one hug at a time.

We talked about trying out a mobile concert stage on a Thursday afternoon in December, but first I want to volunteer on the food line, to learn more, but more importantly to be shoulder-to-shoulder with a couple of funky angels in Mecca.

See more at www.galileecenter.org

CULTURAS MUSIC AND ART - COACHELLA

This giant dinosaur head is part of the welcoming committee that greeted me at the board of directors meeting for CULTURAS Music and Art, the Coachella arts non-profit responsible for the vastly successful Synergy Festival.  My GPS had to have been going haywire, this endless strip of dusty empty land could not possibly be the location for the board meeting...there were a few houses, a couple of trailers, and one of those vast vistas that is equal parts terror and beauty.  So I called and Oralia picked up, "Was that you in the silver car that just drove past?"  "Yup."  "Well turn around and come on in."  You never know what lies behind an open door, or down a driveway.  In this case it was the amazingly hip and inviting studio/art-space/performance-space/cafe/anything-can-happen place known as Cafe Tenochitlan, owned and operated by Ruben Gonzalez, and the meeting place of CULTURAS.

The place is a marvel -- think the outpost saloon in Star Wars meets an outsider art show -- a place filled with provocative work, whimsy, brains, and especially soul.  Just stepping out my car I felt the power of art all around me, creativity bubbling all around...sculpture, paintings, equipment, materials, collections, junk and brilliance.  So when I sat down at the table in the patio with the CULTURAS board I was stoked to learn more.

This meeting was a planning session for their upcoming Synergy Festival (November 15th in Coachella), so they were looking at the line up of bands, reviewing proposals from vendors and discussing marketing and other critical details.  In attendance were: Oralia "Yaya" Ortiz, Mario Garcia (spoken word artist), Ruben Gonzalez, Pepe Rivera, Jack Rosales, Keila Cupil, Clarissa Camacho, and AZ (a maker of hip hop tracks and owner of a studio in the valley).

I was asked to give an overview of Crisalida and then fielded questions about the particulars of the project.  There was general excitement about collaboration, and I felt as though I had landed in the arms of my tribe -- artists and activists who are putting rubber to the road for their vision of a better community.

Mario offered to perform for us and took the neon-ringed stage beneath the stars.  His spoken word performance was terrific, funky, fueled with passion and intellect.  We have set up a coaching session so that I can try to help him in preparation for the finals of the Tilted Kilt Open Mic competition next Wednesday.  We will meet at AZ's studio so I will be able to hear the trax they have been producing.  Both AZ and Mario told me that their intention was to make music and studio space that could/would support the community.  Great young people standing up for art and community.  Dang.

SYNERGY FESTIVAL LINKS:

Indiegogo: http://igg.me/at/Synergy 2014

Acta video 2012:
 http://youtu.be/VXIRqslqyBc

Miles and monroe 2013
http://vimeo.com/81294382

 Kas x moe
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWchWeHULjU

Synergy fb
 https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=240847296103248

Volunteers and donations gratefully accepted!

Check them out here:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/CulturasMusicandArts

Instagram: instagram.com/culturasart

Angels in America come in all shapes and sizes, and languages, and abilities, and...

d.

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.

A Day of the Living in Coachella

RAICES Cultural Center

Giant blocks of Styrofoam carved with a chainsaw and hours of sanding into massive skulls for the day of the dead. Teens and their volunteer mentors sweating head to toe, smiling and covered in white Styrofoam chips.

How do you spell empowerment?  RAICES, that's how. This grass roots organization founded by a posse of Coachella residents more than a decade ago is vibrant, creative, and powerfully motivating for its teen clientele.

Blending equal measures of art and leadership training the organization thrives on dialogue and community activism. I had a long conversation with Jocelyn Vargas, the brilliant director of RAICES, who, like many of the others involved, was raised in the neighborhood, got herself a great education and came back to make a difference.

Terrifically refreshing to meet someone who talks the talk, walks the walk, dances the dance, and gets down and dirty with the styrofoam sculpture too!

I had a great conversation with the teens too...about eight or nine of them, all giddy to share their experiences at RAICES, to show me their art, to invite me to participate in their festivities, especially the upcoming Day of the Dead, which I will have to catch in year 2 of the Irvine Grant project. 

It was an added pleasure to meet Tone Rubio, a local artist, who volunteers extensively at RAICES. He walked me through his impressive online painting portfolio, and shared his passion for the work he does with the kids there.

All in all a great day of learning how Coachella grass roots arts activists are kickin it. 

Check them out at www.raicesdelvalle.org

Ms. Can-do and Mr. Cutz

Hooked up the magnetic logos for my first day in the community. And away we go…

Long good visit with photographer, educator and multimedia artist Jacalyn Lopez Garcia at College of the Desert today. Learned a lot about her artistic vision and the project called Lifecycles that she did a number of years ago where she interviewed over 200 local residents.  Check it out right here http://www.lifecycles.ucr.edu/

I came away very impressed with Jacalyn's can-do spirit, her desire to contribute to the community, and her soulful sense of humor.  We brainstormed  ways to collaborate in the future, including a hang with a bunch of her friends, writers, activists artists, and others who live in Indio and the surrounding communities.  Jacalyn and her husband Carlos have a terrific idea to adapt a Steinbeck work to set it in the community, her passion and vitality for this are infectious.  Let me know if you are interested in talking to her about this cool idea.

Next stop was Mr. Cutz right across the street from the campus, there I met Able and his partner Junior, two haircutters connected to the community of tattoo artists and hip-hop producers. We talked about getting together over coffee next week. These two guys seem to have their finger on the pulse of creativity in the neighborhood.

I got lucky and ran into Scott Cooper from the college and we made a time to tour the facilities next week, and to go down to the satellite in Mecca.

All in all a good morning of contacts, learning begins…

Crisalida BEGINS!

Happy to announce that the McCallum Theatre's CRISALIDA COMMUNITY ARTS PROJECT  has started as of 9AM today!

I arrived from NYC last night, picked up my Dollar Rent-A-Car, settled into my temp house (with a stop at Trader Joe's) and am now ready to start our project in earnest. 

First on my agenda is to come meet the people of this gorgeous valley.  If you are part of an arts and/or community services organization please feel free to send me an email at david@crisalida-arts.org so that we can begin a dialog.  Please tell me good times that work for an introduction to your projects, facilities and programs.  I look forward to learning as much as possible about the good works that are happening.

AND...please invite me to openings, performances, workshops, classes, salons, artist hangs, studio visits, rehearsals, recitals, jam sessions, community meetings (schools, churches, basements), whatever...I am eager to meet you, to learn from you, and to brainstorm how this project can be of benefit to the communities of Indio, Coachella, Thermal and Mecca.

Just confirmed: I will be meeting with the S.C.R.A.P.E. GALLERY, COACHELLA ARTS ALLIANCE, RAICES, and the INDIO PERFORMING ARTS CENTER in the coming days. 

This blog will be one of the platforms for information on the project -- please feel free to link to it, to share your comments and to contribute ideas and information.

Onward,

David