THE DEN CAFE

125 North Broadway Santa Ana, CA 92701

1:00PM - 3:00PM

Theme:
Poesía en Movimiento “Poetry in Motion”

Lead Curator:
MASIEL M. CORONA SANTOS

BETTY SÁNCHEZ

Norma Beatriz Sánchez Sánchez (Betty), Mexican poet. She is an active member of the literary groups Escritores del Nuevo Sol and Círculo. Her poems have been published in the anthologies Voces y Cuentos del Nuevo Sol, The Border Crossed Us, Poetry in Flight, Soñadores; Mujeres de Maíz Zine, St. Sucia, and the online magazine, La Palabra. She has participated in the First Latin American Poetry Contest in Spanish, Colectivo Verso Activo, the XIX International Congress of Hispanic Studies and Literature, the International Poetry Festival, Comala, Pueblo Blanco, and the Latino Heritage celebration, Authors Uncovered with LAX to SAC Poets, among others.

Norma Beatriz Sánchez Sánchez (Betty), poeta mexicana. Miembro Activo de los grupos literarios Escritores del Nuevo Sol y Círculo. Sus poemas se han publicado en las antologías Voces y Cuentos del Nuevo Sol, The Border Crossed Us, Poesía en Vuelo, Soñadores; Mujeres de Maíz Zine, St. Sucia, y la revista en línea, La Palabra. Ha participado en el Primer Concurso de Poesía Latinoamericana en Español, Colectivo Verso Activo, el XIX Congreso Internacional de Literatura y Estudios Hispánicos, el Festival Internacional de Poesía, Comala, Pueblo Blanco, y la Celebración de Herencia Latina, Authors Uncovered with LAX to SAC Poets, entre otros.

HÉCTOR MÁQUEZ

Poet and musician, Trovautor, passionate about poetry rooted in the most magical and earthly reality. He is not so faithful to the great figures of Trova or to the son of our latitudes. Trovautor, apasionado de la poesía arraigada a la realidad más mágica y terrenal, intérprete no tan fiel de los grandes de la trova y el son de nuestras latitudes.

AIDEED MEDINA

She is a member of Reforma del Valle Central, advocating for “libros y comunidad”, and of Mothers Helping Mothers, an organization that works to alleviate crisis needs caused by political and environmental disasters. She is a UC CNP certified California naturalist, and practices “flor y canto" as part of her poetic process and exploration of California’s natural history. Her work has appeared in Fresno State's Club Austral Literary Magazine, Chicano Writers and Artists Association Journal, La Bloga, Poets Responding, Art of the Commune, Split This Rock , Nueva York Poetry Review, and as part of a collection of original art songs composed for The Opera Remix, Fresno Grand Opera.

DIOSA XOCHIQUETZALCOATL

Adriana Citlali Brenes-Rios, artistically known as Diosa Xochiquetzalcóatl, is a bilingual educator and the mother of a beautiful, creative soul. With a a Bachelor’s in English and a Master’s in Cross-Cultural Education, she has taught at the middle school, high school, adult school, and college levels. As a true philomath and life-long learner, she has studied many walks of life, from Kundalini Yoga to Nahualísmo to herbalism, as well as delved into several schools of thought, theology, and spirituality. Diosa X. first published her poetry back in high school in her alma mater's bilingual literary magazine, Las Voces. Since then, has been published in both English and Spanish in Hispanic LA's Online Magazine and in LA Poet Society's Love Letters to 2020 online edition. She has been a featured speaker/reader at LA Poet Society's One Mic, One Globe and Pomona Art Walk events, Sims Library's Book Fair, Mil Mujeres' La Otra Fil poetry event, and El Muzeo's Poetic Voices: Holiday Edition event. Most recently, she self-published her multilingual poetry collection in 2021 - a book titled, A Church of My Own.

MARÍA HERRERA

María Magdalena Herrera Reyes [1986, Huehuetenango, Guatemala]. Caminante, mujer, madre, actriz de teatro, poeta, activista politica, defensora de DDHH, reside en Los Ángeles, California, estudio en la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Amante de las artes, la política y la palabra. Ganó concursos de declamación en su escuela primaria. Su trabajo ha sido publicado en varias revistas y antologias siendo esta la ultima “Bicentenario Centroamericano”, Ayame editorial, México, 2021. Compiladora de libro Alas de Mariposa 2021, con exposición de quince paises. Fundadora y codirectora del programa literario Alas de Mariposa y Universos Descalzos. Campeona de Poetry Slam Guatemala, 2021. Huehuetenango, Guatemala, woman, mother, theater actress, poet, political activist, human rights defender, lives in Los Angeles, California, studied at the University of San Carlos de Guatemala. Lover of the arts, politics, and the word. Her work has been published in various magazines and anthologies, “Central American Bicentennial” being the latest, Ayame editorial, Mexico, 2021. Compiler of the book Alas de Mariposa, 2021 with exhibitions from fifteen countries. Founder and co-director of the literary program Alas de Mariposa and Universos Descalzos. Poetry Slam Guatemala Champion, 2021.

LUPE MONTIEL

Lupe Montiel es coautor de Inficciones, Ediciones Aguamiel, Miami Florida. Es miembro de la Junta Ejecutiva de Girls In Focus, trabaja en una variedad de comités; Marketing y Desarrollo de Nuevos Negocios. Es la fundadora de ¡Futuroscope! es cineasta, poeta, compositora, guionista, y ex representante de sellos discográficos. También ha trabajado para importantes corporaciones editoriales, negocios de lujo y aerolíneas. Es una voluntaria comunitaria activa, le gusta ayudar a organizaciones benéficas y organizaciones sin fines de lucro locales en la región de Los Ángeles (South Bay). Es hija, esposa, hermana, tía y madre de Zack Tello y la cineasta Madeline Tello. Lupe Montiel is co-author of Inficciones, Ediciones Aguamiel, Miami Florida. She is a member of the Girls In Focus Executive Board, serves on a variety of committees; Marketing and New Business Development. She is the founder of ¡Futuroscope! She is a filmmaker, poet, composer, screenwriter, and former record label representative. She has has also worked for major publishing corporations, luxury businesses, and airlines. As an active community volunteer, she enjoys helping local charities and non-profits in the Los Angeles (South Bay) region.

FER DE LA CRUZ

Fer de la Cruz is the author of more than twenty poetry books lyrical, satirical, children's poetry and literary translation. He was the founder of the School of Literary Creation of the State Center of Fine Arts in Yucatán, México. He is currently a doctoral student at UC Irvine. Fer de la Cruz es autor de más de 20 títulos de poesía lírica, satírica, para niños y de traducción literaria. Fue profesor fundador de la Escuela de Creación Literaria del Centro Estatal de Bellas Artes, en Yucatán. Actualmente es estudiante de doctorado en UC Irvine.

Indira Isel Torres Crux

Indira Isel Torres Crux: Escritora, poeta, editora y gestora cultural. Directora del Festival de Poesía, Comala, 2021. Editora de Revista Raíces del Centro Cultural de México en Santa Ana, California, Estados Unidos. Ganadora del premio de Poesía, Colima, México, 2015 por La furia de la Casa. Presea Griselda Álvarez por distinción en Letras, 2016.Coorganizadora del 1er Encuentro de Mujeres Originarias, 2020. Forma parte del equipo organizador en Nuestros Ecos Sagrados, voz y activistas de África, 2022. Forma parte del proyecto Emprendedoras Literarias en Revista Nueva York Poetry. Ha publicado De la fractura al festín y Bang Bang. Ha sido traducida al inglés y al francés. Dirige el espacio #Pólvora, voces de mujeres escritoras. Desarrolla el proyecto Shows Bravos, literatura escénica. Indira Isel Torres Crux: Writer, poet, editor and cultural manager. She is the Director of the Poetry Festival, Comala, 2021. Editor of Raíces Magazine Winner of the Poetry Prize, Colima, Mexico, 2015 for La furia de la Casa. Won the Griselda Álvarez Award for Distinction in Letters, 2016. Co-organizer of the 1st Meeting of Mujeres Originarias, 2020. She was part of the organizing team at Nuestros Ecos Sagrados, voice and activists from Africa, 2022. She is part of the Literary Entrepreneurs project in New York Poetry Review. She has published De la fractura al festín y Bang Bang. She has been translated into English and French. She directs the space #Pólvora, Voices of Women Writers. She develops the Shows Bravos project, scenic literature.

MASIEL M. CORONA SANTOS

bilingual poet and community leader. M.A. in Hispanic Literature, and Linguistics (CSUSB) B.A. Spanish Literature and Culture, minor in Chicano/Latino Studies (UCI). She recently published Cantos Revolucionarios, (Letras Huastecas, N.L. México). She is the founder of Revista Raíces. Her work appears in digital, print journals, and various anthologies. She collaborates with Los Angeles Poet Society and Centro Cultural de México where she promotes literature. She has led poetry workshops in the Santa Ana community, and Comachuén, Michoacán México. She also co-led a poetry workshop through Círculo de Poetas and Writers. Masiel M. Corona Santos poeta bilingüe, M.A. en Literatura Hispánica, Lingüística y Civilización (California State University of San Bernardio). Es autora del poemario Cantos Revolucionarios (Editorial Letras Huastecas, Nuevo León, México) Fundadora y editora de Revista Raíces. Ha publicado en diferentes espacios impresos y digitales como Literary Journal Voices ( University of California San Bernardino Punto de Partida, UNAM, Periódico Poético, UNAM, El Beisman (Chicago), De-lirio (México), La Ninfa Eco (Reino Unido), Pruka (Venezuela), Alma América (España), Somosenescrito (California), entre otros. Sus poemas también aparecen en varias antologías. Ha participado en diversos encuentros poéticos.

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Curator: Donato Martinez
Theme: Reflect and Rise: Poetry for a New Day

Session Descrption:
This session will include the presentation of diverse voices from Southern California poets. Their work will reflect on the last few years of our climate, years filled with turmoil and uncertainty. But the work will also provide a compass to a new immediate future, one filled with hope and love and action. Their poetry is honest, vulnerable, and real and will blend styles of hip hop verse, spoken word, and street vernacular. It will also reflect the duality of their linguistic backgrounds – Spanish and English. Their voices – oftentimes overlooked, ignored, silenced or on the margins – will provide healing and inspiration. They will claim their space and inspire you.

Donato Martinez

Donato Martinez teaches English composition, Literature, and Creative Writing at Santa Ana College. He hosts and curates a bi-annual afternoon of artistic expression with poetry, dance, and live music. These events generate large crowds and active participation. He is also a poet and writes about his barrio upbringing, his community, his culture, his bi-cultural and bilingual identities and other complexities of life. He is influenced by the sounds and pulse of the streets, people, music, and the magic of language. ​ With three other Inland Empire poets, he collaborated on a collection of poetry, Tacos de Lengua. His work has been published by Santa Ana Literary Association, SIMS Library, City Works, Eastside Rose, Acentos Review, and Ofrenda Magazine. Forthcoming publications will appear in La Raiz Magazine and The San Diego Poetry Annual. 

David Alvarado

David Alvarado is a graduate student at CSUF in the field of Human Communications. He will become a Graduate Teacher’s Assistant next semester. He was born in Santa Ana, but has lived his entire life in Anaheim. He is the first in his family to pursue a master’s degree, and remarkably is the first in his neighborhood, South side Anaheim Camino Block, to pursue any form of higher education. His neighborhood is as important to him as his family. He has a large love and pride for his neighborhood and wants to set an example and motivate those individuals that have grown up in the same environment and with similar circumstances that he grew up with. Initially, David wrote poetry as a hobby, but his love for the spoken and written word has grown immensely. He is also inspired by several of the best hip hop lyricists. His poetry and spoken word and hip-hop poetics are expressions of his life; they will inspire others. His career goal is to become a Professor of Human Communications

Astrid

Astrid is a Salvadoran-American poet and journalist based in Los Angeles. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills. She lives in Long Beach and continues to share her editorial voice at L.A. Taco, an independent press covering the native Los Angeles community. Her work has also been featured at Viva La Muxer and Cultural Weekly. From her first love to her biological father, Through the Soil in My Skin, published by World Stage Press immerses the reader in the reality of healing and reveals the unstable, spiritual journey of becoming a seed, toughened through soil before blossoming. This collection redefines relationships by unearthing such hard truths. The love we give, only mirrors the love growing within.

féi hernandez

féi hernandez (b.1993 Chihuahua, Mexico) is a trans, Inglewood-raised, formerly undocumented immigrant artist, writer, healer. They have been published in POETRY, Pank Magazine, Oxford Review of Books, Frontier Poetry, The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext, amongst others. They are a Define American Fellow for 2021 and are currently the Board President of Gender Justice Los Angeles. féi is the author of the full-length poetry collection Hood Criatura (Sundress Publications 2020) which was on NPR’s Best Books of 2020. féi collects Pokémon plushies.

4:00PM - 5:00PM

Curator: Josh Jennings Wood
Title: The Creative Writing Conservatory at OCSA

Session Description: Alumni, students, and faculty of the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts will read and perform.

Joshua Jennings Wood

Joshua Jennings Wood is a California-native who directs the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts, a premier arts public-charter that serves talented 7th-12th graders. He has organized such literary events as a “mile-long” comic installation at the Huntington Beach Pier with the National Cartoonist’s Society; the multi-city, multi-art steampunk festival 20/20/20; and the annual county-wide youth slam OC RYSE. He received the John Fowles Writing Center Award for Fiction, and was a finalist in Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers, The North American Review’s James Hurst Poetry Prize, and the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry from Nimrod. His writing also appears in journals like VOLT, SpiralOrb, DIAGRAM, Berkeley Poetry Review, and OccuPoetry.

Derrick Ortega

Derrick Ortega received an MFA in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts from University of California, Riverside and a bachelor's degree in creative writing from Chapman University. Mr. Ortega writes fiction as well as poetry which have appeared in Letter [r] Press, Fact-Simile Editions, and elsewhere. And when he's not writing, you can catch him still looking for the best taco truck in Orange County or finding the next best Star Wars shirt for his half-ewok, half-wookie dog, Precious.

Chelsea Schack

Chelsea Schack (they/she) is an alum of the Orange County School of the Arts. She is a poet and essayist, and has been published in Vox Viola Lit Mag. When they aren't writing poetry, they work as a barber specialized in punk rock haircuts.

Andrew Beckner

Andrew Beckner is a writer from central Indiana. He has published fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. His work has most recently appeared in or is forthcoming from Chicago Quarterly Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, LandLocked, Sky Island Journal, and Rabid Oak, among others. He lives in Southern California, where he teaches composition and creative writing.