Summer Workshops I wish I could go to

Girl Fest Here I Come!

I GOT INTO MY FIRST FILM FESTIVAL!!!! (this is my first as a director. I went to two last year for Reading Between the Rhymes but I wasn't the director...)

So I was thinking it was going to be the spoken word doc with Las Manas just because I thought it went along more with their theme but it is for "Made in Brazil" Still very excited!!! Who wants to throw me a fundraiser so I can go? Thank you for all your support and love that helps me get through my mad scientist locked in the lab times so I can do these projects. Finally the fun part. No fun to make art unless it is shared with an audience, at least for me anyway...thats when the dialogue begins.

Boyle Heights Latina Indie Film Fest

BHLIFE
Celebrating Latina Voices and Cinematic Visions
December 8-10, 2006

NOW SEEKING LATINA FILMMAKERS
Submissions of Films are being accepted in the following categories:
Features
Shorts
Documentaries (any length)
Experimental/New Frontiers
Erotica

The Submission Deadline September 1, 2006 (postmarked) and there is no fee
Please send submission to:
BHLIFE/CASA 0101
P.O. Box 3363
Los Angeles, CA 90033
For more information please contact Katynka Martinez at bhlifefestival@yahoo.com

Las Manas-Featured Poets Sacramento

I just want to let you all know I will be in Sacramento this Friday with my 'Manas and maybe you can come through and taste a little of what we been cooking...abrazos

Tell your folks! Tell your Peoples!

LAS MANAS Spitfire Sister Circle will be featuring at
Galeria Posada w/ Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol
1421 R Street downtown Sacramento
7:30pm
Friday June 23

From Las Manas this friday:

Gina is an attorney, artist, and social justice activist from Los Angeles, California. Raised in both the Mexican and Italian traditions, Ginas fuerte flavor is as unique as her cultural identity. In addition to spitting fire in the Bay Area spoken word circuits, Gina is a samba dancer in San Franciscos Brazilian dance and percussion group, MaraReggae, and co-owns a jewelry business, Creadora Designs. Through her artistic, professional, and creative endeavors, Gina is committed to social justice and the empowerment of communities of color.

Maya is a Guatemalan poet, writer and the peoples documentarian. Currently she is finishing a documentary about women spoken word artists in the Bay Area called the Last Word. She also directed a documentary about a non-profit in Brazil entitled "Made in Brazil: Dreams at Work". She associate produced the documentary Reading Between the Rhymes about the use of hip-hop in education. Maya is a fervent advocate for immigrant rights, teaches workshops
to youth, opening hearts and minds to social justice and towards ending discrimination. As a co-coordinator of the End-Dependence Spoken Word/Artists' Collective, founding editor of LA REVISTA Santa Cruz, and performer in LAS MANAS and Epicentro poets, Maya enjoys organizing events showcasing artists who investigate and celebrate the intersection of politics, media and art.

Cruz is shape shifter turned poeta and playwright. She was born and raised in south-east LA (el ley) and made a woman in the Town (Oakland, if you dont know, now you know!) where she has resided for over a decade. As a thespian she has done everything from Shakespeare (with Hugh Richmond sand Colin Cox) to agit prop theater ( with Teatro Manos Arriba), to Broadway musicals (off Broadway, of course) to the original works of such avant-garde and brilliant playwrights as Rosa Gonzalez, Marc David Pinate and Luis Xago Juarez. She is perpetually enamored by her beautiful, adolescent son Elihu and is also currently enamored with everything hyphey and the Gospel according to Mary Magdalene , yaddamean?!

Lunada Sunday June 11

LUNADA: Literary Lounge & Open Mic
Featuring Jaime Cortez

Co-Presented by Queer Latina/o Artists Coalition

Sunday, June 11 @ 7:30pm
Admission: $5 General (FREE with food dish or Galeria Membership)

Jaime Cortez is an artist, writer and cultural worker based in Oakland, CA. His visual art has been exhibited at numerous venues including the Oakland Museum of California, Huntington Beach Center for the Arts and in San Francisco art spaces including Southern Exposure, The Lab, Intersection for the Arts and Galería de la Raza.

A performer and writer his credits include stints at Theater Rhinoceros, Josie's Cabaret, BRAVA and the Cell and his writings include Besame Mucho, 2sexE and Queer PAPI Porn. He has edited an anthology entitled Virgins, Guerrillas & Locas for Cleis Press (1999) and is the author of a graphic novel, “Sexile” (Los Angeles: 2004).

La Cabrona's Tips for Writers Block

My semester is finally over and I was able to get a lot of work done finally
after I chained myself to my laptop and stopped communitcating to the outside world.
Someday I hope to become more healthy in my work habits.
Every day I work on it. But here's what I did, a "no nonsense" guide with a lot of nonsense that depending on your style might work for you.

Complain.
Cry.
Don't get out of bed.
Sleep with your computer.
Clean your entire house.
Go to a cafe all day.
Forget to eat.
Go to a cafe without wireless.
Wear headphones so people dont try to talk to you.
Play some music that doesnt distract you too much.
Doubt your abilities.
Tell yourself that you dont give a fuck.
Stop doing house chores.
Ignore your friends phone calls.
Get off the mother fucking myspace and stop checking
emails.
Print out what you have written so far and try reading
it from another perspective (maybe give it to someone
who will give you actual feedback instead of "it looks
good!")
Talk out your ideas.
Ignore the suggestions that you might want to read this or that
(cause bitch I aint got time) and write down suggestions for future research.
Connect a mouse and ergonomic keyboard to your laptop so your wrists will stop hurting from writing in bed.
Convince someone to feed you.
Outline what you want to say.
Write Crap.
Reread your notes.
Be thankful that now you can barely think you wrote notes on things you read.
Make Cute headings.
Tell yourself you are an unrecognized/misunderstood
genius.
Quit being a bitch about it and get it done.
Repeat and Rinse.

Oakland Summer Peace Camp

Let all the young folks know!
Information Session Tuesday June 6 6:30-7:30pm
Place: Oakland Leaf Office 1419 34th Ave. @ international