LITERARY EVENT: From Decimas to Spoken Word
Sunday, April 16, 2023 3pm – 4:30pm
Co-presented by AfroMundo & 516 ARTS
Peru’s Santa Cruz family drew attention to the plight of Afro Peruvians via decimas—a poetic tradition popular throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Following an English subtitled, 3 min video of Victoria Santa Cruz reciting “Me Llamaron Negra,” poet, literary critic & UNM Professor Dr. Eleuterio Santiago Díaz will discuss decimas and other poetics traditionally employed throughout the Americas in service of social causes. Brazilian poets Mel & Guellwaar Adún will read original poems to intergenerationally bridge Spanish, Portuguese and English language spoken word traditions, three local youth poets – Monica Aguilar, J. Gourdin, and Leandro Pita – will perform original poems.