LUNADA - Literary Lounge

Spoken Word ~ Musica ~ Open Mic

"Beyond the Bay ~ Fresno & L.A." TIM Z. HERNANDEZ & FELICIA MONTES

Hosted by Series Curator: SANDRA GARCIA RIVERA

This evening features two heavy hitters of the contemporary Xican@ literary and performance arts communty. Coming from Los Angeles and Fresno to bring their newest work to the Bay Area, Galeria de la Raza is proud to feature Felicia Montes (Mujeres de Maiz), and Tim Z. Hernandez (Breating In Dust, Skin Tax) during this celebratory season of our 40th anniversary. Both artists are cultural workers and educators, active in human rights and environmental struggles, and they will have their latest books and art for sale. Open Mic sign up at entrance, 7:15pm.

$5 or FREE with food dish to share, or with Galería membership.

This evening, guests of Galeria de la Raza’s Gala celebration will receive free entrance to Lunada, upon presentation of their ticket stubs.

LUNADA is the Bay Area’s only full moon literary and performance gathering featuring community poets, local legends, visiting mystics, and other mero meros of the stage. Guest curated by some of the Bay Area’s most dynamic word slingers and artists, LUNADAS are community gatherings where stories, food, songs, and spirit are shared, located in the heart of the Mission District at Galería de la Raza. Musicians and first timers are always welcome on the Open Mic.

ARTIST BIOS

Felicia Montes is a Xicana Indigenous artist, activist, academic, community & event organizer, and poet & performer living and working in the Los Angeles area. She believes art is a tool for education, empowerment and transformation and has translated her passion for art and social justice as the cofounder and coordinating member of two groundbreaking creative women’s collectives, Mujeres de Maiz and In Lak Ech. Felicia writes and performs about social and spiritual change as she works on the front lines of activism and organizing. She has been influential in Los Angeles transnational art and organizing efforts including work with the Zapatistas, Peace & Dignity Journeys and La Red Xicana Indigena. Having organized and performed in hundreds of cultural events, marches, protests for many artists and social justice causes, her current focus is on her own visual and multimedia art performances and creations. Felicia holds a B.A from UCLA in World Arts & Cultures with a minor in Chican@ Studies and a M.A in Chican@ Studies from Cal State Northridge. She is currently completing an MFA in Public Practice at Otis College of Art & Design.

Tim Z. Hernandez is an award winning writer and performer from California’s central valley. His writing has been published in numerous anthologies and his performances featured in prestigious venues across the U.S. including, The Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Stanford University, and at Dixon Place Theater Lab in New York’s East Village. His debut book of poems, Skin Tax (2004 Heyday Books), received the 2006 American Book Award, the James Duval Phelan Award from the San Francisco Foundation, and the Zora Neal Hurston Award for writers of color dedicated to their communities. His debut novel, Breathing, In Dust (2010 Texas Tech University Press) has been called “…masterful storytelling…” and “…a purely original and courageous book…” by reviewers and critiques. He received his B.A. in Writing & Literature from Naropa University (aka the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics), and currently attends the Bennington Writing Seminars in Vermont. He lives in Fresno with his wife and children and works to restore the San Joaquin River.

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