The group began in 2009 as a writing workshop for Latinas that was held in the living room of author and alumni of the group, Theresa Varela. This meeting also included the founder and author of the group Raquel Penzo and five years later, the group continues to host quarterly readings in hopes to continue to grow the community of writers that depend on the series as an outlet for their work.
Highlights from the works of the following authors:
Juju Angeles—Juju read poetry and added personality and pauses throughout the reading to let the words set in. Audience members closed their eyes to have the words sink into the poetry. Her writing spanned from personal experiences to what she was feeling.
Raquel Penzo—Raquel simply paid homage to why she writes and in one of her readings, mentioning that the ego likes compliments.
Theresa Varela—Theresa read both prose and poetry because she could not decide which one to do. Her prose was from her book, Covering the Sun with My Hand and her poetry was read with a voice that emphasized the words.
Jason Baumann Montilla—Not all poetry has to be written with a serious tone, so Jason read poetry with a humorous tone referencing Martin Wong, an 80’s artist, Black Friday, love and Pedro Pietri, a poet and playwright.
Other alumni of the group include the following: Peggy Robles-Alvarado, Chris Campanioni, Nívea Castro, Raquel Cepeda, Ed Kearns, Annette Vendryes Leach, Karina Guardiola-Lopez and Daniel José Older.
You can find out more about the group on the following links: Facebook, Raquel’s Website, and her campaign in conjunction with the event.
