2012! New Year for Barrio Writers

Barrio Writers is on its way to another successful year!

     It is almost that time again and this year, Barrio Writers has come a long way, from being in a hallway filled with young inspiring teens, to now expanding its way to Austin, Texas. Austin Barrio Writers, will be in their second year and Orange County Barrio Writers in their fourth year.

  If you didn't get a chance to purchase the First Edition of Barrio Writers, you will be able to buy one since the First Edition, recently got reprinted along with the Second and Third Edition that will get published soon.

Be on the lookout for any further dates of release and chance to get your book signed by some of the Barrio Writers in some locations.

Recently, in some news:

El Centro Cultural De Mexico finally found a home, however they are still raising funds to purchase a permanent building.

El Centro, had a Re-Grand opening event to showcase different classes and organization groups such as, OrangeCounty Dream Team, Coyolxuaqui Circle for young women, Son Jarocho, etc. The night was filled with live performances and inviting people of Santa Ana to be part of El movimento.




OC Dream Team, Open Mic  at Calacas.



OC Dream Team held an Open Mic at Calacas in benefit to support the Dreamers.

El Centro Cultural de Mexico hosted Anti-Mall:Gente B4 Profit Market Place the week before Valentines Day in Feburary.

                                            

Streetlight Villain by Daniel Farias

We are glad to finally provide a new BW blog post! We had a busy 2011 with two Summer programs running (Santa Ana, CA and Austin, TX) but we are still trying hard to keep up with our website and upcoming books! Next update will include a re-vamped website and information on our upcoming publications of Barrio Writers 2nd and 3rd Editions! We are very proud to publish Daniel's following piece, enjoy and please give us your feedback!

Daniel Farias, Summer 2009
& 2010 Barrio Writer

Daniel Farias was born on January 23, 1993 to Mexican immigrant parents. He graduated from Rancho Alamitos High School in 2011 and currently goes to Fullerton College. He’s older than he once was and younger than he’ll be and that’s not unusual. At the moment he’s lost, but in a couple of years he hopes he’ll have the joy to read this and laugh, not out of self-deprecation, but just to see how far he’s come along.

Streetlight Villain

There is a siren that sounds when the sun goes down and twilight turns the clouds a shade of peach and Venus sparkles just above the horizon like any other star so close so close yet so far out of reach 

It all calls for you beckons you to come hither out of your shell to bear witness to the heavenly panorama it leads you out by the hand like an infant and you see Venus in all its glory the brightest mote in a spectrum of violets and blues

The sight of the planet makes you giddy the butterflies flee from your mouth and float off into the vast expanse their color the same as the clouds and immediately you remember them and their presence overshadows that of the celestial body

The great canvas in the sky is only temporary though the clouds lose their hue the blood leaves their cheeks and they turn mortal gray the light recedes over the horizon and the world grows dark

But vision and security is quickly spared the iron stocks that jut from the concrete they glow dutifully the night itself has ushered in the reign of the streetlights

The phoenix or Jesus Christ dies over the horizon the streetlights spread asunder their stark, stale uniformity upon the walks and roads and a path is lit for you

It is recommended you do not take it but its there for your convenience you cannot resist it there is something about the void that makes the blood boil in you cheeks and your fingers tingle

You do not know what fiends are out there and what schemes they are concocting in the shadows and the nooks at that moment a fifty-six year old howl echoes through the night the abyss stares back but what exactly is the abyss disregard it buy the ticket take the ride why not wander

Step on to the orange path start your stroll your eyes our drawn down you think of what was you grab the roots and you trace yourself to your notch on the trunk

You are now at what is before you are cookie cutter houses with sloping roofs and lanterns in their driveways in each one of them a neon bible a box of farces to make your eyes milky and to roast your senses

Ahead is an elementary school on the wall of the cafeteria there is stale, stark uniformity engulfing the school you don’t like it

You look up at what can be there are few stars and among them gargantuan figures watchtowers and mountains and every other step these figures are interrupted by none other than the pervasive streetlights

What makes these things glow they hurt your eyes can’t take too much of it so you look past it at the stars and the figures larger than life

Your face is strained your vision is squinted and there’s a grimace on your mouth you try to look into what’s in front of you and past what’s above you it’s embattling and it takes its toll and it claims a casualty not you thankfully but the streetlight it goes out

You curtail your steps your eyes perk wide open and you lift your hands absurdly and with the greatest conviction and the greatest sense of victory you yell out triumphantly “You went out just for me”

Then the déjà vu hits you don’t remember where it’s from maybe it was a foreboding dream or an ominous hallucination but it was clear

Four streetlights and one bad bad being shattering all of them as he went on towards you you felt the adrenaline surge and your heart beat increase and when he or she got to the fourth there was darkness and nothing more

You can’t explain it it’s hard difficult but you feel it you have now been christened you are like him or her congratulations you are a streetlight villain

Not an unfortunate thug with unfortunate intentions but a ramblin’ shamblin’ man looking for that lost highway

You take after the weeds that bounce on the gritty grains of sand from the ole lands of the boundless and the bounties of lonesomeness where it was accepted and romanticized and reigned supreme

There’s depth to you you value your bottomless pit you suck everything inside and it never really leaves does it it haunts you and people can see it they don’t cross the street in the dark to avoid you because of your hulking figure no they do it because you speak in riddles, stutters, gibberish, garbles, and literary devices

Your hands are still spread out foolishly you can see now see the stars and they’re beautiful “We need to go out there” you say you point “You want your energy there it is”

And you decree “I’ll take everyone, anyone willing to come we’ll cruise around the stars, play chicken with black holes look for homeostasis organization metabolism growth adaptation response to stimuli and reproduction and we’ll venture create and expand I’ll take them all I’ll take them all around the fucking universe”

So streetlight villains move it forward the mountains have crumbled to the see but there’s a man who may have proved this is the land of the free theses events define you and you must learn from them

You may smoke the crackpot from pipe dream but you’re working on it the goal is to make the grand realistic but you got to get a move on you can’t spend your time tracing the drinking gorge you got to give them a reason you got to give a reason for those streetlights to go out

Guest Submission by Matt!

Born in one of the harshest places in the nation, he’s still comes out on top and that’s what he's planning to do in the hip-hop business. His name is Matthew Antwain Turner but for professional reasons call him Matt.

He was brought into this world on November 10, 1994 and originally from Memphis, Tennessee. Rapping is a way for him to express how he feels about cruel things in this world. Expressing yourself is something he feels every artist should try and do. That's what he intends to do while educating people about the crisis that's happening in the streets. As far as writing, he plans to become an author. His goal is to bring joy and happiness to the global community. He treats all his writing as a way to connect to every individual. It’s his little own social network!

Currently, Matt is a sophomore in high school and a member of the Thurmond Heights Community.

Crusade

Compassion in my outer shell, anger in my heart.

No matter how hard I try, things always fall apart.

Darkness taking its toll, it’s sneaking up on me.

Is reality fantasy or fantasy reality?

I speak from my soul, there’s no holding back.

Have you ever understood the true meaning of a heart attack?

Demons within are starting to get strong.

There power overwhelms me even as I preach this song.

My whole life I’ve tried to become a savior.

But I always get the opposite later.

Maybe I should pray and talk to the Greater.

Maybe he could contradict my behavior.

The true enemy in life is the weak mind.

Blaming others for their faults but in reality they’re blind.

Father I’m sorry for your explicit loss.

If this is how the world is then crucify me on the cross.

Emotionally drained from my emotional labor.

Soon to go extinct, like the legendary saber.

Talk your talk everyday and say you getting played.

I tried to help you and help you become saved.

Why be alive if I can be in peace in a grave.

And maybe I’d be buried next to where my sister is laid.

Perhaps life is no more than a game of charades.

All of us being dictated by this demonic crusade.

 

Barrio Writers Summer 2010 Video!

Hello Barrio Writers Friends & Family!

We were extremely too busy over the summer to share pictures and videos regularly, but we did make time to recap our summer for you to view first hand via video and music of all the work we do in 10-weeks! This past summer we also had two new locations!

This is our first video-blog, we plan to document our next summer a lot more! Enjoy!



Music written & composed by Barrio Writer Germayn!

Barrio Writer Lorena Garcia, Guest Speaker at Chapman University!

It is a great honor to introduce you to Lorena Garcia, she has been with Barrio Writers since June 2009. She published her first piece titled, "Sparky" in the 1st Edition of Barrio Writers in Spring 2010 and participated in Summer 2010 as well. Her new story, "Saving Our Home" will be published in the 2nd Edition of Barrio Writers scheduled to be released Spring of 2011.

Recently, she was invited to be a guest speaker at Chapman University, she presented the following essay alongside keynote speaker Michele Serros, author of "How to be a Chicana Role Model". Her piece, "My Education" was written to provide insight about her life as a high school student and path to obtaining higher education.

Lorena Garcia was born in the city of Santa Ana located in California. She’s fourteen years old and a freshman at Santa Ana High School. Writing has always been part of her life and in fact, English is her strongest subject in school. Other than writing, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, which consists of three siblings, all older, her parents, her pet dog Mickey, and her bird. In the future, she aspires to become a “New York Times Bestselling Author.”

My Education

      For many people education is something they leave behind without finishing. Sometimes they don’t care or sometimes they don’t have time for it. For me, education is really valuable but living in Santa Ana where the number of high school graduates has been decreasing each year through teenage pregnancy, drugs, or the lack of money, it’s kind of difficult to not get distracted.

      However, I haven’t let that get in my way of pursuing my dreams of finishing high school and going off to community college or even better, a university. Of course, I wouldn’t be where I am right now without the help from my parents who have supported me from the start. Even though they didn’t receive the best education while growing up, they’ve been able to assist me with the supplies and support that I need to be successful in school.

      In my first few weeks of attending Santa Ana High School, I’ve witnessed many students who aren’t interested in school and would rather “ditch” to go hang out with their “friends”. However, I’m certain that this problem is in many schools. I personally think that students who try to run away from their education are running away from their goals as well. They are not only harming themselves, but also harming their future.

      Many kids, who are born here in the United States of America, have a tremendous advantage of getting a great education. However, many take it for granted and let their education slip away. On the other hand, there are others, like my parents, who aren’t born here, and yet they fight everyday to earn a better education, and those are the ones who I call hardworking. My parents didn’t receive the best education possible and didn’t graduate from school, but they’ve taught me the vital facts about finishing school and how everything can be accomplished as long as I set my mind to it.

      For now, my goals are quite straight forward. I’m not only planning on finishing high school with a high grade point average but also receive a scholarship to a university. At this moment, I’m facing one of my toughest phases of life, high school.

      For now, what most students are mainly focused on are their social lives and popularity. They don’t even care how those priorities affect their education. Many think that getting low grades or failing classes are somehow going to make them “cool”. Others laugh when they receive their tests marked with a huge “F” or simply dismiss assignments.

      It’s difficult to not pay attention to those “cool” groups. At times it bothers me that I’m not part of them. But when I put it all aside, I know that once this high school life is over and we move on to the real world, I won’t be seeing ninety-five percent of my peers. Everyone will take different roads and that’s when all the ones who thought education was a waste of time will realize that messing around in school might have made them popular but in the real world it will only make them work twice as hard.

      Sometimes I’m forced to wake up early and go to school on the days I’d rather stay in bed. Those days are hard, but I know at the end of the road I’ll be glad I chose my education and grateful for the long hours my parents have worked to give me the opportunity.

      So what does education mean to me? It means I get to chose to live my dreams. It’s an option everyone should have an opportunity to obtain. It doesn’t matter how old or young we all are or where we come from, we all need an education.

      So next time you see me, I won’t be this young fragile freshmen, instead I’ll be a young woman graduating from a well known university, maybe even from this campus, and on my path to becoming the next New York Times best selling author because along with my education, I have the opportunity to live my dreams.

Join us for our 2nd Annual Barrio Writers Live Reading!

2nd Annual
Barrio Writers Live Reading!

3-6pm, Saturday, August 28th

Santa Ana Public Library!

It has been a great summer of reading, writing and empowerment! Barrio Writers has grown in the last year, in Summer 2010 we branched out to additional locations!

We hosted our 10-week program at El Centro Cultural de Mexico and Santa Ana Public Library. We also ran 1-week intensive programs at Newhope Library and the East Street Community Renewal Initiative (ESCRI) in Anaheim.

"Our 2nd Annual Barrio Writers Live Reading Festival will unite all writers to present their words to our community! They share their stories with great pride, it is up to us to listen to them. The 2nd Edition Barrio Writers book will include their works, it will be released Spring 2011."

Please join us and invite your friends and families, your presence will continue to empower our youth, new writers and the young leaders of our communities!

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors & 2010 Guest Writers: Calacas on 4th, Mydesign2print, Garden Grove Channel 3, OC Childrens Book Festival, Young Authors Fair, Poets & Writers, Ollin, Sol Art, OC Dream Team, The Road Less Traveled Store, Alan Woo, Karen Cordova, OC Register Journalists: Alejandra Molina & Theresa Cisneros, Gustavo Arellano, David Bueno-Hill, Sandra Lopez, Juan Farias, & Richard T. Rodriguez!

News Update: Barrior Writers Guest Writers & Fundraiser Featuring OLLIN!

We are in our last month of

2010 Barrio Writers Summer Program!

Join us at all our upcoming events!

We still have three more guest writers visiting us:

August 4th -

Richard T. Rodriguez,

Santa Ana native and author of Next of Kin

Santa Ana Public Library 4-6pm (regular workshop starts at 3pm)

August 7th -

Sandra C. Lopez,

CSUF Graduate and author of Beyond the Gardens

El Centor Cultural de Mexico 1-3pm (regular workshop starts at 12pm)

August 11th -

David Bueno-Hill,

author of I Wasn't Born a Teacher

Santa Ana Public Library 4-6pm (regular workshop starts at 3pm)

August 22nd -

Barrio Writers & SolArt Radio Present: Ollin!!

*$10 donation request - Fundraiser to benefit Barrio Writers & Barrio Actors Guild (dinner not included)

"We need your support to keep on empowering our youth through creative programs that provide pipelines to higher education & cultural arts!"

Join us from 5-10pm at Zócalo (301 N. Tustin Avenue, Santa Ana, CA) for dinner, local music Trio Barrio Writer Joana (accordian), David & Barrio Writer Germayn, DJ Michelle Reyes & our special feature band OLLIN!

"Ollin began with the inspiration of traditional Mexican music. From there, the brothers expanded their musical curiosity and brought other types of folk music into the mix. Irish melodies, Klezmer riffs, German beer polkas, and African syncopations all were introduced and have become a part of the eclectic Ollin sound. Live performances are theatrical, energetic, and with the mixture of many different styles, still well balanced. Their recordings are solid three dimensional stories with lyrical prose that puts you knee deep in their musical barrio."

For more info or to listen to their music, please visit: www.myspace.com/eastlosollin