¡ANGELIN@S PRESENTE! Sunday, June 28, 2015, 2:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural – the renowned nonprofit cultural center and independent bookstore from the Northeast San Fernando Valley – will be hosting an Angeleno all-star benefit concert, poetry reading, and art auction, to honor and celebrate Los Angeles and its new Poet Laureate, Luis Javier Rodriguez who was recently appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti. The historic event will take place Sunday, June 28, 2015, 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Pico House, El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument, Olvera Street - the birthplace of Los Angeles - 424 North Main Street, LA, CA 90012. The event is in partnership with the Mexican Cultural Institute, Los Angeles, (MCI).

The iconic rainbow cast and crew includes East LA’s Grammy winners Quetzal Flores and Martha Gonzalez from the Chicano rock, Afro-Latin, Mexican Son Jarocho band, Quetzal, performing their stirring, politically charged anthems; LA rock legends John Densmore, founding member and drummer for the Doors and East LA’s Rubén “Funkahuatl” Guevara, co-founder with Frank Zappa of the second incarnation of Ruben & The Jets, will perform together in a spoken word/percussion duet; LA Japanese American legendary performer, Nobuko Miyamoto, founder of the multicultural performance group Great Leap will perform along with the dynamic “Atomic” Nancy Matoba formerly with Hiroshima and current long time singer with the First AME Gospel Choir. They will be joined by Quetzal Flores and Martha Gonzalez for a new soulful fusion of Mexican Son Jarocho and traditional Japanese folk music called FandangObon, along with Chicano “Demon Drummer” Maceo Hernández, formerly with the highly acclaimed Japanese taiko group Za Ondekoza, and founding member of East L.A. Taiko. Plus, the Godfather of Latino Hip Hop, Mellow Man Ace, will make a special guest appearance for the finale of the all-star concert.

A reading by some of LA’s most powerful poets celebrating our City of Angels include: Hometown hero, Poet Laureate and award winning author and life survivor, Luis J. Rodriguez along with Luivette Resto, traci kato-kiriyama, Mike the Poet, and Peter J. Harris.

World renowned trailblazers of collectable LA Chican@ Art include: Carlos Almaraz, Judithe Hernández, Margaret Garcia, Gilbert “Magu” Luján, John Valadez, Wayne Alaniz Healy, David Botello, Willie F. Herrón III, Ofelia Esparza, Eloy Torrez, Barbara Carrasco, José Antonio Aguirre, and Arturo Urista, among many other emerging giants including:

Sonia Romero, Shizu Saldamando, Sandy Rodriguez, Jaime “Germs” Zacarias, Wenceslao Quiroz, Daniel Gonzalez, Raul Paulino Baltazar, José Lozano, Emilia García, Rick Ortega, Mario Trillo, Lilia Ramirez, and Gabriela Malinalxochitl Zapata; Urban Contemporary Graffiti Art by: Chaz Bojórquez, Man One, Vyal Reyes, and Nuke One; Fine Art Prints by: Richard Duardo/Modern Multiples, Francesco X. Siquieros/El Nopal Press, and José Alpuche/Self Help Graphics & Art; Photography by: George Rodriguez, Mike Murase, Rafael Cardenas, and Vicente Mercado. Auctioneer will be Herbert Siguenza of Culture Clash.

Reception/Silent Auction: 2:00 to 3:30. Poetry Reading: 3:30 to 4:00. Live Auction: 4:00 to 5:30. Concert: 5:30 to 6:30.

$25 prepay, $30 day of includes 1 beverage and appetizers.

For tickets:  http://www.eventbrite.com/e/angelins-presente-tickets-17033124534

Tía Chucha's co-founders, Luis & Trini Rodríguez, are life-long activists for community, youth, the arts, and inner-core transformative work with disaffected and neglected communities. A former gang member, drug addict & alcoholic, Luis changed his life to contribute to a new imagination about relationships and how to manage resources to achieve true equity, social justice, and healthy lives on a healthy earth.  His writings have been widely acclaimed, including his best seller, Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in LA and the highly recommended Hearts & Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times. His wife Trini, grew up in a large Mexican working class family in Pacoima, and through tapping into the power of education, political and spiritual development has become a dedicated community leader and mentor to many in the Northeast San Fernando Valley.

Tía Chucha’s is a cultural complex that includes a bookstore, art gallery internet, performance space, and workshop center that has been in the community of Sylmar for more than fourteen years. In that time, writers such as Sandra Cisneros and Victor Villaseñor have read there along with performances by Culture Clash, Lalo Alcaraz, Quetzal, the late Lalo Guerrero, and many other musicians, theater groups, comedians, artists, writers, and community leaders. Tía Chucha’s Centro Cultural is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.