Día de Muertos at the Writers Place

Día de Muertos at the Writers Place

Xánath Caraza

Altar para The Writers Place 2015

Poetry, music, dance, art, and altares de muertos--be certain to come to this bright and joyful annual celebration at the Writers Place, 3607 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO, November 4 at 7 p.m. The event includes poetry by Las Lunas Locas from Los Ángeles, CA, and Monique Gabrielle Salazar from Kansas City, in addition to live music by Hide in the Shadows, a dance performance by Calpulli Iskali, art by Juan Chawuk, and Día de Muertos alters by World's Window, and Xánath Caraza.  Maryfrances Wagner and Xánath Caraza host the evening.  The event also includes a reception with comida Mexicana. 

Calpulli Iskali: family, rebirth. A family that continues to grow as we search for knowledge of our ancestors to find the identity that was denied to us through traditional Mexica dance and prayer.

Hide in the Shadows is a fusion of indie folk and acoustic rock style. Their bilingual lyrics fosters their identities as Allen Arias (guitar and composer) is from Costa Rica, Stephen Barber (bass) and Hank Winterscheidt (percussion) from US as they perform about their life experiences.

Juan Chawuk, originally from Chiapas, Mexico.  Chawuk’s art has been displayed in Chicago, Kansas City and other cities in the U. S.  Powerful murals are also part of his creative process.

Sophia Rivera is a Chicana writer, scholar and educator from Northwest Pasadena. A proud Luna Loca, she is also the co-facilitator of Las Lunas Locas. a womyn’s writing circle based in El Sereno, CA. Sophia recently published the co-written essay, “Passing the Sage,” in the Chicana/Latina Studies Fall 2015 Journal and her poetry has been published in Tia Chucha's Press anthology, “Coiled Serpent: Poets Arising from the Cultural Quakes & Shifts in Los Angeles”, Las Lunas Locas Zines, Hometown Pasadena, and the International In The Words of Womyn 2016 Anthology. She believes in the sacred power of telling stories, Selenas Forevers, that lunas locas are magic, and poetry saves lives.

Vanessa Reynaga, a brown grown girl with a penchant for kind hearts, rap, and home-made food. She seeks peace and tranquility in all corners of her earth. 

Karineh Mahdessian, a community social worker, is interested in people and art.  She hosts La Palabra reading series and co-founded and co-facilitates Las Lunas Locas, a womyn-identified writing group.  She loves haikus, tacos, basketball and big earrings.

Monique Gabrielle Salazar is a poet, performer, emcee, drag artist and business owner residing in Kansas City, Missouri. Having written poetry for almost half her life, she has released her first book entitled If You See My Ghosts Like I Do and is slated to publish another book early next year. Salazar is a fervent human rights and cultural activist with tendrils nourishing local poetic Open Mics, a monthly vintage cinema event called “Cinema Cabaliste” that seeks to highlight the oldest films available and is a Novice Sister in the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Owner of a shoppe of curiosities, The Skullery Maid, Salazar is always looking for the obscure and fantastical. A world traveler, she culls her images from graveyards, churchyards, protest zones and the mitered corner of self-reflection.