Poetry Connection: Connecting with Somos Xicanas and Lowriders, Plus Virtual Event

Lowriders at the Santa Barbara Public Library

Santa Barbara Nite Life Car Club

Jesenia Chavez and Melinda Palacio

Brenda Vaca

Lorna Dee Cervantes

Jesenia Chavez, Melinda Palacio, Lorna Dee Cervantes Brenda Vaca

by Melinda Palacio, Santa Barbara Poet Laureate 2023-2025
 

If you missed the Somos Xicanas and lowriders event at the Central Library in Santa Barbara, keep it on your radar for next year. Catalina Morancey, Spanish Outreach Coordinator, says the lowriders have already been booked for next year. She has also invited contributors to the Somos Xicanas anthology. The events that make up the Raices y Suenos (Roots and Dreams) celebration of National Hispanic Heritage month at the library are even bigger this year. You don’t need to know any Spanish to appreciate the programs. Morancey has done a wonderful job making sure the programs celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month at the Santa Barbara Public Library are accessible to everyone. Morency values the needs of the community. Morancey said that previous library surveys indicated that the community wanted to see lowriders at the library’s outdoor plaza.

The lowriders in many cases are family heirlooms and tell cultural stories. Many of the people who were drawn to the shiny cars, stayed for the poetry reading. It was nice to see new faces and I talked to a few people who had never been to a poetry reading before. The stories may be different, but as Morancey predicted, the writers had much in common with the riders. Catalina Morancey also enjoyed hearing the many poems about the libraries. Most poets have poem a poem or two about libraries or bookstores. The Santa Barbara Public Library has four copies of the Somos Xicanas anthology. You don’t need to wait until next year to read about read this collection of Chicana poetry and stories.

As a poet, I enjoy speaking to the audience after a reading. However, I find it challenging when a newscaster interviews me. Spontaneous questions make me nervous because I do not have the luxury of revision. I am used to rewriting everything until I cannot find a word or line to change. When Ivania Montes of KEYT interviewed me about the event, I did my best to offer a concise answer to her questions. The clip online still has my false starts. I am still not entirely satisfied with how I answered There’s so much more I wanted to say about our community and how I feel about celebrating my culture and heritage.

I did manage to convey the idea that the library can be a safe space for us to celebrate our culture at a time when ICE is invading our city and kidnapping people who have brown skin, people who look like me. I added that we need to come together to celebrate our diverse cultures, that our words matter, and that poetry is healing.

Usually at readings celebrating an anthology, contributors read their work in the book. Because we had to do some program shuffling, I read a new poem, along with one from my latest book, Bird Forgiveness, and the companion song I wrote to accompany the book. We had some extra time to fill because two of our poets from Los Angeles could not make it. It’s always good to have extra material to read or sing in case there are any missing or late readers. I am glad I brought my guitar because someone in the audience invited me to share more poems and songs with their students.

Join the VIRTUAL event on October 1st, celebrating Xicana authors in the midwest, hosted by the Wisconsin Book Festival! 

The live event, "XICANA VOICES: A Valuable Part of the Literary Landscape" will feature readings by award wining SOMOS XICANA contributors:
Brenda Vaca, Xanath Caraza, Erika Vallejo, Isabella Santana, Diana Pando, Amanda Rosas and editor, Luz Schweig. 🔥 And the event will be moderated by Madison Poet Laureate 2020-24, Angela C. Trudell Vasquez!

REGISTER ONLINE here: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/8avbcyk542ye

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SOMOS XICANAS is an award winning anthology featuring the voices of over 80 Xicanas, conceived and edited by Luz Schweig and released December 14, 2024 with Riot of Roses Publishing House! 🌹 @riotofrosespublishing

For more BOOK BY XICANAS, or to get your own copy of SOMOS XICANAS, visit our website: www.somosxicanas.com

(The majority of the proceeds of SOMOS XICANAS will be donated to independent presses and projects that honor and support Xicana voices.)  

*an earlier version of this article appears in the Santa Barbara Independent