Members of the collective:
Gina Amato, Marisa Castuera,Genevieve Debose, Yadira De la Riva, Sasha Dobos-Czarnocha, Rosa Gonzalez, Melissa Lozano, Susie Lundy, Anayvette Martinez
Influences
Gloria Anzaldua, Cherrie Moraga, Suheir Hammad, Willie Perdomo,Martin Espada,Giconda Belli, Otto Rene Castillo, Roque Dalton, Claribel Alegria, Ernesto Cardenal, Rumi, Amiri Baraka,Ntozake Shange, Anna Deavere Smith, John Leguizamo, Sandra Cisneros, Miguel Pinero, Octavia Butler, Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez, Silvio Rodriguez, Miguel Angel Asturias,Zora Neale Hurston, Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Asha Bandele, Isabel Allende, Dostoevsky, Sherman Alexie, Leslie Marmon Silko, Virginia Woolf, Keri Hulme, Milan Kundera, Dante, Homer, Jessica Hagedorn, Toni Morrison,Roberto Clemente,Edward Said, Violeta Luna, Mamacoatl....
Sounds Like
"The work that you and your group are doing is powerful at a personal level,
committed to craft and audience, and socially revolutionary. I felt honored
to sit in the audience witnessing the ways you are using drama and poetry to
reclaim a space at this elite university that mujeres have always helped
create but seldom been offered as theirs.
In short, I was blown away. Your poetry reminds me of the interdisciplinary
truth-telling that characterized Cherrie Moraga's __Loving in the War
Years__ and Gloria Anzaldua's __Borderlands/La Frontera__. The love of craft
you demonstrated also reminded me of June Jordan's _-On Call_ and Ruth
Forman's __We Are the Young Magicians__, odes that have affirmed the lyrical
power of feminist anger in the same way that Addriene Rich has used her
poetry to affirm the contemplative beauty in the everyday details of women's
lives.
The language in your work--collectively--was disquieting, an in-your-face
catalogue of personal disclosures, striking metaphors, clever similes, and
ironic historical juxtapositions that gave your audience no option but to
have a reaction. And, isn't this exactly what Audre Lorde had in mind when
she argued that poetry is not a luxury? That poetry is a necessary tool all
liberation movements must use to reflect on their core values and vision of
the world they are trying to create?
Someday I think that young radical writers will talk about Las Manas in the
same way that Chicana and African American feminists of the late 1980s spoke
about the Combahee River Collective--a visionary group that challenged the
paradigm and forced social transformation. Keep doing what you are doing.
You will succeed if you follow your current path."
"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." Nelson Mandela
Las 'Manas- which is short for las hermanas or the sisters- is women of color writers and artists collective. The original members of Las 'Manas, which include Rosa, Cruz, Maya, Gina, Marisa, Sasha and Genevieve, came together in 2004 to cultivate a more feminine voice and sense of sisterhood within the Bay Area spoken word scene.
Las Manas Tres (Maya, Milta and Cruz) are hybrid poetas bringing the fuerte flava, heating the heart and melting the mind from the Bay to L.A. Their stilo is characterized by a mixture of theater, spoken word and movement, centered around themes of social justice, sexuality, motherhood and the relationship between first and third world women.
Born from the Las Manas Sisterhood Circle, individually these women are accomplished in their own right. As a trio they take their creativity to new heights using sisterhood and storytelling to inspire collaborative pieces that delve into pain, injustice, love, family, community, and identity, which conjure a potent potion to fend off the plague of self sabotage. Their newest work pokes fun and peels back the layers of community building and relationships, speaking from the in between spaces as hi-tech aztecs, cyber mamas and spiritual beings. They're always ready to bring the hotness. Yaddamean?
Contact: Cruz Grimaldo email: ma_cruz AT berkeley.edu or (323) 528-4695
You’re Invited to a special BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION for Ms.Tina of Bay Area Breedz Ent.
@ Circolo ULTRA LOUNGE
Where: 500 Florida St. , San Francisco, CA
When: Friday April 24th 2009
Time: Doors open @ 10:oo pm
In the mix: Mind Motion of KMEL, Big Body Cisco, Dj J Pro and DJ Shug
Hosted by: Sana G of KMEL and other guest hosts
Dresscode: Strictly Enforced (no tennis shoes, caps, sports attire, jeans o. k)
For Bottle Service|| G-LIST AND INFO TEXT 510.593.9654 G-LIST AND INFO or Email Info@bayareabreedzent.com To RSVP for the Guestlist Before 11pm RSVP at guestlist@bayareabreedzent.com or Text Names (specify event) to 510.593. 9654
hey mujeres, we are heading up there again--- well me and some artists friends for 10/11 Peace & Dignity CD release in OAK. Let's connect. hope you can make it... also, can't wait till you're at Casa 0101-- keep me updated!!!!
IT’S OFFICIAL! PLEASE JOIN ME AND HELP ME CELEBRATE MY 29TH BIRTHDAY (ON THE VERGE OF 30) WHEN: AUG. 28TH TIME: 9:00 PM SHARP PLACE: CLUB ANTON’S NEAR JACK LONDON SQUARE 428 3RD ST @ BROADWAY OAKLAND, CA DRESSCODE: KEEP IT GROWN AND SEXY DJ: MIND MOTION OF KMEL PRESENTED BY: BAYAREABREEDZ ENT, EMONEYPRESENTS AND HOSTED BY SANA G OF KMEL COVER: $5 BEFORE 10 PM AND $10 ALL NITE AFTER ONLY MY BIRTHDAY GUESTLIST. SEND NAMES TO MY INBOX 21 +
Online Now!
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