Noches de Canto y Poesía

Miércoles/Wednesdays 8-10pm

Cada primer y segundo Miercoles del mes

Every 1st and 2nd Wednesday of the Month

Las Noches de Canto y Poesía son un tiempo dedicado a músicos, poetas y cantantes de la comunidad para que expresen su arte en español o con influencia Latina. Esto incluye pero no es limitado a boleros, baladas, rock en español, folklórico, latinoamericano, ranchera, trova, canto nuevo, jarocho, huapango y más. Todos están bienvenidos! Entrada gratis.

*Conducido por Pablo Martinez.

*Artistas invitados son bienvenidos. !Llamenos!*

Noches de Canto y Poesía is a time dedicated to musicians and poets that express their art in Spanish, with Latin influence. This includes, but is not limited to, boleros, ballads, Spanish Rock, folklorica, latin american, ranchera, trova, new song, jarocho, huapongo and poetry. Everyone is invited! Entry is always free, but we do accept your generous donations.

* Conducted by Pablo Martinez

*All Artists are invited, contact us!*

Tia Chucha's Open Mic

Night of Music and Spoken Word

FRIDAYS 8-10pm

Tía Chucha's Open Mic is a welcoming, creative sanctuary where people are encouraged to share their thoughts, feelings and talents through various styles of expression. Whether it be a poem, story, song, joke, freestyle, or just something they feel the need to express. Everyone is welcome to be themselves. Hosted by Nery Boche. Free, donations welcomed.

Featured Artists for the Month of February:

Raymundo Vazquez

February 3, 2012

A teen volunteer who has learned to play accordion at 10 years old at the San Fernado Music School. His accordion teacher, Mr. Elliot inspired him to learn and now, 3 years later he enjoys playing for all people.

Jeffery Martin

February 10, 2012

Poet, storyteller Jeffery Martin born in Long beach, Ca. started writing as a means of escape from the unhappiness he felt. Over the years he has used words to both heal himself and touch others. For more info check out his websites:

jmartinworks.com

jmartinworks.blogspot.com

Evy Trezvant

February 17, 2012

Evy (spiritluvchild) has been writing as far back as she can remember (which is the age of 7) with well over 3,000 pieces. Evy has performed all over Southern California. In 2010, she wrote and directed the debut of: "Wombman, The Play"

For more info check out his websites:

www.spiritluvchild.8m.com

Jeffery Martin Presents Black History Month Series
Every Thursday in the Month of February
  February 2, 9, 16, & 23, 2012 @ 6:30-8:00pm

Black History Month-4 Week Series will present black history in a meaningful way and reveal its connectedness to all cultures. Sharing the gifts and challenges of people of African descent. Showing the interconnectedness of all cultures through the experience of black people worldwide.

February 2, 2012 "Beginnings, challenges and dialogue" Why black history month came into existence? Drumming, Ancient accomplishments, A different form of slavery.

February 9, 2012 "Interactions between Blacks and American Natives, Pre-Columbian Area" Black inventions, Story Telling

February 16, 2012 "The 60’s" SERIOUS THINKERS

February 23, 2012 "Expression and the Arts" Self Love

Jeffery Martin is a Poet, Storyteller, Public Speaker, and Activist. For more info check out his websites:

jmartinworks.com

jmartinworks.blogspot.com

Follow-Up

Community reading &

discussion of the City of LA New Draft Mural Ordinance
Monday, February 6, 2011@ 6-9pm

UPPA (United Painters and Public Artists), is a grassroot collective that has come together, organized, and mobilized all public artists throughout the City of Los Angeles. UPPA has been in the forefront in writing the actual language of The Mural Draft Ordinance with the Department of Planning, which was presented on December 7, 2011. Deleting the action from non-profit organizations that had been mobilizing to lead a restrictive ordinance that favored non-profit industrial complex not individual grassroots community muralists.

UPPA is a collective that represents 75 muralists from all over the city of Los Angeles (Boyle Heights, Leimert Park, South Central L.A., Midcities, Highland Park, Wilmington, San Fernando Valley, East L.A.) It is a diverse group of muralists from all generations, styles, and locations.

Brian Molina developed Revolutionary Bodybuilding to help teach others the discipline of self respect. To empower others to overcome by fulfilling and maximizing their human potentials.

What bodybuilding is, is a RECONSTRUCTION OF YOUR CELLS; what REVOLUTIONARY BODYBUILDING IS, is a RECONSTRUCTION OF YOUR(SELF); MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT. Brian grew up in an environment where DRUGS, ALCOHOL, FAST FOOD and WEAPONS were easier to obtain then things like SCHOOL SUPPLIES, GOOD BOOKS, HEALTHY FOOD or ANY SORT OF POSITIVE OPPORTUNITY. With this being said, Brian believes being healthy is not only EMPOWERING, but a POLITICAL STATEMENT and a SPIRITUAL AWAKENING. BODYBUILDING taught Brian to Respect and LOVE HIMSELF in an environment were these two things were in scarce supply. It taught Brian to be CONSCIOUS about what he put into his body, and to question why WORKING CLASS neighborhoods were OVERFLOWED with POISONS, (PROCESSED FOODS, DRUGS, ALCOHOL).

Join us for an Interactive workshop about REVOLUTIONARY BODYBUILDING. The workshop will teach people how to live and get healthy from Brian's experience as a barrio youth

Film Screening

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 @ 7-10pm

The Black Power Mixtape examines the evolution of the Black Power Movement in the black community and Diaspora from 1967 to 1975. The film combines music, startling 16mm footage (lying undiscovered in the cellar of Swedish Television for 30 years), and contemporary audio interviews from leading African-American artists, activists, musicians and scholars.

Watch the trailer!

*English Subtitle

*$3 Suggested donation

*Complimentary Popcorn

Zadonu West Africa Dance Workshop
Sunday, February 19, 2012 @ 1-2:30pm

Zadonu by African Music And Dance Company, founded by African born master artist, prominent heris of the Anlo-Ewe traditional repertoire from Ghana, Togo, and Bein. Experience the sights and sounds of Africa.

Zadonu West African Dance Class is to teach traditional movement from the country of Ghana, West Africa. This class will introduce a dance style regularly not seen. In Africa, Music is Dance and Dance is Music. There is no separation. You will learn to listen and respond to the drum calls as your body is adapting to the various movements.

For more info check out the website:

www.zadonu.com

For Colored Girls is a 2010 drama film adapted from Ntozake Shange's 1975 stage play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Written, directed and produced by Tyler Perry, the film features an ensemble cast which includes Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Thandie Newton, Loretta Devine, Anika Noni Rose, Kimberly Elise, and Kerry Washington.

Like Shange's play—which is considered to be a landmark piece in African American literature and black feminism—the film depicts the interconnected lives of nine women, exploring their lives and struggles as women of color.

*English Subtitles

*$3 Suggested donation

*Complimentary Popcorn

***For Mature Audience****

Hazze Hip Hop Culture Dream Center brings youth into an environment that except youth culture and to preserve the positive Arts with in Hip Hop Culture.

The Hazze Hip Hop Culture Dream Center will present a Culture that began in the African American community and quickly grew to now “worldwide” and Ethically Universal. Our vision for this workshop and demonstration is to help preserve youth interest in the Arts within Hip Hop Culture presenting it from it’s “True Roots”

For more info check the website: hazzehiphop.org

AUTHOR READING with

Robin D.G. Kelley (UCLA)

Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 @ 6-8pm

Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Timesis a collective biography of four jazz musicians from Brooklyn, Ghana, and South Africa demonstrates how modern Africa reshaped jazz, how modern jazz helped form a new African identity, and how musical convergences and crossings altered the politics and culture of both continents.

Robin D. G. Kelley, who earned his PhD from UCLA nearly 25 years ago, returns as the Gary B. Nash Professor of American History.  Although trained as an American historian, Kelley's research and teaching interests range widely, covering the history of labor and radical movements in the U.S., the African Diaspora, and Africa; intellectual and cultural history (particularly music and visual culture); urban studies, and transnational movements.

 For more info check out his website:

robin_kelley

And find him on Facebook:

www.facebook/RobenDGKelley

***PRESS RELEASE***

A LEAP FORWARD

Poetry Event
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 @ 6:30-10pm

Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural & The World Poetry Movement (WPM)/Movimiento Mundiale de Poesia (MMP) and is pleased to announce to the world its next major event, which is called: A LEAP FORWARD

It will take place E V E R YW H E R E on the Leap-year Day and Night, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2012.

Join us in this global demonstration and celebration of poetry to promote serious social, environmental, and political change. All are welcome and encouraged to come and share their words with us.

Feature Poets:
Jeffery Martin
Brandon Hammerli
Jenuine
Iris de Anda
Angie Sea
Ceasar Avelar
Rebecca Gonzalez
Patricia Zamorano
Coatl
Mike the Poet
Trini Rodriguez
Rosa Leona
Nadia
Abel Arrizon

"It may seem only a coincidence but the Occupy Wall Street move-ment that began of September 17. 2011 occurred within the process of the call for 100 Thousand Poets for Change, the WPM event that manifested on September 24 of last year. And we have seen that, with the Occupy movement bursting out and proliferating all over, “there’s a poem being written by the people of the world” and it is filled with cries for justice and real democracy, with all the aspects of life----from the economic to the ecological---that were part of the very formation of the WPM itself, simply because they are part of the fabric of people’s yearnings everywhere.”

Let’s Organize The Greatest Poetry Events In The History Of The Word And The World By Taking A LEAP FORWARD

Noches de Canto y Poesía

Miércoles/Wednesdays 8-10pm

Cada primer y segundo Miercoles del mes

Every 1st and 2nd Wednesday of the Month

Las Noches de Canto y Poesía son un tiempo dedicado a músicos, poetas y cantantes de la comunidad para que expresen su arte en español o con influencia Latina. Esto incluye pero no es limitado a boleros, baladas, rock en español, folklórico, latinoamericano, ranchera, trova, canto nuevo, jarocho, huapango y más. Todos están bienvenidos! Entrada gratis.

*Conducido por Victor y Alfredo Avina.

*Artistas invitados son bienvenidos. !Llamenos!*

Noches de Canto y Poesía is a time dedicated to musicians and poets that express their art in Spanish, with Latin influence. This includes, but is not limited to, boleros, ballads, Spanish Rock, folklorica, latin american, ranchera, trova, new song, jarocho, huapongo and poetry. Everyone is invited! Entry is always free, but we do accept your generous donations.

* Conducted by Victor y Alfredo Avina.

*All Artists are invited, contact us!*

Tia Chucha's Open Mic

Night of Music and Spoken Word

FRIDAYS 8-10pm

Tía Chucha's Open Mic is a welcoming, creative sanctuary where people are encouraged to share their thoughts, feelings and talents through various styles of expression. Whether it be a poem, story, song, joke, freestyle, or just something they feel the need to express. Everyone is welcome to be themselves. Hosted by Nery Boche. Free, donations welcomed.

Featured Artists for the Month of February:

Pam Ward

February 11, 2011

Storytelling Telling Night with BK Bomar

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 @ 6:00-7:30pm

 “The Country” is a small community of mostly relatives living on over 500 acres of land in the backwoods of Tennessee where witchcraft, voodoo and supernatural events are a part of everyday life.  The neighboring fortuneteller, Mr. Horace, was the seer. I first visited the mysterious knowledgeable man at the age of 10; the start of my journey that tells the stories of courage, exploration and adventure in this fun filled quest of uncovering the hidden treasures of the truth that hides beneath the hills of “The Country.”

For more info check out: www.storytellerandpoet.com

Bryan Chan and Friends

Saturday, February 5, 2011 @ 1:00-4:00 pm

Barry Cullison   www.barrycullison.com
Actor, musician, singer/songwriter, Barry always bring to the table great songs with complex guitar playing. 
Country, rock and blues are his main influences. Come on out and watch Barry tear it up.

                                                                                                 
Sean Raymond Hill
He enjoys conversations with superheroes, Gandhi, the inner strength of women, the misconceptions toward men, great movies, true love, rooted ignorance, universal truths, willpower, illusions of the world we continue to believe, and making someone laugh until liquid things come out of their nose. Sean has shared his acting and poetry from Beijing to Canada with teens as well as adults. From schools to fundraisers, from birthdays to weddings, and just about anywhere big enough to hold his afro. Goggle him if you dare.

Also find him on facebook!

Bryan Chan slide/blues  www.scvblues.org
Playing in the Delta Blues style with his own thought processes involved. Always trying to achieve the goal of giving blues music the heart, soul and respect it deserves. Competed at the 2009 International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN.

Watch his Youtube video!

Samantha Tart      www.samanthatart.com
A Los Angeles based singer-songwriter who started to sing at the young age of 3. Growing up, she loves to sing Barbara Streisand, Matt Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, and Disney kinds of music and honed her skill by joining her school choir. Now she enjoys listening to all kinds of music ranging from Joss Stone, Alicia keys, Muse, Kings of Leon, Jack Johnson, Ray Lamontagne and Sting. For years, she wanted to give her music a try but was too afraid to sing in front of people. Her friends insisted on her to sing in karaoke bars to overcome her stage fright and sing Celine Dion and Mariah Carey songs to add up to the challenge.

*$5.00 Donation for this event

500 Years of Red-Black History

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 @ 6:00-8:00 pm

Valena Broussard Dismukes, photographer and author, will speak about 500 Years of Red-Black History. The presentation, based partly upon her award-winning book, The Red-Black Connection, will range from the first Spanish landfall on the continent to contemporary times. Topics covered will include African and Indian slavery, racial hierarchies, cooperative and adversarial circumstances, Indian removal, pencil genocide, interracial marriages, the “Five Civilized Tribes,” the Oklahoma struggle, and recent U.S. censuses. There will be time for a Q and A session following the talk.

For more info check out her website: www.vdismukes.com

Screening of

Afro-Punk

With Q&A with Director James Spooner

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 @ 7-10:00pm

Afro-Punk, explores race identity within the punk scene. This film tackles the hard questions, such as issues of loneliness, exile, inter-racial dating and black power. Director James Spooner, follows the lives of four people who have dedicated themselves to the punk rock lifestyle and they find themselves in conflicting situations, living the dual life of a person of color in a mostly white community.

For more info check out: website and trailer

*$5-$7 sliding scale donation

(half of the proceeds will be shared with Tia Chuchas)

REELism Film Nights Presents:

America’s Dream

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 7:30pm-10:00pm

Three moving short stories, all penned by noted black authors, look at black America in the 1930s through the 1950s.

*Hosted by Erick Iñiguez.

*English, No Subtitles

*$3 Suggested donation

Photography by: Carolina del Toro

Paintings by: Jorge del Toro

Carolina Del Toro was born in Tecuala Nayarit, Mexico, and lived there until the age of 16, when she moved to the USA.  Carolina graduated from Roosevelt High School, and has studied black and white photography at the Santa Monica, Cerritos and East Los Angeles colleges.  B&W photography has been her long time passion, but has recently discovered an overwhelming fascination for Nature photography in the macro abstract form.  She attributes this to her father whom, as she was growing up, would always advise her: “when in despair, pick up a fallen leaf and look at it through the sun, or open the petals of a rose and look inside…you will discover a nature’s beauty you’ve never seen before, and this, will make you smile.”  Now, she is portraying that in her photographs.

“We live in such a fast-paced world that we feel there is no time to stop and enjoy what nature offers us in our everyday lives; like: the aroma of perfumed flowers, the texture on a rose petal, or the complex patterns on a leaf.  My goal is to capture those images and embed a bit of interest in people, so that they can enjoy and appreciate the beauty of our natural world, and be motivated to conserve it for generations to come.”

You can view more of Carolina Del Toro’s photographs at the Gallery Expo in Bixby Knolls.  (Long Beach, CA)

Jorge Del Toro is from Chapala Jalisco, Mexico.  As a child, he loved visiting a friend, whose father had a ceramic shop.  He was allowed to “play” with clay, and the shop became his favorite playground.  Jorge was soon recognized as a talented young child.  He loved making miniature pieces of reptiles with Mayan influence.  At the age of 16, he moved to the USA, and enrolled in Huntington Park High School, where he began taking art classes.  He received several awards and recognitions for his outstanding pieces, making the headlines of the local newspaper.  Jorge has also attended, exhibited and received several awards from Cerritos College. 

Jorge’s artwork has also been exhibited in several galleries, and at the AMOCA (American Museum of Ceramic Art, in Pomona, CA) 

Author Reading & Book Signing with

Sandra Lopez

"Esperanza: A Latina Story"

& "Beyond the Gardens"

Saturday, Feb. 20th 1-3pm

Fourteen-year old Esperanza Ignacio could only think of a few words to sum up her life: crap, crap, crap! She was born to a psychotic mother and an alcoholic, gambler, wife-beater father in a poor Latino family living in a small crummy apartment in the barrio side of town. Aside from entering the unfamiliar world of high-school, Esperanza is also faced with an even more troubled community and family. Nonetheless, Esperanza attempts to get through it all. She is an ambitious, smart, young Latina struggling to survive and gain admission to college.

At the age of 18, Esperanza Ignacio begins her college years at an upscale Los Angeles art school, where she studies to fulfill her long-term dream in Animation. But she soon learns the truth to the old folktale, “you can take the girl out of the barrio, but you can’t take the barrio out of the girl.” Strength and determination help pave the way for the future. As she approaches her graduation, she is faced with a difficult decision: should she leave Los Angeles and leave behind her family, her home, and everything she’s known to learn what’s beyond the gardens

For more info. visit: www.sandra-lopez.com

"Father G and the Homeboys” chronicles the lives of 4 Latino gangbangers as they redirect their lives in a wartorn area of Los Angeles known as Boyle Heights , at one time, the street gang capital of the world. For over 20 years Father Gregory Boyle (Father G) and his non-profit organization “HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES” have helped kids plan for their futures instead of their funerals.

For more info. visit:

www.fathergandthehomeboys.com

www.homeboy-industries.org

REELism Films presents:

Killer of Sheep

WEDNESDAY Feb. 24th 7:30pm-9:30pm

Suggested Donation $3

Regarded as one of greatest “unseen” American films, Killer of Sheep examines the black Los Angeles ghetto of Watts in the mid-1970s through the eyes of Stan, a sensitive dreamer who is growing detached and numb from the psychic toll of working at a slaughterhouse. Frustrated by money problems, he finds respite in moments of simple beauty. The film offers no solutions; it merely presents life — sometimes hauntingly bleak, sometimes filled with transcendent joy and gentle humor.

For more info: www.killerofsheep.com

Open Mic:
Night of Music & Spoken Word
Every Friday 8-10pm

Tía Chucha’s Open Mic is a welcoming, creative sanctuary where people are encouraged to share their thoughts, feelings and talents through various styles of expression. This can be a poem, story, song, joke, freestyle, or just something they feel the need to express everyone is welcome to be themselves. It’s FREE, but donations are welcomed. *Hosted by Nery Boche.

Open Mic Honors 
Black History Month
with Featured L.A. Area Poets!

Feb. 5th Brett-Candace a young and emerging, deeply vivid and stylish Los Angeles poet.

Feb. 12th Conney Williams is a vibrant and dynamic poet, as well as a host of L.A.’s famous World Stage.

Feb 26th Besskepp, a forceful and animated spoken word artist and author of Up the Street Around the Corner. For more info: www.myspace.com/besskepp

2009 Fellowship for Visual Artists

How to Apply Workshops   

For more information visit www.calfund.org/recieve/fellowship.php

or contact Program Assistant Richard Ruiz at rruiz@ccf-la.org or 213.413.4130

Save these dates:

March 1, 2009 - Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural expects to be moved into it's NEW space at: 13197-A Gladstone Ave. Sylmar CA 91342

March 28, 2009 - We will be having a Grand Opening Celebration at our NEW Centro Space in Sylmar!

New EVENTS coming March 2009