Food, poetry and punk rock music

UTRGV’s Chapel lawn in Edinburg was full of energy  as students celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month at the Celebrando Latinx Music & Poetry in the RGV event Sept. 27. 

Music, food and performances were all components of the event which began at 5 p.m. with DJ music and at 6 p.m. UTRGV students and alumni presented their poetry. 

“My poetry, it’s based on a chapter of Gloria Anzaldua’s [‘Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza’] … basically, she writes about, you know, all these things that are different about her that people in our community sometimes think is a bad thing,” said alumna Amanda Ramirez. “One of her major themes is her being queer and so I identify with that, and it didn’t take me long to write the piece. It was helpful to be a part of a workshop that happened
this summer that was dedicated to her work.” 

After the poets presented their pieces, R&B singer Jo C. took the stage by singing some of her original songs, including  “Cardio” and cover songs such as “Someone Like You” by Adele. 

After her performance, the crowd was excited to see The Canción Cannibal Cabaret, featuring award-winning Xicana poet Amalia Leticia Ortiz, perform its punk rock musical.

“The majority of the students are Hispanic,” said Ortiz, who wrote ‘The Canción Cannibal Cabaret’ (Aztlan Libre Press, 2019). “They should have pride in where they come from, the Rio Grande Valley, the Borderlands, the area is so rich in culture. They should be telling their stories in the classroom, they should be celebrating their stories every day, but especially this month when we think about the history of our culture, the history of this region.” 

Her performance verbalized social topics like climate change, immigration, feminism and police brutality.

Asked about her work, singer Ortiz replied, “It’s a post-apocalyptic musical set in a future after an environmental apocalypse, where women decide to unite and to form their own army. … It’s feminist, it’s punk, in some ways it’s very retro ’80s and ’90s punk rock and it’s also very much literature. If you read it, it is poetry.”

The night ended with a DJ and open mic performances.

Sharon Leal, a senior biology major and member of the Latino Medical Student Association Plus, shared her thoughts. 

“Most of the students in the RGV are … Latinos,” Leal said. “So, they should really celebrate our culture and just to connect with those roots. … What it means to be Latino is … your solidarity with each other. We are a community, so we should really support each other.”