“Can you tell me where the revolution is tonight?” by Alvaro Saar Rios

by Tony Diaz on 06/03/14

“Can you tell me where the revolution is tonight?” by Alvaro Saar Rios, NP Founding Member.

 

These were the first words I heard when I arrived at the first Nuestra Palabra gathering on April 22, 1998.  There in the back of a Mexican restaurant I never at ate, a college-aged Chicano was onstage sharing verses from his freshly inked poem.  His words/voice/presence commanded attention, and I, as well as everyone else in the room, listened.

 

I had heard about the event a few months earlier in my Monday afternoon writing class at Talento Bilingüe de Houston, a community center on Houston’s eastside.  My instructor was Tony Diaz, the organizer of the event.

 

Thinking back, I’m not sure why I was even taking Tony’s class.   Putting words on paper wasn’t something I cared to do aside from creating grocery lists and filling out job applications.  Maybe I signed up because the class was free or because my buddy Hugo was also taking the class.   Whatever the reason, what mattered most was I said “yes” to an opportunity that was out of my comfort zone. 

 

One day in class, Tony handed out flyers for the April event.

“It’s called Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, and it’s going to be a monthly gathering for people in the community to share their own writing.”

 

This was the first time I heard the word “Latino.”  Afraid to show my ignorance, I didn’t ask what it meant.  I just looked at the word again and upon seeing the word “Latin” I assumed it referred to the language I found on quarters, one dollar bills and the periodic table-the mother tongue of Ancient Rome, the dead lingo. 

 

I imagined my instructor joined by others reciting poems and stories from ancient scrolls.  This was what I had in mind when I showed up to Nuestra Palabra.

 

I’ll save you some time and tell you that no Latin was uttered at the event.  I wasn’t disappointed though.  I’m not fluent in that language anyway. 

 

I am proud to say that every poem, short story, essay shared that night was in a language I did understand-English, Spanish, and a mixture of both.

 

“Can you tell me where the revolution is tonight?”

 

When the guy was done with his poem, a lady who looked like my mom stood in front of the microphone and let her words roar.  We cheered when she proudly called herself a “Chingona!”  

 

The evening progressed.  Monologues were performed.  Scenes acted.  Songs sung.  Music played.

 

Before the evening was over, I stood onstage and read a short story I was carrying with me. It was the first time I had ever shared any of my writing in public.  Due to the positive supportive energy I felt, it wouldn’t be my last. 

 

After the last words were shared, everybody went home.  I stayed to break down tables and moved chairs.  I also told Tony that I wanted to volunteer for the next Nuestra Palabra and the next one and the next one.

 

I called poets, fiction writers, essayists, dancers, singers and anyone else who would possibly be interested in sharing their art.  If anyone reading this ever received a Nuestra Palabra flyer in the mail, I most likely licked the envelope or the stamp or both.

 

Thinking  back about my years with Nuestra Palabra, as a volunteer, writer, teacher, radio producer, those words from that poem I heard as I arrived will always stick with me.  

 

“Can you tell me where the revolution is tonight?”

 

I know exactly where it was, right there, in the party hall of Chapultepec restaurant, amid the smells of frijoles a la charra and burnt queso. 

 

Because of Nuestra Palabra I found my voice.

Because of Nuestra Palabra I tell my own story.

Because of Nuestra Palabra I know what “Latino” means, and I am proud to call myself one.

 

 

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Welcome to Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say

by Tony Diaz on 05/29/14

It would be too ironic for us to dedicate 16 years to inspiring others to write their stories, to save their family’s history, yet we didn’t archive ours.

That begins now.

We are kicking off this point in our journey with this essay in the Huffington Post:

Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say

This website will chronicle our history.

This blog will feature posts by the talent we have cultivated since our inception in April of 1998. This will also feature posts by some of the literary icons who we have had the pleasure of working with, and more.

NP Blog Schedule:

Tuesday, June 3: Alvaro Saar Rios

Tuesday, June 10: Russell Contreras

Tuesday, June 17: NP Discovery, Karina Quevedo.

Also, our radio show NP Radio, is a great way to stay up to date our movement.

You can become of our history by submitting your work for our radio show, this website, our reading series, or sharing your memories of Nuestra Palabra.

Thank you for taking those first steps with us back in 1998. Join us as we take bolder steps and also look fondly back on the road we have covered.

Warmest regards,

Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante

Founder and Director

Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say

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