Review: Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria's DESCONOCIDOS

Back in September of 2006, Catzie and I were invited to The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis by the celebrated Vietnamese American spoken word poet Bao Phi (you better know), who curates a spoken word/performance poetry series there called Equilibrium. The Equilibrium series connects recognized spoken word artists from around the nation with powerful local voices. The series also pays tribute to established artists who have pioneered spoken word art in our community over the years. Equilibrium is dedicated to showcasing voices of people of color, indigenous artists, and other marginalized communities.

I've had the honor of performing in an Equilibrium show twice: once solo and another with Catzie. Both instances top my all-time favorite performance experiences. Not only did I receive so much love from the audience during and after the shows, but I also had an opportunity to meet some wonderful, kick-ass artists. In the first show, it was Robert Karimi. Most recently, Catzie and I were blessed to share the stage with Palabristas, a Twin Cities-based collective of poets of Latino descent. One of the members of that group, Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria, dropped his first CD on June 22, 2007.

Yes, yes, it has taken me almost A WHOLE DAMN YEAR to give some CD review-love to Rodrigo and DESCONOCIDOS. But here it is, finally, and I hope you all will check out Rodrigo's MySpace, go to a show to see him and Palabristas, and consider supporting his artistry through purchasing his CD or booking him as well as other members of Palabristas for a show.

Peace,
Michelle



REVIEW

FINDING ROOTS IN SOAR SPOTS: RODRIGO SANCHEZ-CHAVARRIA'S CD DESCONOCIDOS


The power and vitality of spoken word poetry reside in the poet's ability to emit a vulnerable strength through the exposed honesty of the experiences recounted in his/ her words. Experienced mostly in live performance, spoken word can tease audiences with images, ideas, and emotions which leave hints of profundity in stand-out lines here and in meaningful silence there. For those of us who would like to hold onto the words and their in-between meanings a little longer, CDs offer an opportunity to live and breathe with such poems and welcome them into our lives. Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria’s debut CD DESCONOCIDOS (The Unknown) offers spoken word poetry loyalists with a gift, one that is filled with spit-fire and soul-singing.

In recording a CD that mixes studio-recorded and live pieces as well as his own work with that of his fellow Palabristas, Rodrigo unremittingly seizes a clear space for Latino poetry, voice, and creativity. In the current polarity of racial and cultural discourse which unfailingly divides issues down a white/black color line, Rodrigo reminds listeners that the intersections of race and culture are hella more complicated than black and white. Such complexity is scary to most people because they have a difficult time coming to terms with black and white issues and sometimes behave as if thinking or talking beyond that is too much—or not important enough—for equal attention. Rodrigo’s poetry refuses to surrender to such myopic and selfish ideologies and emerges as a distinctive voice within the Latino spoken word poetry community. The unifying images and thematic thread throughout the CD are Rodrigo's multiple and layered, figurative and literal acts of border crossing. Through his multilingual word slinging, Rodrigo challenges imposed linguistic, racial, political, social, and geographic borders, crossing and erasing them at the same time.


My favorite poems on the CD are those which weave personal stories subtly into larger cultural, social, and/or political contexts. In the live performance recording of "Condor's Wing," Rodrigo conjures images of freedom and power to express his poet/activist's desire to enact justice and change in the world:

"I want to be as free as the wind that travels through the condor's wings. I want to flow like the rapids in a river so full of rage and filled with destination. I want to be the essence of the birth of a new nation so I can fill people's souls with hope and inspiration. . . . I want to be free and flowing like the words from this pen. I want to keep on writing until the isms finally end. I want to find that moment of peace that happens right before my eyelids shut and then package it and call it Pandora's Box just so that people can open it and embrace peace, if it's just only once."

Metaphorically, these images of power and freedom are supposed to extend beyond the page or Rodrigo's spoken words to move the audience to their own liberation--"to wake dormant warriors from their sleep"--and be inspired to mirror or emulate Rodrigo's passionate appeal for a just, fair world.

"Land of the Incas" inserts itself firmly within immigrant narratives of loss and rediscovery. Rodrigo recounts his own loss as a child recently arrived in the U.S. from Peru, who is thrust into an American school and subjected to rites of assimilation and conformity. Rodrigo voices how he is "submerged by force to the idea of public education, where teachers are instructed to brand 'ESL' on the skin of all the students of color that walk in, a place where white smiles are forced and skin tones frowned upon, where 'thank yous' did not come out of my mouth because I did not know the words and not because I was ungrateful." Made to feel ashamed of himself as an outsider, Rodrigo begins a self-effacing process of assimilation--becoming a self-identified sell-out linguistically, culturally, and materialistically. It's when he returns with his family to his native homeland, Peru--the land of the Incas--that Rodrigo experiences a rebirth of self pride and cultural identity. This awakening also spurs his evolving political ideology and activism. Thus the poem enacts a journey towards consciousness on multiple levels.

As a parent, I am deeply touched by Rodrigo's poem "Isabella," a celebration of his daughter at the same time it is a parent's lament of time passing too quickly. I cannot help but be moved to tears as Rodrigo retells the moment that he realizes his daughter is growing up whether or not he is ready for it. As he watches her crawling baby legs climb up the stairs towards him as he's about to leave the house, he breathlessly stops to hold her to him, hugging to feel her heartbeat and capture her fleeting baby innocence. The poem subtly and masterfully handles the irony of the moment: he's the one who's literally leaving denoted by the jingling of the keys, but this is juxtaposed to the sad foreshadowing of Isabella's inevitable growing up--that one day she will not be looking to hold his reassuring hand but letting it go, that she won't be clinging to his legs for support but wanting to trust the sturdiness of her own two feet. A beautiful, sad poem.

Through Rodrigo’s anger, sadness, pride, and triumph, the poems contained within the CD lays bare his heart which serves as a microcosm for the struggle of Latino people all over the world: cultural fragmentation, intra-racial prejudices, a call for unity, the consideration of revolution, the need for healing. With guest appearances by fellow Palabristas Larry Lucio ("Soy Chicano"), Brandon Lacy Campos ("Mixed Emotions"), Lorena Duarte ("Red Queen"), and Emmanuel Ortiz ("Anti-war Poem"), the CD’s voice deepens and expands to include anthems on racial and sexual multiplicity; female identity, adaption, and survival; and the ambiguity of managing life and being anti-war.


Check out more at Rodrigo’s MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/rodrigospokenword and Palabristas’ page at http://www.palabristas.com/



TRACK LIST

Intro
Desaparecidos
Brown in White Town
I Cross Borders
Soy Chicano - larrylucio.com (ASCAP)
Mixed Emotions by Brandon Lacy Campos
Red Queen by Lorena Duarte
These Hands
Land of the Incas
Inmigrante
Suspects
Monarch Butterfly
Condor’s Wing (live)
Isabella
Revolution in Mind
Anti-war Poem by Emmanuel Ortiz
Where Are You From?
I Cross Borders (live)
At Times
Healing
Outro