Brava and AIM West present
Flor y Canto Indigenista
Honoring Our Elders José Montoya & raúlrsalinas
IN SUPPORT OF LEONARD PELTIER
Thursday, February 24, 2022
Doors 6:30pm
Performance 7pm
TICKETS FOR THIS EVENT ARE SOLD OUT!
HOWEVER, a recording of the event will be available to stream on demand March 1 - 31, 2022. Tickets for the on demand stream can be purchased here.
Poster artwork by Calixto Robles.
Please join Brava and AIM West for Flor y Canto Indigenista, a poetry celebration featuring indigenous themed poetry, music, and speakers, honoring two Chicano poet activists: José Montoya, founding member of the Royal Chicano Air Force, and raúlrsalinas (Autumn Sun), a long-time activist for prison reform, who forged links with the indigenous communities thru their poetry, art, and activisms.
The Flor y Canto is presented in support of Leonard Peltier, a Native American and longest held political prisoner in the world, to bring attention to his unjust conviction and two life sentences and to his deteriorating physical condition as a 75-year-old with multiple health issues.
During this time of crisis in our society we are invoking our elders as symbols of our endurance and resistance as our communities confront multiple threats, the Covid pandemic, health care, immigration, Treaty violations, and racial injustice—poetry, music and the arts offer positive alternatives.
While our communities are in crisis, we remember those who have suffered the brunt of these injustices, in particular the Indigenous communities and Latino and Afro-American communities.
Thru our poetry, music and art, we gather to honor our elders who first made this path for us—and to demand freedom for those in our community unjustly imprisoned, in particular, we demand a Compassionate Release or Executive Clemency for Leonard Peltier, the longest serving Native American prisoner, under two life sentences, who has served 45 years in captivity, longer than any other Native American leader, including Sitting Bull and Geronimo.
TICKETS
$20
Brava has undertaken appropriate modifications to comply with current health and safety protocols provided by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. These measures include requiring proof of vaccination, mandatory face covering that completely covers nose and mouth, secured with ear loops or head strap (gaiters and bandanas are not acceptable), increased cleaning before performances, and a no-touch or low-touch experience.
TICKETS FOR THIS EVENT ARE SOLD OUT!
HOWEVER, a recording of the event will be available to stream on demand March 1 - 31, 2022. Tickets for the on demand stream can be purchased here.
FEATURED PRESENTERS
Ariel Vargas
Tony Gonzales
Mignon Geli
Len Foster
Mike Bellanger
Alejandro Murguía
Tongo Eisen-Martin
Amelia Vigil
Maceo Montoya
Richard Montoya
Dr. Loco
Maceo Montoya
Maceo Montoya is an author, artist, and educator who has published books in a variety of genres, including four works of fiction: The Scoundrel and the Optimist, The Deportation of Wopper Barraza, You Must Fight Them: A Novella and Stories, and Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces. Montoya has also published two works of nonfiction: Letters to the Poet from His Brother, a hybrid book combining images, prose poems, and essays, and Chicano Movement for Beginners, which he both wrote and illustrated. Montoya is an associate professor in the Chicana/o Studies Department at UC Davis where he teaches courses on Chicanx culture and literature.
Photo by Christopher Michel
Tongo Eisen-Martin
Originally from San Francisco, Tongo Eisen-Martin is a poet, movement worker, and educator. His latest curriculum on extrajudicial killing of Black people, “We Charge Genocide Again,” has been used as an educational and organizing tool throughout the country. His book titled, "Someone's Dead Already" was nominated for a California Book Award. His book "Heaven Is All Goodbyes" was published by the City Lights Pocket Poets series, was shortlisted for the Griffins Poetry Prize and won a California Book Award and an American Book Award. His latest book “Blood On The Fog” was released this fall in the City Lights Pocket Poets series. In 2020, he co-founded Black Freighter Press to publish revolutionary works. He is San Francisco’s eighth poet laureate.
Calixto Robles
Calixto Robles is a painter and a printmaker from Oaxaca, Mexico, who has lived in San Francisco since 1983. He studied serigraphy at Mission Grafica and lithography at UC Berkley extension, an started printing at the Mission Cultural Center in 1986. His art is inspired by the myths and traditions of his native Mexican roots and for the present interactions with the times we are living with. Calixto Robles art has been exhibited at the De Young Museum, the Legion of Honor , the Oakland Museum of Art, El Museo de la Estampa, Mexico City, Centro Cultural de Mexico, Paris, France. He has been teaching screen printing to young and adults at Mission Grafica , MCCLA since 1990.
Alejandro Murguía
Alejandro Murguía is the author of This War Called Love, City Lights Books (winner of the American Book. City Lights Books released his new book Stray Poems. He is the author of the short story “The Other Barrio” which was filmed in the Mission District. Currently he is a professor in Latina/Latino Studies at San Francisco State University. He is the Sixth San Francisco Poet Laureate and the first Latino to hold the post. Website: alejandromurguia.org
Mignon Geli
Mignon Geli is a native San Franciscan (Mestiza: Waray, Ilongo, Spanish) currently living in the Sierra Foothills on Nisenan land. She plays traditional and contemporary music on Native-style flutes and drums. She is a volunteer radio broadcaster on KFOK Community Radio, one of the organizers of the Global Indigenous People’s Village at California WorldFest, a traveling musician with the Buffalo Field Campaign, a member of The El Dorado County Indian Council, Inc., and is on the planning committee of Alcatraz Indians of all Tribes.