In a converted downtown
warehouse, an eclectic group of people mill around in celebratory
support of the release of a long awaited local CD. Most enjoy
a delicious complementary offering of tacos, beans and rice,
while discussing politically charged topics, exemplifying "food"
for the body and soul. People spill out onto the street, pressing
against one another to attempt to enter the crowded room. From
the young suburban Chicano teens passionately necking in the
last row, to the older smartly-dressed British woman sitting
in front, all walks of life collide for just one evening of flute,
bass, percussion, and the cross-cultural spoken word that is
the Taco Shop Poets.
A phrase is whispered by
the performers into the ears of those sitting on the edge of
the crowd to pass along. By the time it reaches my ears it has
evolved into "Poetry is power!"
Born out of the necessity
of self-expression, the Taco Shop Poets formed in 1994 to fill
a void in San Diego. The group set out to challenge cultural
and ethnic notions through the medium of the spoken word. Initially,
the touring ensemble was a platform for as many as sixteen voices,
all with something poignant to say.
i forget to pray because
cone nation under god
means at all costs
keep the right people within
the margin emasculating
the masses and
i forget when my hands
can no longer write
or feel and i hear
children telling me
they're afraid to speak
inglés always inglés
- an excerpt from "Forgive
Me" by Adrian Arancibia.
"The Taco Shop Poets
was originally a series of poetry readings that were sponsored
by the Centro Cultural de la Raza," says Miguel-Angel Soria,
one of the original members. "It was meant to be a one-time
series of readings by random poets from San Diego, Los Angeles,
and Tijuana in taco shops." After the series was completed,
several members decided the experience was worth continuing,
and with addition of a beatnik-cum-jazz musical element, the
Taco Shop Poets solidified.
Adrian Arancibia, Adolfo
Guzman Lopez, Tomás Riley, and Miguel-Angel Soria speak
from cultural duality, transgressing the language barrier and
reaffirming belief in pro-active change. The four poets perform
against a backbeat of percussion and bass offered by Kevin P.
Green and Michael Figgins, respectively.
The poems team with emotion.
Loud, crushing, angry, forlorn, soft and beautiful, the words
eat at the very core of social norms. Posing questions with wide-eyed
wonderment and scowling grimaces.
Why perform along side an
audience enjoying quesadillas and salsa? The poetry troupe maintains,
"Taco shops are places where people eat, talk and leave
behind social and class barriers in search of the perfect carne
asada burrito. Taco shops have become the new meeting places
for a cross-section of society. But [they] don't just have a
culinary function any longer. Taco shops are cultural centers,
they are the cultural crossroads for the new millennium."
Granted, a taco shop is
an unusual forum for a reading, far from the grande vanilla latte
serving coffeehouse that usually provides stages for readings.
But the Taco Shop Poets believe in exposing all types of people
to their poetry and at the taco shop, they find just that. Their
performances are unexpected, almost guerrilla-like in nature,
and the verbal poetic arsenal offends some, but endears most.
Ideas and life experiences are shared with an unexpecting audience,
leaving the spectators truly thinking about what they've just
witnessed.
As the Tacos Shop Poets
explain, their spoken word "is the combination of the different
spaces in our community; the taco shop space, the poetry space,
the border space, the music space, the performance space, the
nationalist space, the gender space, the sexuality space. Our
work can be found where those areas intersect."
While America touts itself
as cultivating the proverbial "melting pot," the sober
fact remains that individuals are judged by the color of their
skin and the language or accent with which they speak. As Mexican-Americans,
some of the Taco Shop Poets' members feel that they constantly
have to prove themselves to either culture. They expressed the
challenges of being bi-cultural. It is an ethnic duality, a combination
of two identities that separate most Mexican-Americans from either
culture. Neither country embraces the individual, who feels as
if he or she is standing, "with feet on both sides of the
border." The main objective of the poetry group is to transgress
social confines, ideals and stereotypes, while remaining a strong
voice for their diverse ethnic roots. It is important to stress
that the Taco Shop Poets are relatable, even to those outside
of the culture. "We want to establish a space that represents
us," says Tomás Riley. Clearly they represent the
"us" in many cultures.
I have forgiven so much
I now know Willie Nelson
songs
and the spin hustle of an
Abba bass
line and that John Travolta
is a
scientologist
I have forgiven so much
that I now have two advanced
degrees
and am working on my third
I have forgiven so much
that I now,
while living in San Ysidro
California,
subscribe to New Yorker
buy name brand pharmaceuticals
to ease my pain...
- an excerpt from "Forgive"
by Miguel-Angel Soria.
With the release of the
Taco Shop Poets' new CD, Chorizo Tonguefire, the group is bound
to broaden their already diverse audience base. From those seeking
truth and spirituality, to individuals who need a voice, Chorizo
Tonguefire is sure to reach them. The troupe has also published
its first bookalso conveniently titled Chorizo Tonguefire,
which contains an anthology of their work throughout their five
years of touring, and performing nationally, as well as internationally.
The book contains a wealth of poems from the current line-up
as well as pieces written by past members and collaborators.
Although not as powerful as their spoken word performances, each
selection brims with honesty and the emotional intensity that
the Taco Shop Poets are known for.
Another project the Taco
Shop Poets have completed is their involvement in the upcoming
HBO film documentary Americanos. Produced by Edward James Olmos
the film depicts "Latino life throughout the U.S."
explains Adrian Arancibia. "we're very proud to be a part
of it." Due to air in March 2000, the group is preparing
for a different type of exposure, "we tour nation-wide,
and when people hear that we're from San Diego, they say 'there's
a cultural movement in San Diego?'" To be sure, this corner
of the United States is known for being a laid-back vacation
town. But that perception will most likely change, at least in
the cultural view, when Americanos debuts.
As the millennium draws
to a close, the focus on multi-ethnic dimensions within this
country is apparent. Although popular culture may come and go,
and the Chicano movement may be embraced one week or shunned
the next, one thing in this border town society remains constant:
the taco shops. It stands as a salsa infused beacon that draws
in the hungry, the weary and the individuals in search of the
perfect carne asada burrito at midnight. Just by chance, these
wanderers might stumble upon a spoken word performance that could
change the way they view the culture surrounding them. It could
change the way they view themselves. When asked about San Diego's
reaction to the troupe, Adrian Arancibia lamented, "you
can't be a Prophet in your own town." Really? There is a
growing audience out here who beg to differ.
For upcoming spoken word
performance information visit the Taco Shop Poets' Web site at
<http://members.xoom.com/t_s_p>.
