Cross-border festival to highlight poetry, art

Known as one of the most original voices of Chicano literature in the United States, the poet Francisco X. Alarcón will open the Lunas de Octubre (Moons of October) festival at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center of San Luis, Ariz.

Alarcón is a third-generation Chicano born in Wilmington, Calif. He was educated in California and Mexico, and completed his doctoral studies at Stanford University. He is the creator of the Facebook page “Poets Responding to SB 1070.”

Earlier in the day, the poet will present the conference “The Power of the Word” from 10 a.m. to noon at the San Luis library, 1075 N. 6th Ave.

Other authors, in person and over Skype, will share poetry and participate in the festival as part of the Fifth Reunion of Migrant Poets, with a theme of “Cross-border identifies: poetry, social movements and migration.”

The event is being organized by the Consulate of Mexico in Yuma, with support from the League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC), City of San Luis, Ariz., and Yuma County Library District.

Trova artist Fer Monroy will present songs of “love, heartbreak and happiness” at the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center, 1015 N. Main St.

Timothy Logan Phillips, an artist born in the border area of Arizona and Sonora, will present bilingual poems. A veteran of the poetry movement “slam,” he has competed nationally and toured most of the country and around the world. Before returning to Arizona, he lived in Cuernavaca and Mexico City.

Roy Dorantes will portray 12 characters, some real life, with the monologue “Border Crossing,” whose theme is the immigration law SB1070.

Festival-goers can also listen to the poet Juan Banuelos. Born in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, he studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He is a member of the group La Espiga Amotinada.

In addition, 15 plastic artists will exhibit their works in the lobby of the Cultural Center during the festival. The exhibitors include: Elena Candelas, Eloisa Gonzalez, Jasmine Jacuinde, Zulma Perez, Alejandro Encinas, Maria E. Medina, Lily Rose, Rosario Silva, Edgar Rosario, Tannia Cortez, Martha Lidia Martinez, Maria de los Angeles Moreno, Rosa Vega and Jonathan Mendoza.

With support from the National Council for Culture and the Arts, a seminar on cultural journalism through the Internet will be Oct. 19 and 20. On Friday, Bianca Eunice Castillo Villanueva, editor of the publication El Faro Cultural of Guadalajara, Jalisco, will lecture on the theme “Is the Internet the future of cultural diffusion?” The conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the lobby of the Colorado River Theater, Obregon Avenue and 30th Street, in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. It is open to the public.

The second activity is the workshop “Cultural Journalism on the Web,” held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the OM Yoga Institute, Madero Avenue and 13th Street, in San Luis Rio Colorado. Advance registration is required to participate in this event as space is limited.

For more information on the Fifth Reunion of Migrant Poets and the Lunas de Octubre festival, contact the consulate at yumacomunidades@hotmail.com or (928) 343-0066 ext. 817.

Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or (928) 539-6856. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/YSMaraKnaub or on Twitter at @YSMaraKnaub.