Week 11

Hola Readers,

This week brought some very interesting presentations. We were exposed to a little art and music in a very cultural manner. The Hermanos (Brothers) of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Incorporated arranged for the presentations of The Poet Daniel (Daniel Jose Custodio) and Alma Moyo. The Poet Daniel had his presentation this past Thursday at the Student Union Theater and also threw in a special poetry workshop lunch for the students who were available. Alma Moyo had their presentation on Friday in the Union Theater.

The Poet Daniel is a slam poet, author, and teacher. Originating from Sleepy Hollow, New York, he works hard to show his audience and readers the life of a “first generation Latino, battling socio-economic oppression”. He has published two poetry books, one called “Rising to the Surface” and the other “Hooked”. At the lunch workshop, he offered a treat for those who attended. He gave a sneak peak at the show he would be giving and read some of his poems for those present. One poem was called Yankee Fitted. It truly was a treat to hear the poem spoke of those who allow themselves to fall into “capitalistic games” by buying that which is in trend. However, not simply just by buying what was in trend, but buying it while realizing that the family barely has money to survive. The poem is about how kids are so easily influenced and how the games that are played on them control their everything. The poem ends with an idea that in society today is unfortunately not addressed enough. If you were to ask a child today who Alex Rodriguez is they would be able to tell you all the facts and statistics they knew. It would be the back of his card completely memorized. However, ask that same child who Don Pedro Albizu is and they will have no idea. The Poet Daniel was and is not afraid to bring it all forth in his poetry. He speaks what he feels and that is what he presents. It was a great presentation and brought Latino art in a new way to our campus.

Now Alma Moyo is a musical group dedicated to preserve and educate about one of Puerto Rico’s African musical traditions called La Bomba. They are an Afro- Boricua musical group consisting of 17 members. They present various songs at their show on Friday however, not all 17 members were present. Regardless they knew just how to entertain and hype the crowd. Along with Alma Moyo’s presentation the event brought forth cultural groups from the university. The cultural student groups that performed consisted of the dance group B.A.I.L.E (Bringing Awareness Into Latino Ethnicities), UConn Step Team, and UConn Capoeira a martial art and dance form originating from Brazil. As vacation time approaches us and exams and papers begin to take a good portion of our lives as students keep in mind the university continues to offer events such as these as a nice stress relief. So to all students please keep in mind these events are for you, so keep your eye out for those that may be of interest to you.