Best of Latino cultural arts in April @ Austin American-Statesman

jwj-Resistencia-135Photo by Jay Jayner

Native Roots Open Mic series at Resistencia Bookstore

As an aspiring writer in college, I found myself encouraged by the late poet and founder of Resistencia Bookstore Raúl Salinas to read my poetry at the long-running open mic series, Café Libro. It was there that emerging writers and established spoken word artists came together to exchange ideas and build community in a safe space.

While Café Libro continues to offer this opportunity to Austinites, Red Salmon Arts, the nonprofit that creates programming for the bookstore, also recently added a new open mic series called Native Roots, hosted by University of Texas Linguistic Anthropology graduate student Qui’chi Patlan.

The series, which features indigenous and non-indigenous artists, showcases performance styles ranging from spoken word to comedy in order to promote culture exchange. On April 24, the series will present two headliners including performance poet and musician Lyla June Johnston, who is a descendant of Navajo and Cheyenne lineages.

Singer-songwriter Rob Saw from Akwesasne Mohawk Nation will also headline the free event, which goes from 4-6 p.m. Shaw describes his music as ‘Native Americana’ for its blend of traditional American Indian music with an indie country feel. Visit resistenciabooks.com for more information.”

via Best of Latino cultural arts in April By Nancy Flores – American-Statesman Staff, Posted: 12:00 a.m. Thursday, March 31, 2016