FAN MAIL

Good evening, I just read Yo Soy Latina! and loved it. It was a gift from a very close friend who thought I would enjoy it and of course, he was right.

A few close friends have wondered how I can be so accepted in many cultural situations and my response has always been the same; be yourself, be latina, be sensitive to other cultures, be open to different ways of thinking, and get out of the "hood" and expand your horizons. Many of these adjectives were prevalent in your play. I particulary enjoyed Alicia's character because I think many of us fall into that category of trying too hard to fit into a white world, even if it means changing something really great about yourself. Once you recognize what you've done, you're so pissed that you ensure you're never in that position again. I truly identified with Migdalia and Soledad. I was a renegade in my family by marrying a black man in the mid eighties. My family migrated from Puerto Rico in the 1950's and were very closed minded when it came to other races and cultures. I too helped change my family's opinion about black people, because I married a black man in the mid 19!

80's. We kept the lines of communication open and it was a bit of a struggle but I can honestly say they were genuinely accepting of him.

Soledad is who I was about 5 years ago. I am middle-aged with a teen daughter yet to raise, and I ended a 12 year relationship because of what Soledad talked about. I feel fabulous, still a little scared and it seems I still have a little renegade in me.


I am from Chicago and wondered if you have conducted the play here. If so where. I currently attend a community college with a nice sized Latino student body and I know of another Chicago Community College that has an even larger Latino base and finally Northeastern Illinois University has a very large latino student body. I am saying all of this to say, what would it take to bring your play here? I believe that Chicago Latinos would benefit greatly from your play. Especially since I believe that Chicago is still one of those metropolitan cities that covertly supports segregation, biases and racism.

Finally, we will be in New York the 14th through the 23rd and I wondered if Yo Soy Latina will be playing locally.

Continued success, I am very proud of your youth and what you have and will continue to accomplish.

Apologies for such a long email.

Sisters at heart,
Shirley R.

P.S. I have made a pact that every time I hear latinos talk negatively about other Latinos I will make every effort to speak up in a positive way.

The Occupational Hazards of Helping Others

Dear Whomever Wants to Read This:

I was inspired recently to write about The Occupational Hazards of Helping Others.

Why is it that when relationships in this business don’t work out, people want to sling you through the mud and destroy your name and reputation? I can think of a few answers to that but choose not to, play psychoanalyst at this time. Listen, it’s no surprise that with as many people as I have met, and I’ve met a lot, that not all are going to like me, get me or are meant to share in my journey. I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again: I am not here to win a popularity contest or make friends but if we become friends, great. And lord knows, this is too much work for it to be a game for me. I really love what I do because in the process of doing it, there’s this side effect of empowering others. That’s the part I love. Because when you empower others, their joy somehow ignites more inspiration in the empowerer and others--it’s contagious and in a beautiful way changes everything around you for the better. I know that my purpose is to write, direct and produce stories, ideas that empower Latinos. So why am I writing this?

Yesterday, as I was reading the status updates, I stumbled on one very angry person’s blog who has accused me of stealing an idea from her. Specifically, the EPISTLES idea. Normally I would not give this negativity a second thought but I’m going to be honest here, even through the thick skin, I feel I’ve developed over time, this one really penetrated me in a way that I feel a need to write about it.

I met this person a few years ago, an inspiring writer who actually came to seek me. She was a fan, she came to a show of mine and said she wanted to talk to me because she had an idea about starting a workshop. Here’s my problem. And I’m going to be honest, it was and sometimes still is (in certain situations) my biggest problem: I always want to help without giving thought about what I have to sacrifice in terms of time and energy. I don’t know if being a Virgo has anything to do with this, because Virgos are natural teachers, but I’m going to say that I’m learning to let go of the need to help or work with everyone because of situations like this. So she wanted guidance and I was there to give her what she needed – validation. For me, it was another way of networking with a great Latina artist. However, I know most of the time, aspiring artists need validation and opportunities more than anything and they usually look for them in someone who is paving the way. A few weeks later she invites me to a birthday party. I didn’t attend because I felt I didn’t know her that well but I sent her lovely daughter a monetary birthday gift anyway. (BTW, I get invited to a lot of places and am asked to donate a lot of money to causes and quite honestly, I have to take myself off the list now because it’s gotten really bad.)

Anyway, she told me that this relationship with me is similar to the one in THE ALCHEMIST. Teacher and student. I was in ways showing her the ropes, just because that’s what I do and enjoy doing. I was trying to find a way to fit her restless energy into Latino Flavored Productions Inc. She’s an angry writer with a lot of passion and I thought that would translate well on camera or as a radio show. It didn’t work though. My idea was to have a show that focused on inspiring motivational tips on writing. Her intention was to use four letter words in a show that was meant to empower writers. Hey, no one loves the word motherfucker more than me, but fuck and motherfucker and any variation of the word, did not have a place in this show. Her blog says I was controlling her words. No, I was structuring a show. I didn’t want a fuckfest of words in this format. Because as you read the words now, doesn’t it just change the feeling of the writing? It becomes negative. So this idea did not work out. At all. One day I get an email that she no longer is interested in doing the show. Okay, fine. I knew it was going there. So why the need to say I bounced?

Beware that when “some” aspiring artists are beginning to fly and they are critiqued, they will retreat and damn you for not giving them the much-needed validation they need to face the fear.

Long story short, not everyone is meant to be on my journey. And I have to tell you, when they find that out, they get really mean. They want you to fail miserably. How delusional of her to write in her blog that when she felt she surpassed my success that that made her powerful. That in a nutshell told me everything. I’m not going to apologize for not finding room in my agenda for those I don’t have anything in common with or share the same goals and intent with. No, I won’t do that. Everyone should be mature enough to accept that we are not all supposed to travel on the same road.

It’s okay for you not to get along with everyone or realize that there is a dead end in certain relationships. I have found that when two people in the community are not getting along people say, “Oh come on, you are Latino you have to support one another.” It’s not an obligation to stay in a relationship that doesn’t grow or work. Some people are meant to be together and some are not, it’s that simple. For reasons we cannot control.

Going back to the reason I started writing this: there are people that use your success as the barometer for their success. I use no one in that way because success comes in varying forms. I don’t want to be like anyone else because that limits me from my own success. She wrote she’s surpassed my success, I’m quite sure she hasn’t grossed over a million dollars considering her need to own a letter idea. What success is she talking about? The one in her head? And as far as Epistle ideas go, they have been around forever. No one owns the right to letter writing. So when Jenny Saldana and I were looking for a new show, I tapped into what I had been learning in a recent English Literature class this past spring, since we did not want to host a poetry or spoken word event. We love poetry, but we didn’t want to produce that type of event this year.

So, why do I feel the need to write this, because as I learned in Epistles, it’s a great way to purge bullshit in your life. The world is full of beautiful people and as she wrote BAD PEOPLE.

It’s funny how she didn’t use my name but used the same references she had so often spoken to me about. This will be her response to this blog: If she didn’t steal the idea then how does she know I’m talking about her? Here is my response: “It’s obvious fool.”

Here’s the other thing I learned: There is always going to be a group of folks that don’t like you regardless of how much you explain yourself. You can jump hoops for these people. And they will continue hating you for the sake of hating you.

I have since removed this person off my Facebook Friends and Myspace Friends. I don’t care to know what she does or doesn’t do. But since she’s all in my business, I figured I’d write A LETTER TO A FRUSTRATED ARTIST who feels the need to bring a sistah down based on assumptions and false accusations.

And for those who want to work for me or with me, don’t get angry or hurt when I ask for a contract. Friendships and business do not mix at all. Sometimes you get lucky and find really good souls. But just the nature of business can change that in an instant. And I find it’s harder for women than men just because men tell it like it is. Women don’t always say what they mean. So please be clear, frank and honest! And if a friendship develops, then that’s icing on the cake.


Sincerely,

An artist, entrepreneur, motivator and potential friend

ULTIMATE LATINAS on BRONXNET

Open Friday 5-29-09 with Rhina Valentin

Where Iris Chacon is Smarter than Shakespeare

FROM BORICUANEWS.COM

Ultimate Latina Theatre Festival
Where Iris Chacon is Smarter than Shakespeare

By Robert Waddell, May 9, 2009

In the Punk Rock ethos, the philosophy of Do-it-Yourself with A Positive Mental Attitude has reigned true especially when record companies wouldn’t record a band, many artists pressed, presented and promoted their own work.

The same philosophy rings true with the upcoming The Ultimate Latina Theatre Festival this June at the Nuyorican Poets Café. Created by ultimate Latina playwright Linda Nieves-Powell, this ten day festival, in its second year, showcases original work creating a platform where Latina thespians can thrive.

“I wanted to create an entire festival that’s very Latina empowering,” said Nieves-Powell, author of “Yo Soy Latina.”

Featured during the festival run is the play “21” when a young girl is fed up with life, she’s visited by the ghost of Roberto Clemente. Another night offers “Ultimate Latinas Out Loud: Epistles,” letters of personal and intimate thought. One of the fun sounding plays is “The Jedi Papi Chulo and the Power Pansa” written by Vanessa Benitez. “Brown Girls Chronicles” tells the migratory story of Boricuas who came to Chicago in the 1950s and 60s. The play “Please Hold” by Jenny Saldana tells the behind-the-scenes look at customer call centers.

“We’re showcasing our work,” said Saldana. “This festival is only going to get bigger and better. And give people (Latina artists) a chance to be seen and heard.”

Saldana once worked at a call center for 10 years and used her experiences and stories she’d heard to write her play about an angry Latina.

“I wanted to give a place, a feeling,” said Nieves-Powell. “Without judgment or competition to showcase work; I want us all to work together under one roof. This makes a huge statement.”

If there is a unifying theme to this festival, it’s that actors and playwrights can learn to create, cast and promote their own work and each other’s work. Nieves-Powell said that it’s about taking a risk and the evolution within the creative process. “Latina actors need to try something new, experiment, test things,” she said.

Nieves-Powell created an evening of Epistles and asked for submissions. She thought she’d get some poetry. Amazed, Nieves-Powell received an avalanche of soul purging confessions.

The plays and theatre pieces are written, acted and directed by women of the theatre while giving their Latina point-of-view spin. Probably the most adventurous sounding title is “Sexy Shakespeare” where women will perform the Bard in between burlesque numbers. This must be where “the plays the thing” meets Gypsy Rose Lee, or for here, Iris Chacon.

“It’s a great process to see my ideas go from my heart and head to come to reality,” said Antonia Marrero, an actor who conceptualized and performs in “Sexy Shakespeare.”

Marrero said that she had so many ideas about a large scale full production, which would bring her love of Shakespeare and her love of burlesque together, however in collaboration with Nieves-Powell, Saldano and director Eva Stapleton, Marrero was able to create a meaningful and manageable work.

The Ultimate Latina Theatre Festival makes serious attempts at involving committed actors and dramatists while having fun, exploring and creating a new venue for Latinas. This “collective voice” of Latinas are almost always ignored or stereotypically portrayed in the mass media, but here, some serious fun potentially can happen, where these Latinas can present a humorous, provocative and glam-filled showcase, not only of Latina talent but of their diverse, profound and new ideas. Cleverness and intelligence solidifies what looks to be an eventful ten days of intelligent fun.

This is a Festival that’s not afraid to be down right steamy sexy celebrating the allure and power of Latina women. No one is ashamed or hiding anything. There’s even a play written by Nieves-Powell titled “Sex, Lies and Adam and Eve” which may just prove the point. Just watch the festival’s promo video on line and that alone will make you jump up and bum rush the door at the Nuyorican.

Ms. Powell is known as a playwright who writes about Latina issues but in “Sex, Lies and Adam and Eve” she attempts to do something new, exploring territory that is universal.

“We’re trying something new,” said Nieves-Powell, “…to give an opportunity, this is boot camp for Latina artists.”

The Ultimate Latina Theatre Festival runs June 4th to June 14th at the Nuyorican Poets Café, 236 East 3rd street. For more information log onto: http://vimeo.com/4556284 or Nuyorican.org.

This story was developed through the Education Beat Writing Fellowship at the New York Community Alliance.

Click here to read other articles by Robert Waddell

The ULTIMATE promo video is here!

The Ultimate Latina Theater Festival from EKG Films on Vimeo.

The 2009 Ultimate Latina Theater Festival

My favorite time of the year is approaching and I love the Ultimate Latina Theater Festival line up this year. This year it will take place at the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe!

June 4th - 7pm

"PLEASE HOLD" written and directed by Jenny Saldana

From the caller who doesn't understand the concept of "lather, rinse and repeat" to the wife who calls the sex line to get advice for her husband; PLEASE HOLD is a hysterical behind the scenes look at the world of customer service call centers and the people who work in them.



June 5th - 7pm



"BROWN GIRLS CHRONICLES" written and directed by Yolanda Nieves

The play tells the tale of women who are the daughters of Puerto Rican immigrants that arrived in Chicago during the 1950’s and 1960’s. None of the women reflected in the play have ever lived on the island of Puerto Rico. Directly taken from interviews with second generation Puerto Rican women, The Brown Girls’ Chronicles: Puerto Rican Women & Resilience has a specific intent: to center the voices of Puerto Rican women who lived in Humboldt Park in a way that has never been done before while adapting Ntozake Shange’s concept of the choreopoem in a new fashion. The lived experiences of the women are detailed in the compilation of poetry, choral poems, chants, and monologues that reveal the women’s relationship to the self, family, men, their bodies and sexuality, their struggles with spirituality, and the way they resist invisibility.



June 6th - 7pm

"21" written by Mimi Lee and directed by Tiffany Vega

Looey, a college senior is so tired of finals, softball practice and rules that she just wants to quit school to hang out with her new loser boyfriend. When the ghost of Roberto Clemente visits her she learns a lesson or two about life, death and quitting.



June 7th - 3pm

"THE JEDI PAPI CHULO AND THE POWER PANSA" written by Vanessa Benitez and Ura Yoana Sanchez. Directed by Lisandra Sanchez-Payan.

The Jedi Papi Chulo and The Power Pansa is an award winning* original one-act play by Ura Yoana Sanchez and Vanessa Benitez. The play tells the story of Lucas, an insecure bakery worker who attains a very unique power from a magical source. The play shows the power a charming man can have over two intelligent but very different women. (* 3rd place winner of TEATRO LA TEA's 1st annual bilingual playwrights festival)


June 11th - 7pm

"ULTIMATE LATINAS OUT LOUD: EPISTLES" conceived by Linda Nieves-Powell

e·pis·tle

1. a long formal letter that often serves to instruct (formal)
2. a literary work in the form of a letter


June 12th - 7pm

"SEXY SHAKESPEARE" conceived by Jenny Saldana and Antonia Marrero and directed by Eva Stapleton

Sexy Shakespeare s an hour long production consisting of several Shakespearean scenes intertwined with burlesque dance. The intention of the production is to entertain and to create Shakespearean scenes with an all female cast. In Shakespearean times, all roles were played by men. Now, in the new millennium it will be introduced with this sexy twist.



June 13th - 7pm

"SEX, LIES and ADAM & EVE" by Mimi Lee directed by Mercedes Vasquez.

Three funny, sexy and honest vignettes explore the ramifications of Adam and Eve's descent in modern relationships.


June 14th - 3pm
Closing Event – "GRACIAS MUJERES" produced by Latino Flavored Productions Inc. and Revolucion Latina. Tickets and event info will be available shortly.

MTV TRUE LIFE I'm Nuyorican is off the air!

See what your voice can do!

The Signal

YO SOY LATINA! is still empowering women after 8 years!

The Signal

FAN MAIL

Evelynmariagonzalez rated it: @@@@@
03/19/09

Read in January, 2009
Evelynmariagonzalez rated it:
03/19/09
Read in January, 2009

I absolutely loved this book for the following reasons: 1) Contemporary, fresh and emotionally engaging; 2) I love Nieves-Powells' Puerto Rican woman twist on the classic Thelma and Louise; 3) Nieves-Powell's "beats" in the novel and witty, laugh out loud dialogue kept me happy for days. Finally, her story is very well developed -- touching on some rather universal themes, while keeping it real. (The power of women coming together, career vs. motherhood tug -- that does not tug at the usual "whiny" dialogue we hear from women not accustomed to seeing how indeed you can reconcile or HAVE to reconcile both because of economic circumstances, and the old matter of families, mothers and husbands. ) I hope this Puerto Rican sister is working on her next book!...less

Nuyoricans Against MTV's True Life

Nuyoricans Against MTV's True Life

Judy Torres to read from the novel FREE STYLE - 3/20

GREAT NEWS!
Judy Torres, the Queen of Free Style will be joining us at Cemi Underground, 1799 Lexington Avenue at 112th Street on March 20th 2009. She will be reading from my book FREE STYLE!

Hoop Dreams!

Staten Island resident has 'Hoop' dreams

by Rob Bailey

Thursday March 12, 2009, 1:00 AM

Linda Nieves-Powell explores whether hoop earrings are "sexy, trashy or empowering" in her new short documentary "The Bigger the Hoop."

Leave it to the gals at my corner bodega to boil a pop culture conundrum down to its purest point. Cashier 1: Huh? Girl, those hoops are hoochie. Cashier 2: No, these hoops are me.

It should come as no surprise that New Springville renaissance woman Linda Nieves-Powell is weighing in on the topic via her new short documentary "The Bigger the Hoop." (Watch it now at Cinedulce.com.)

The writer-turned-filmmaker says her new "baby" explores whether hoop earrings are "sexy, trashy or empowering."

Alert Islanders will remember Nieves-Powell from the 2001 off-Broadway run of "Yo Soy Latina!," her witty fact-based play about Latinas in contempo America. The ensemble piece has since toured the country.

Her first novel, the disarming "Free Style," was published to nationwide critical acclaim in 2008.

Fan Review of Free Style!

I love it when I find these things:

Sometimes, I go to nonfiction books and find out how to fix whatever I think needs fixing in my life. Then, sometimes, I happen across a fiction book that inspires me to seek out the fix. Free Style is one of those books.

Like Idalis, when my life went to hell, I went looking in my past for the solution. I did exactly what she did and with the same results: I went looking for a long-ago love who I thought would “fix” me. I went looking for the woman who I loved so hard, so deeply that I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her for eight years - the one who I thought also loved me, despite breaking up with me to be with someone else. It turns out that Idalis and I had similar results, too.

Free Style started out slowly for me, probably because I was hoping it would be like one of my favorite books, The Dirty Girls Social Club. It isn’t, but it turns out to be an excellent book in its own right.

Many women who expect their marriages to last, for their lives to follow the course they’ve set for them; when they don’t, it’s (to say the least) unsettling. Idalis is unsettled and uncertain. She also, like many of us, doesn’t want to see what it is about her that might be contributing to the situation at hand.

The writing here isn’t sophisticated, but that’s sort of the point. Idalis is not a sophisticated woman, and she has spent a long time trying to be something she isn’t, trying to want things she doesn’t want because she’s been told she is supposed to want them.

This is a quote from the very end of Free Style which sums it up perfectly:

“…all I could think about was how funny the universe was. No matter how much you planned and worked and dreamed, it would always offer you little surprises. I realized that you just have to go with the flow, or fight it and never find true happiness.”

Latina Diversity

Yo Soy Latina! The Play from Writer Linda Nieves Powell
Does the typical Latina have dark eyes, dark hair and olive skin?
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/112102/yo_soy_latina_the_play_from_writer.html

Latinos in Literature - March 5th 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The powerHouse Arena is pleased to present

Latinos in Literature
Featuring:
Joe Conzo
Kim Osorio
Linda Nieves-Powell
Ivan Sanchez
Daniel Serrano
DJ Disco Wiz
Moderated by John Garcia

Thursday, March 5, 2009, 7-9PM
The powerHouse Arena
37 Main Street, Brooklyn
For more information: (718) 666-3049
RSVP: rsvp@powerhousearena.com

As Latino literature begins to find its rightful place on the bookshelves, a fresh new crop of Nuyorican authors is emerging as the trailblazers of an exciting new movement in literature.

Daniel Serrano’s Gunmetal Black has been called a new-age Carlito's Way. Joe Conzo’s visual documentation in Born in the Bronx has unlocked a time and place only captured by his lens. Linda Nieves-Powell has taken Latina Lit to a nostalgic place with her novel, Free Style, while Kim Osorio told an empowering tale of a woman in the male dominated world of Hip Hop in her tell all, Straight From the Source. Ivan Sanchez’s, Next Stop: Growing up Wild-Style in the Bronx, brutally honest memoir has been compared to Piri Thomas’ Down These Mean Streets, and his second offering, It's Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, co-authored with Luis Cedeno, is the first ever memoir about a Latino pioneer in Hip Hop.

Now for the first time ever, The powerHouse Arena brings all of these dynamic speakers together under one roof to read excerpts of their work, as well as to discuss how hard it was for them to break into the literary world and where they plan to go next now that the doors are open. They will also discuss what they believe the future of Latino Literature to be.

The panel discussion will be moderated by John Garcia who has been a reporter and editor in all forms of media for over 23 years.

Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop by Joe Conzo
Hip hop first became a part of the mainstream music industry in the early 1980s, when major record labels released albums from such accessible groups as Run DMC and the Sugarhill Gang. But the true origins of one of the most powerful pop-cultural influences of the 20th century are in the spontaneous, progressive musical cultures that grew out of tough neighborhoods in the Bronx of the 1970s. Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop is a striking anthology of the baby steps of hip hop that not only captures the emergence of a burgeoning culture but also the fashion and character of the surrounding community.

Joe Conzo grew up in the Bronx and is considered hip-hop’s first photographer. His work has appeared on VH-1 and in the New York Times, VIBE, and Esquire, among other numerous books and exhibits.

Straight from the Source:
An Expose from the Former Editor in Chief of the Hip-Hop Bible by Kim Osorio
Kim Osorio had a front-row seat for the biggest beefs, battles, and blow-ups in hip-hop. As the first female editor-in-chief of The Source, she had come up. From her corner office, Kim got the goods on hip-hop's hottest names: Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent, Lil' Kim. She developed close—sometimes intimate—relationships with the artists she exposed to the public. But The Source couldn't hide its own dirty laundry for long. In a culture dominated by men, Kim rose to the top, and after years in the magazine's pressure cooker, she hit "send" on a two-sentence e-mail that would thrust her from the sidelines of the scandalous world she reported on to the center of one of the most explosive scandals in hip-hop history.

Kim Osorio, a native of the Bronx, New York, was the first female editor-in-chief of The Source magazine. She led the publication to some of its highest-selling issues ever before suing for sexual harassment. She lives in New Jersey with her fiancé and two daughters.

Free Style by Linda Nieves-Powell
Funny, intelligent, and, above all, relevant, Free Style is an inspiring novel about two thirty-something married moms—one who is separated and the other whose marriage is hanging on by a thread. They decide to escape their to-do lists to revisit their past at Club 90, a nightclub they frequented in the early nineties. There they meet up with old friends and lost loves and dance their troubles away to Lisa Lisa and C&C Music Factory. But when they’re hit with a shocking dose of reality, they must decide whether to stay in the past or move on.

Linda Nieves-Powell is the writer/director/producer of the off-Broadway hit Yo Soy Latina! as well as the “New Soul Latina Show” and “Jose Can Speak.” She was named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine, one of the Groundbreaking Latinas of 2006 by Catalina magazine, and one of the Top 100 Latinas by El Diario. Her nonfiction has appeared in national periodicals, including Latina magazine, Estylo magazine, and Latino Impact Entertainment News. She’s also appeared on a myriad of television programs, including Today, PBS City Arts, Good Day New York, Urban Latino TV, and Telemundo News.

Next Stop: Growing up Wild-Style in the Bronx by Ivan Sanchez
Ivan Sanchez takes readers on a wild train ride beyond the safety of New York City’s news headlines into the heart of the Bronx, while traveling back in time to his youth during the late ’80s and early ’90s. From one stop to the next, this memoir follows Sanchez and his crew of friends on their search for identity and an escape from poverty “on the come up” in a stark world where street wars and all-night symphonies of crime and drug-fueled mayhem were as routine as the #4 train.

Ivan Sanchez is the author of Next Stop: Growing up Wild-Style in the Bronx (Touchstone, 2008) and co-author of It’s Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop’s First Latino DJ (powerHouse Books, 2009). He was awarded the National Novel honors for his first fiction offering, The Murder Exchange in 2004. His freelance work has appeared in the NY Daily News, the Virginian-Pilot and on EGRadioonline.com, SiTV.com, and HipHopGame.com. Currently, Sanchez is developing a TV series based on Next Stop, in addition to his work as an anti-gang youth advocate and motivational speaker. Previously, he has lectured at schools in the South Bronx and Chicago and Princeton and Harvard Universities.

Gunmental Black by Daniel Serrano
As a child, Eddie Santiago grows up on the mean streets of his Puerto Rican neighborhood in Chicago, where he witnesses his father's murder. Now in his thirties, after serving ten years in a state penitentiary, Eddie is coming home. With prison behind him, Eddie plans to seek refuge in Miami Beach. But new trouble begins when Eddie and his old friend/gangster Little Tony are pulled over by two cops, who rob Eddie of his money belt, which contains his life savings. Convinced it was a set-up, Eddie is determined to recover what is rightfully his, all the while trying to reform his childhood friend.

Daniel Serrano was born in Brooklyn and raised in Chicago. The eldest of three Puerto Rican boys raised by a single-parent mom, Serrano witnessed gangs, crime, drugs, poverty, even murder as his family lived the urban Latino struggle. In his mid-twenties, he enrolled in the Weekend Program at Shimer College and studied the classics while working as a laborer. He went on to earn a law degree at St. John’s University. As an attorney, Serrano has spent the bulk of his career in New York City representing politicians and alleged criminals. Gunmetal Black, his first novel, was named Best Thriller of 2008 by Latinidad. His next novel, Boogiedown, a murder mystery will be published in Spring 2010.

It’s Just Begun by Ivan Sanchez and Luis “DJ Disco Wiz” Cedeño
Half-Cuban, half-Puerto Rican, Luis “DJ Disco Wiz” Cedeño is 100 percent Boogie Down Bronx. Born in the ’60s, Wiz struggled in a turbulent and violent relationship with his alcoholic father while trying to protect his mother who was suffering from breast cancer. Raised in the ’70s, Wiz learned the code of the streets while hustling with his crew, the East Side Boys. In 1975, Wiz discovered salvation when he hooked up with the legendary Grandmaster Caz to form the Mighty Force Crew, waging some of the biggest DJ battles in the Bronx during hip hop’s earliest years. Featuring over 50 never-before-seen photos, It’s Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop’s First Latino DJ is a gritty and gripping tale of one man’s struggles to not only survive, but to triumph over adversity and abuse that will make your blood run cold. By conquering unimaginable obstacles, Wiz offers inspiration to anyone who has ever wondered, “Why me?”

Luis “DJ Disco Wiz” Cedeño, The first Latino hip hop DJ, is credited for being the first DJ to make a "mixed plate" in 1977 along with his childhood best friend Grandmaster Caz, combining sound bites, special effects, and paused beats. In the years since, Wiz has been an influential force in educating the world about the early years of hip-hop. Wiz was a major contributor in the opening of the Experience Music Project in Seattle in 2000, and was instrumental in the making of Jim Fricke and Charlie Ahearn's critically acclaimed Yes Yes Y'all (Da Capo Press, 2002). His first book, It’s Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop’s First Latino DJ, co-written with Ivan Sanchez will be released with (Miss Rosen Editions/powerHouse Books) in June 2009. Wiz was also featured in the Emmy-nominated VH1 Rock Doc NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell, and is the creator and founder of the Hip-Hop Meets Spoken Wordz series an annual event that unites emerging Latino talent with Old School artists, while collecting food and clothing for homeless Bronx residents. DJ Disco Wiz is also the weekly host of the Hip Hop Chronicles on Urban Latino Radio.

Moderator John Garcia
Moderator John Garcia is a professional media manager, reporter, and editor in new media, print, and broadcast for more than 23 years. He helped to create Hispanic Business Today for NBC, served as executive producer for Today in New York, and helped launch MSNBC, SNAP and IN. He served as VP, Interactive Content and Programming, NBC Television Stations Division, and as Integration Leader for NBC/Telemundo. Garcia is presently director of development and communications for Latino Justice PRLDEF, the premiere Latino civil rights organization in the country. His work has appeared in the Miami Herald, Miami News, New York Daily News, Gannett Newspapers and Vista Magazine. He served as Director of Digital Journalism at New York University, is a native of New York City’s Lower East Side, and a graduate of Hunter College. He is the author of Hispanic Magazine, a book about magazine publishing, and is a former National Racquetball Champion and airplane pilot.

For more information contact Viviana Morizet, viviana@powerHouseBooks.com

Latinos in Literature -- powerHouse Arena! - March 5th 2009

The powerHouse Arena is pleased to present -

Latinos in Literature
Featuring:

Joe Conzo
Kim Osorio
Linda Nieves-Powell
Ivan Sanchez
Daniel Serrano
DJ Disco Wiz

Moderated by John Garcia

Thursday, March 5, 2009, 7-9PM
The powerHouse Arena
37 Main Street, Brooklyn
For more information: (718) 666-3049
RSVP: rsvp@powerhousearena.com

As Latino literature begins to find its rightful place on the bookshelves, a fresh new crop of Nuyorican authors is emerging as the trailblazers of an exciting new movement in literature.

Daniel Serrano’s Gunmetal Black has been called a new-age Carlito's Way. Joe Conzo’s visual documentation in Born in the Bronx has unlocked a time and place only captured by his lens. Linda Nieves-Powell has taken Latina Lit to a nostalgic place with her novel, Free Style, while Kim Osorio told an empowering tale of a woman in the male dominated world of Hip Hop in her tell all, Straight From the Source. Ivan Sanchez’s, Next Stop: Growing up Wild-Style in the Bronx, brutally honest memoir has been compared to Piri Thomas’ Down These Mean Streets, and his second offering, It's Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, co-authored with Luis Cedeño, is the first ever memoir about a Latino pioneer in Hip Hop.

Now for the first time ever, The powerHouse Arena brings all of these dynamic speakers together under one roof to read excerpts of their work, as well as to discuss how hard it was for them to break into the literary world and where they plan to go next now that the doors are open. They will also discuss what they believe the future of Latino Literature to be.

The panel discussion will be moderated by John Garcia who has been a reporter and editor in all forms of media for over 23 years.

Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop by Joe Conzo
Hip hop first became a part of the mainstream music industry in the early 1980s, when major record labels
released albums from such accessible groups as Run DMC and the Sugarhill Gang. But the true origins of one of the most powerful pop-cultural influences of the 20th century are in the spontaneous, progressive musical cultures that grew out of tough neighborhoods in the Bronx of the 1970s. Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop is a striking anthology of the baby steps of hip hop that not only captures the emergence of a burgeoning culture but also the fashion and character of the surrounding community.

Joe Conzo grew up in the Bronx and is considered hip-hop’s first photographer. His work has appeared on VH-1 and in the New York Times, VIBE, and Esquire, among other numerous books and exhibits.

Straight from the Source:
An Expose from the Former Editor in Chief of the Hip-Hop Bible by Kim Osorio
Kim Osorio had a front-row seat for the biggest beefs, battles, and blow-ups in hip-hop. As the first female editor-in-chief of The Source, she had come up. From her corner office, Kim got the goods on hip-hop's hottest names: Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent, Lil' Kim. She developed close—sometimes intimate—relationships with the artists she exposed to the public. But The Source couldn't hide its own dirty laundry for long. In a culture dominated by men, Kim rose to the top, and after years in the magazine's pressure cooker, she hit "send" on a two-sentence e-mail that would thrust her from the sidelines of the scandalous world she reported on to the center of one of the most explosive scandals in hip-hop history.

Kim Osorio, a native of the Bronx, New York, was the first female editor-in-chief of The Source magazine. She led the publication to some of its highest-selling issues ever before suing for sexual harassment. She lives in New Jersey with her fiancé and two daughters.

Free Style by Linda Nieves-Powell
Funny, intelligent, and, above all, relevant, Free Style is an inspiring novel about two thirty-something married moms—one who is separated and the other whose marriage is hanging on by a thread. They decide to escape their to-do lists to revisit their past at Club 90, a nightclub they frequented in the early nineties. There they meet up with old friends and lost loves and dance their troubles away to Lisa Lisa and C&C Music Factory. But when they’re hit with a shocking dose of reality, they must decide whether to stay in the past or move on.

Linda Nieves-Powell is the writer/director/producer of the off-Broadway hit Yo Soy Latina! as well as the “New Soul Latina Show” and “Jose Can Speak.” She was named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine, one of the Groundbreaking Latinas of 2006 by Catalina magazine, and one of the Top 100 Latinas by El Diario. Her nonfiction has appeared in national periodicals, including Latina magazine, Estylo magazine, and Latino Impact Entertainment News. She’s also appeared on a myriad of television programs, including Today, PBS City Arts, Good Day New York, Urban Latino TV, and Telemundo News.

Next Stop: Growing up Wild-Style in the Bronx by Ivan Sanchez
Ivan Sanchez takes readers on a wild train ride beyond the safety of New York City’s news headlines into the heart of the Bronx, while traveling back in time to his youth during the late ’80s and early ’90s. From one stop to the next, this memoir follows Sanchez and his crew of friends on their search for identity and an escape from poverty “on the come up” in a stark world where street wars and all-night symphonies of crime and drug-fueled mayhem were as routine as the #4 train.

Ivan Sanchez is the author of Next Stop: Growing up Wild-Style in the Bronx (Touchstone, 2008) and co-author of It’s Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop’s First Latino DJ (powerHouse Books, 2009). He was awarded the National Novel honors for his first fiction offering, The Murder Exchange in 2004. His freelance work has appeared in the NY Daily News, the Virginian-Pilot and on EGRadioonline.com, SiTV.com, and HipHopGame.com. Currently, Sanchez is developing a TV series based on Next Stop, in addition to his work as an anti-gang youth advocate and motivational speaker. Previously, he has lectured at schools in the South Bronx and Chicago and Princeton and Harvard Universities.

Gunmental Black by Daniel Serrano
As a child, Eddie Santiago grows up on the mean streets of his Puerto Rican neighborhood in Chicago, where he witnesses his father's murder. Now in his thirties, after serving ten years in a state penitentiary, Eddie is coming home. With prison behind him, Eddie plans to seek refuge in Miami Beach. But new trouble begins when Eddie and his old friend/gangster Little Tony are pulled over by two cops, who rob Eddie of his money belt, which contains his life savings. Convinced it was a set-up, Eddie is determined to recover what is rightfully his, all the while trying to reform his childhood friend.

Daniel Serrano was born in Brooklyn and raised in Chicago. The eldest of three Puerto Rican boys raised by a single-parent mom, Serrano witnessed gangs, crime, drugs, poverty, even murder as his family lived the urban Latino struggle. In his mid-twenties, he enrolled in the Weekend Program at Shimer College and studied the classics while working as a laborer. He went on to earn a law degree at St. John’s University. As an attorney, Serrano has spent the bulk of his career in New York City representing politicians and alleged criminals. Gunmetal Black, his first novel, was named Best Thriller of 2008 by Latinidad. His next novel, Boogiedown, a murder mystery will be published in Spring 2010.

It’s Just Begun by Luis “DJ Disco Wiz” Cedeño
Half-Cuban, half-Puerto Rican, Luis “DJ Disco Wiz” Cedeño is 100 percent Boogie Down Bronx. Born in the ’60s, Wiz struggled in a turbulent and violent relationship with his alcoholic father while trying to protect his mother who was suffering from breast cancer. Raised in the ’70s, Wiz learned the code of the streets while hustling with his crew, the East Side Boys. In 1975, Wiz discovered salvation when he hooked up with the legendary Grandmaster Caz to form the Mighty Force Crew, waging some of the biggest DJ battles in the Bronx during hip hop’s earliest years. Featuring over 50 never-before-seen photos, It’s Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop’s First Latino DJ is a gritty and gripping tale of one man’s struggles to not only survive, but to triumph over adversity and abuse that will make your blood run cold. By conquering unimaginable obstacles, Wiz offers inspiration to anyone who has ever wondered, “Why me?”

Luis “DJ Disco Wiz” Cedeño, The first Latino hip hop DJ, is credited for being the first DJ to make a "mixed plate" in 1977 along with his childhood best friend Grandmaster Caz, combining sound bites, special effects, and paused beats. In the years since, Wiz has been an influential force in educating the world about the early years of hip-hop. Wiz was a major contributor in the opening of the Experience Music Project in Seattle in 2000, and was instrumental in the making of Jim Fricke and Charlie Ahearn's critically acclaimed Yes Yes Y'all (Da Capo Press, 2002). His first book, It’s Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop’s First Latino DJ, co-written with Ivan Sanchez will be released with (Miss Rosen Editions/powerHouse Books) in June 2009. Wiz was also featured in the Emmy-nominated VH1 Rock Doc NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell, and is the creator and founder of the Hip-Hop Meets Spoken Wordz series an annual event that unites emerging Latino talent with Old School artists, while collecting food and clothing for homeless Bronx residents. DJ Disco Wiz is also the weekly host of the Hip Hop Chronicles on Urban Latino Radio.

Moderator John Garcia

Moderator John Garcia is a professional media manager, reporter, and editor in new media, print, and broadcast for more than 23 years. He helped to create Hispanic Business Today for NBC, served as executive producer for Today in New York, and helped launch MSNBC, SNAP and IN. He served as VP, Interactive Content and Programming, NBC Television Stations Division, and as Integration Leader for NBC/Telemundo. Garcia is presently director of development and communications for Latino Justice PRLDEF, the premiere Latino civil rights organization in the country. His work has appeared in the Miami Herald, Miami News, New York Daily News, Gannett Newspapers and Vista Magazine. He served as Director of Digital Journalism at New York University, is a native of New York City’s Lower East Side, and a graduate of Hunter College. He is the author of Hispanic Magazine, a book about magazine publishing, and is a former National Racquetball Champion and airplane pilot.

For more information contact Viviana Morizet, viviana@powerHouseBooks.com

The Terrible Frankie Nieves

My father, singer songwriter Frank Nieves, also known as The Terrible Frankie Nieves has just announced that his remastered collection of songs from the popular The Terrible Frankie Nieves album is now available online.

His music is being played in England today and it's starting to catch on again here in the states. It seems that my father's old boogaloo music is now a collector's item. Amazing, considering he left the music business to take care of the family and he wasn't able to record another album.

My father gave up a lot to support his family. I can't imagine what it feels like to give up the one thing that you love. So I'm very happy to see that his songs are in great demand now.

The albums that are being sold on the internet, unfortunately are bootleg copies of my father's original music. Which is why he decided to produce the remastered collection and what a great idea that was. The remastered songs better than the original album.

For more info visit, to listen to a few tracks or buy the CD visit: FRANKIE NIEVES

TRUE LIFE: MTV I'M NUYORICAN

To all my Latinos, whether you are Nuyorican or not! If you're culture was depicted in this degrading manner, I'm sure you would be up in arms. Please help stop this episode from airing! Sign this petition: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59075755933

True Life - MTV Shows

MTV TRUE LIFE: I'm Nuyorican! Are you kidding me?

I'm surprised that almost a week later my blood is still boiling from that ridiculous MTV TRUE LIFE I'm Nuyorican episode. That's how I know I need to keep talking about it!

My gripe? MTV had the balls to produce a show about three young Nuyoricans and title it: TRUE LIFE: I'M NUYORICAN. The three participants consisted of Jose the boxer from the Bronx, (how original) Rose a belly dancer who doesn't like to dance Salsa because she doesn't like to feel submissive, (since the man always leads), yet she girates seductively for an audience of men and all the while calling her people spics in Arabic tongue. The worst of the lot is a young girl named Naizsha (pictured above) who wants to go into the Airforce but who would be better served working for the CIA torturing "enemy combatants" at Gizmo with her whiny ass voice.

Now I will say this, I think it's wrong to attack the participants of that show. I am simply describing who they are for the sake of this blog. Keep in mind, I'm still emotional. I truly believe they are not at fault. I know first hand that Jose, is really unhappy with the outcome of that episode.

So who is at fault? Carlos Puga the producer of that episode and MTV. The minute I finished watching that episode I immediately went looking for the responsible rat bastard who obviously lacked the research skills and high moral ground to produce an episode with three positive and proud Nuyoricans (as stated in their audition notice). I found Carlos Puga immediately. To my surprise he replied back rather quickly. Here's our exchange:

Linda Nieves-Powell

January 26 at 7:19am

Are you the person responsible for the NUYORICAN True Life episode?

Carlos Puga

Add as Friend

January 26 at 7:24am

Report Message

Yes.

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Linda Nieves-Powell

January 26 at 7:27am

Carlos, man. What were you people thinking? Everyone I know is upset about that Nuyorican TRUE LIFE episode! We don't want that to air again! Who do I need to contact at MTV? We're serious. It was bad. Really bad and considering I like that series, I'm so disappointed! Read the boards on MTV...people hated it. I hope you can guide me. IF not, I'll find a way. I'm sorry for the intrusion but your name is on that episode.

Carlos Puga

Add as Friend

January 26 at 7:37am

Report Message

Sorry to hear you didn't like the show. I could pass your info along to my bosses... What is it you disliked about it? Do you know someone on the show? And do you have a contact number?

Thanks.

Sent via Facebook Mobile

Linda Nieves-Powell

January 26 at 7:58am

Oh, I can go on for days. But here is the gist of it: There was an opportunity to show three diverse Nuyoricans. Instead we saw three very stereotypical depictions. This is not an accurate representation of the community. I don't want America thinking this is who we are. There are those who do live in the ghetto who try hard to make it out and there are those who live in the suburbs who try hard to fit in. There are those who go back and forth from PR to NY who are confused about where home really is. Nuyoricans are the one group of Latinos who live in a state of flux because of our commonwealth status. There was an opportunity to explore that.
Linda

Carlos Puga

Add as Friend

January 27 at 5:22pm

Report Message

Linda,

i sent your info along... and once again, i regret to hear that you felt we missed the mark here, but True Life isn't a news magazine show and doesn't ever try to tell all that there is to tell about a particular subject. We focus more on individual stories and less on the overarching story of the topic we're delving into.

When possible we like to show different angles on the topic at hand, but it's impossible to cover it all w/ this sort of storytelling.

Sorry if we disappointed you...

cp.

Linda Nieves-Powell

January 27 at 8:05pm

Carlos,
I know that TL isn't a news magazine. I've seen some very well produced important episodes in the past. Again, my problem with the Nuyorican episode is that title suggests this is about Nuyoricans in general. If it were Nuyoricans - struggle for blah blah blah, then I could accept it -- Individuals stories of struggle. The title of the episode is misleading. It suggests that this is the story of Nuyoricans. Yes, I am very disappointed. So were many others.

I do appreciate you getting back to me.

Linda

He asked if I knew someone on the show. I find that incredibly insulting and funny actually. To think I could only be angry because I may know someone on the show. Oh, yes, that's right, all Puerto Ricans know each other. I forgot.

Here's what I want MTV to do: CHANGE THE TITLE! Change the title! I have gone through a list of previous TRUE LIFE show titles and I have yet to find one that labels a show based on someone's ethnicity. Instead, here is a sample of titles:

I have Tourette's
I can't stay thin
I'm supporting my family
I'm a sumo wrestler
I love another life on the web
I'm in a love triangle
I'm addicted to meds
I'm happy to be fat
I'm going to fashion week
and so on and so on

How unfair is this? How dare you MTV! Change the title people! It's not fitting to a community who takes great pride in who we are. I'll tell you what. Go ahead and produce a show called TRUE LIFE: I'm Dominican or I'm Cuban and show three stereotypical one dimensional depictions. I dare you!

AUDITION NOTICE: Are you Boriquo/a and proud of it? MTV's True Life is looking for people of Puerto Rican descent living in New York City to tell us their stories. For example...

-Does your PR identity impact your daily life?
-Do you experience prejudice from family and friends back home who question your authenticity and mark you with negative stereotypes?
-Are you trying to decide if you want to stay close to your Puerto Rican culture in New York City or get a fresh start by relocating to another city or state?
-Do you struggle with difficult issues that are part of city life, like peer pressure, drugs, or gangs?
-Are you full of Puerto Rican pride, and looking forward to putting that pride on display at the upcoming Puerto Rican Day parade?
If you identify with the term 'Nuyorican', MTV wants to hear from you

But I gather from the slew of negative portrayals on MTV that Carlos wasn't looking for positive or inspiring. He was looking for trash entertainment.

I may not get MTV to change the title of the show but I will use the power of my voice to make them think twice about producing another piece of crap that depicts an entire community in the most degrading of ways.

Join me on FACEBOOK to join the discussion!

Sign Petition: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59075755933

The Curious New Life of Linda Nieves-Powell

I'm not going to make any New Year's resolutions. I've learned that they are always too hard to live up to or more often than not the novelty wears off; in the same way that one plans a night of sex with the spouse only to find out in the end, the visual foreplay was a bit more exciting than the actual act.

Although, I sweared off listing my goals, I would like to continue to challenge myself intellectually, physically and spirtually. 2008 was a big year for personal growth. I asked the everloving universe to afford me a chance to expand my wings and to my surprise it had. But like Ying and Yang, I was given these gifts along with the heartbreaking reality that when one desires more from life, something else is ripped away. I see a change in me and it is affecting everything and everyone around me. How does someone live a full life but remain unchanged for the benefit of their loved ones? I don't know the answer to that and I do find it strange that someone or something is possibly trying to help me find the answer.

I have been thinking about death and relationships a lot lately. A whole lot. In fact, I wrote a new play called THE END which is about ADAM and EVE and the rest of us married and not so married folk. I'm trying desperately to figure out how we can live happily ever after and remain true to ourselves.

What I find ironic is that the minute I start to think of an idea for a new piece, voila, there it is in front of me. There are two movies out in the theaters that are EXACTLY about what I am writing. One is called THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTONS--a story I wished I had written. It was mainly about death and dying but it is also very much about life. If it weren't for the creepy visual effects, the movie would have been perfect. It is based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story by the same name. However, the film, I assume, gets free license to go beyond what Mr. Fitzgerald had intended to say. There are Forrest Gump style isms written all over this movie. Some I truly loved and that very often made me cry. I love a line that seems as if it came from God. It touches the depths of your soul in the same way that when a perfect note is song, it can bring you to tears.

So while I sat in the theater on New Year's Eve to see Brad Pitt live a backwards life, a trailer for a new movie speaks to me. It is called REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and stars my favorite actors: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The log line says it all: HOW DO YOU BREAK FREE WITHOUT BREAKING APART? It it so amazing to me how whenever I am going through something in my own life, a book, a movie, a play enters my life and speaks to me. I'm actually afraid to see what the answer is.

2008 was the year I questioned whether I had it in me to write something extraordinary. Something unique. Something that would change my life. Something that would make me feel as though I just walked out of a pitch meeting with the Almighty One. I'm still working on it I guess. See, I'm hoping that the jaded me stays behind in 2008. I learned way too many negative things about the publishing business. It's a joke actually what one must do to sell a book. What does seem to work is when you're a bit controverisal or a bit of a gossip girl. I have a problem with that since insecurity and hatred are part of the controversial personality. How can one be insecure and save the world at the same time? Don't think it can happen. And what I've learned more than anything else is that you should never write a book only for Latinas. How stupid of me to think that I would make a huge difference in this world by inspiring my woman to become greater than they ever imagined? How naive was I to think that writing a book to save the Latina soul would actually become a bestseller? WTF was I thinking? It's sad. It truly is sad that what I want to say to women isn't going to sell. Maybe the samaritan in me really needs to lay low if she wants to sell books. I never thought I'd have a love hate relationship with writing. I have to change the way I've been thinking. Again, I must say goodbye to a big part of who I am if I want to make a bigger impact--so it seems.

I don't know if what I'm feeling is temporary or if the search will go on until my dying days. There was a line in the Benjamin Button movie that I loved. I'm paraphasing but it was something along the lines that no one knows who they should be. You can start over at any time. It doesn't matter, it's never too late to be someone else. And maybe my problem is again not having a clear identity of myself. The Latina thing doesn't work for me any longer because I found her and I'm extremely proud of her. I'm bigger than just a commonwealth of the U.S. I'm bigger than just being American. But I honestly don't know who that person is.

I pray that the answer comes in 2009, during the early morning when I'm alone sitting in front of my computer waiting for God to speak through me. When all is silent and still...I hope I can be quiet enough to hear the answer.