Acentos Bronx Poetry Showcase Celebrates Two Years

[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]

Bronx, NY: The Acentos Bronx Poetry Showcase
celebrates its two year anniversary on Tuesday, March
22nd with both a select group of regular readers on
the open mic and musical guests Maya Azucena, Raymond
Daniel Medina with synonyumUS, and the debut of the
Mona Passage, ushering in a new year of
poetic excellence.

Acentos takes place at 7:30 p.m. every 2nd and 4th
Tuesday of the month at Blue Ox Bar, located at the
corner of 3rd Ave and 138th St, one block from the 6
train 138th Street station in the Bronx, NYC.
Admission is free, with a $5 suggested donation. In
the South Bronx’s burgeoning art scene, Acentos has
become the premiere poetry venue. “Acentos always has
a headliner but the meat of the evening was the
open-mic session, where more than a score of poets
read and performed before a friendly, encouraging
crowd,” reports New York Times journalist, Seth Kugel
(Arts section, Jan 30, 2004).

In addition to providing an open space for poets of
all backgrounds and styles to share their work,
Acentos has brought a diverse group of nationally
renowned writers to the heart of the Bronx. In its
first two years, Acentos featured Latino poets with
the aim of giving Latino poetry a renewed spotlight
outside the venues of downtown New York, including
Miguel Algarin, Louis Reyes Rivera, Willie Perdomo,
Mahina Movement, NYFA Fellow Edward Garcia, authors
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez and Bonafide Rojas, Cave Canem
Fellows Raina Leon and Aracelis Girmay, Jack Agueros,
Dr. Nancy Mercado, Jose Angel Figueroa, National Teen
Poetry Champion Jorge Monterossa, and Smithsonian
Institution Latina/o Studies Fellow Reina Prado.

“They were kicking something fierce, reminding me of
back in the 70s, when we would find any place we could
and turn it into THE jam for poetry. These youngsters
are doing the same exact thing today,” explains Louis
Reyes Rivera.

A major player in the Bronx cultural renaissance,
Acentos was founded in March 2003 as a showcase for
Latino voices. In two years, it has become a benchmark
for all Bronx poetry and a staple of the New York
poetry scene. Acentos is run by a group of dedicated
young poets: Oscar Bermeo, Jessica Torres, Fish Vargas
and Rich Villar, and thrives with the support of the
Bronx Council on the Arts’ Bronx Writers’ Center and
the louderARTS Project.

“While in New York, I was fortunate enough to read in
poetry venues whose reputation preceded them and I was
received warmly. However, I found that the highlight
of my New York experience was in the Bronx, at a place
I had never heard of before; Acentos. It is beautiful
to be accepted by strangers, but it is still more
beautiful to be accepted by your family,” comments
Teen Poetry Slam Champion, Jorge Monterossa.

For more information on Acentos, please visit
www.louderARTS.com/acentos.

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