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Capicu Poetry: Rockeando duro last friday night!

Now I gotta keep it real when I spoke to the Urban Jibaro and he told me that the Mona Passage was featuring at Capicu Poetry...I was skeptical at first. I am thinking, the Capicu crowd is not ready for rock, tu esta loco? So we get into a big discussion that resulted in me getting encojonao (thinking that I know where it was headed). I am confessing to you all that I basically have come to the realization that I do not know what I am talking about...and props to the Urban Jibaro and Papo Swiggity for being committed to their vision of bringing culture and the understanding of our influence on American society, it is not just confined to one genre.

Capicu Cultural Showcase had another amazing night as they fused their usual mix of urban spoken word poetry with rock music this past Friday night in front of 100 plus crowd members. The night started strong with the resident Capicu DJ known as "The Guy" setting the mood with an eclectic mix of Rage Against The Machine, Mars Volta, Iron Maiden, Jimmy Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. The drinks flowed as the crowd decompressed from a usual week of life in NYC, getting themselves ready to take off on a cultural rollercoaster ride. Lisa Centeno (Candidates on Demand and official Capicu member) also known as "Boricua Goddess" continued to network with patrons looking for career changes. The "Swiggity Cartel" was in full effect. As the crowd grows it is evident that Brooklyn will never be the same as the host Papo Swiggity predicted onstage and in his numerous e-mails and bulletins on My Space.

The Open Mic that is quickly becoming one of the most vibrant and energetic (not to mention diverse) venues in the 5 Boros was on fire! After a wild guitar opening by Bonafide Rojas, and PaPo on stage putting on his brand new 1st Edition Boricuation Tee Shirt,the show opened with a barrage of Capicu first timers: Gianna Leo Falcon, screenwriter/filmmaker Storm Rydah, RL the Gifted One (host of Lyric Lounge), Quill and one of the members of the Mona Passage, the multi-talented Bonafide Rojas (featured on Def Poetry Jam) and Capicu kept it going with our dynamic regulars Poeta Guerrera, OL SoUL, Chilo, Advocate Of Wordz, G Positive, Seraphim, Conan, and Rescue (from The Waterbug Hotel in NJ).


THE MONA PASSAGE has changed my perception and I can actually say they rocked the house (pun intended). It was a crazy combination of faithful Mona Passage fans and Capicu supporters rocking out to the hard sound of guitars and drums.

A big shout out to the legendary DJ Shadow who did not make the open mic but was there celebrating his 18th anniversary with his wife. I also want to thank Alexandra Mane (Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha,
Inc), Carmen (Raza), Blue Rose and George Acevedo (Lehman College SBDC), and of course Jose Medina from Boricuation.com for coming out and supporting.

If you were not there you will never understand the power of the music and words as told by the trailblazers that bless the Capicu stage every other week at the New Area 51 in Williamsburg,

Brooklyn...Experience it for yourself on June 1st with the next feature artists, the Hip Hop Poetry group that has made Capicu Poetry one of their homes away from home: 21 Poetz!



Juan Doe
"El Nuevo Rockero del Willy B"

Staff Writer

www.SofritoForYourSoul.com

Friday May 18th: Bonafide Rojas & The Mona Passage Say:

TIME FOR SOME F**** GUITARS!!!

Click Here To RSVP and View Event

Capicu Cultural Showcase wants you to bring your resumes down to us for real life jobs from Lisa Centeno @ Candidates On Demand. Capicu Cultural Showcase wants you to smile pretty for the cameras and have something profound to say for the revolutionary Street Truth TV crew. Capicu Cultural Showcase wants you to see and buy the new Pedro Albizu Campos T Shirt straight from Jose Medina of Boricuation.com Capicu Cultural Showcase wants you help us rock Brooklyn with art, poetry and Community Building tools like the Poet-Activist Agenda and the Counter-Gentrification Project. and we want you to get involved in Brooklyns cultural rebirth and rock the poetry open-mic. You down?

The Mona Passage:
We are the workings of a poet who had too much music in his head. An experiment that could care less about structure as is does about actual singing, a puerto rican, two dominicans, a white boy from Ohio, we wear our brains on our sleeves and our foot up your asses, We're The Mona Passage, its a pleasure to meet you.

*Guys, we NEED you to RSVP below!*

Hosted By:
Papo Swiggity & Urban Jibaro
When: Friday May 18, 2007
at 8:00 PM
Where:
Area 51 Bar/Lounge
291 Hooper Street
Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY 11211
United States
Description:
Papo Swiggity & Urban Jibaro

Click Here To RSVP and View Event

Capicu Recap: A Night Of Concious Hip Hop

The talent at Capicu Poetry was off the meter last Friday, from start to end!

The folks on line waiting to get in to the show were treated to a

random act of poetry as Dean (Street Truth TV) and his troops set out
to perform out in public and capture the reactions of onlookers that
came out of buildings and off of the corners to see what was causing
all the commotion. It was really intriguing as people from the
neighborhood came up and started asking questions about Street Truth,
Capicu and performance poetry in general, and some were even motivated
to come in to watch the show.

In the spirit of a night of Concious Hip Hop, Host Papo Swiggity
opened the show with a monologue to set the tone for what was about to
go down in Area 51.

If God wanted to speak to us today,

in this room and around the world
to reach our innermost being
and affect us at the basic level of our understanding

He would probably drop a Hip Hop album

Such is the strength and reach of our music today
But let it be known that God already speaks to us

not through sword carrying angels or bushes aflame
If you ever zoned out to

Grandmaster Flash,
Slick Rick,
Rakim Allah,
KRS One,
X-Clan,
Queen Latifah,
Poor Righteous Teachers,
Common Sense,
Lauryn Hill,
Mos Def,
Talib Kweli,
Immortal Technique...

Then you have heard his voice!

Tonight was a little bit different as Capicu Poetry had to switch up
the format a bit to accomodate the heavyweight second half of the
show. The Open Mic performers included some of our Capicu loyalists as
well as some new faces to our Brooklyn home.  Performances included a
collabo piece between Dean and Brother Derrick, a solo by Brother

Derrick,  Bella Trastorna, Conan (with his entourage...I see you

playa), Boricuation artist G-Positive, Royal T, Chilo, OL SoUL,
Essence LaMonde,  Poeta Guerrera,  and a surprise visit and reading
from the multi-talented and highly revered Sandra Garcia Rivera.

The second half featured a dynamic performance by Division X that

really brought back that old hip hop flavor that unfortunately many of
our young people are unfamiliar with today. Special invited guests

included amazing performaces by Mauikai (you gotta hear Negative

Space...wow), Alvare (complete with tracks and lyrics meant to get

your espiritu flowing) and some real positive words and poetry (The
Product) from the legendary DJ Disco Wiz!
Also, in the audience we saw fellow Williamsburg progressive artists 1 Soul.

See you all on May 18th, when the featured performers will be Bonafide
Rojas and his band The Mona Passage. In the words of Bona...
TIME FOR SOME ***** GUITARS!!!

Tesoro On The Web: Boricuation.com

Boricuation is a special undertaking by Jose Medina, a Puerto Rican Self-taught Graphic Designer from New York City. Jose decided to use the popularity of the internet to showcase this project, to expose Puerto Rican culture and history to Boricuas..com

Boricuation is the combination of two words . . . Boricua and Education. I was at lost for words when coming up with a title for this special project. Then it just came to me as I was doing research for this project. It sounds natural when it rolls off your tongue.

Boricuation is located in the heart of Puerto Rican history and culture. It’s the exposure of the struggles and accomplishments made by our Puerto Rican Ancestors. Making sense of the many questions that arise about whom Puerto Ricans are and where we come from.

There are countless reasons why someone would take their own personal time and resources to take on such a vast subject like Puerto Rican history. There are many places where people can access information about Puerto Rico: Books, magazines, newspapers and the internet. Through José ’s curiosity about his own identity and ancestry, Boricuation.com was created to enlighten other Puerto Ricans who are miss-informed or just do not know and are curious about their Puerto Rican roots.

Now, I share just a little of our culture and history through graphic design and various articles about Puerto Rico. I take this project personal and hope to expose this information through my perspective and blast it out into cyberspace for everyone to acquire and grasp a piece of Puerto Rican Soul. I would like to initiate an educational look into a rich culture, mi gente boricua!

About Jose Medina

Me llamo Jose Medina, I am a NuYorican / Puerto Rican born and raised on The Lower East Side in New York City. First took my eyes to see La Isla de Encanto in 1992 when I was 25 years old. It was magic! When I got off the plane, after the first plane ride in my life, I felt it. The spirit of El Jibaro. It took over like the heat of the humid less air that surrounds you when you exit the airport terminal.

I felt the love of my country explode with pride within me, being introduced to Mi Isla, Mi Tierra. I was born again! Born again A Puerto Rican!

Within one hour I had Mi Gorra on and was barefooted driving west on La Autopista heading to San Lorenzo. I could imagine how many others like me, Nuyoricans, who experience the same feelings I did that day. Since then I expose myself to my culture through Mi Familia, Friends, even people I have never met.

Creating a Network

I am developing and organization through boricuation.com, to bring Puerto Rican educational and cultural events to places where there are very little or non-existing access to these kinds of events. To bring together a network of boricua people and organizations from different facets of the corporate, entertainment and private sector. Through this network, all members will have access to all types of services at a discount or pro bono basis.

This will assist in the advancement of fellow boricua organizations and people who are trying to either start or promote a current business, venture or event. We would be in a direct position to help uplift each other while enriching the community through educational and cultural events. The foundation is in place and the Bori Network is in the starting phase and we expect many to come forward and contribute to the network.

Together we can prove that we can work as a united people and organize ourselves to better serve our youths. We need to assist each other to contradict the genderfication that is pushing us and our culture out of our neighborhoods. We need to plant our seeds and bring life to boricua community. We are registered voters and have contributed to this society and continue to do so. Our people are productive citizens and are not the minority that they claim us to be.

To contribute or join the Bori Network contact Jose Medina E-Mail:boricuation@gmail.com

Organizations Boricuation.com is currently or has been involved with:

Tato Torres Y YERBABUENA

Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center

La Bodega De La Familia

The Puerto Rican Parade Council of California

The BoricuaFest Company, LLC

Latinas4Life

boricua.com

JOSE MEDINA

http://boricuation.com