GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE DECEMBER 23, 1994

(a-kree-shun) a growing together of parts

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EVENINGS OUT

'Nuyorican poet speaks the language of the city

by Irving Vasquez

In keeping with its tradition of bringing much needed quality theatre to the city, Cleveland Public Theatre recently hosted the acclaimed poet Lola Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, a New York City native, electrified the audience with her multi-media production "Out Loud!" To listen to this exceptional artist deliver her original "Nuyorican poetry" is to experience but a small part of her art as a performer. "Nuyorican" (New Yor-Rican) is a term that was coined to reflect the experiences of Puerto Ricans growing up in New York City. It has since expanded to include other urban

areas.

As multi-faceted a woman as she is a performer, Rodriguez refuses to be put in any boxes. A self-described "inclusionist,"

Lola Rodriguez

she said, "My closet has a lot of different suits hanging in it . . . and no one suit is any more valid than any of the others. Why should I be any more Native American than I am black? Any more heterosexual than I am homosexual? Why should I be fenced in by boundaries of race, class or sexualities?" She summed up her beliefs by saying, "To be defined in a unilateral way is a prison without a door."

One of the most fascinating aspects of her art is to see and to hear about her background and about the things that inspire her as a poet. We hear the songs and dreams of a child as she grows and struggles to survive in one of the less affluent and tougher neighborhoods of New York City. She grew up in a part of the city that often makes dreams die before they can even develop into possibilities. This Lola Rodriguez grew up as a witness to the kind of frustration that only the disenfranchised may know.

In her poem "Ciudad/City," she confronts the realities that continue to exist in urban America. She is not "afraid" of the "ciudad," she shouts over and over, and the audience is worked into a passionate response, some waving Puerto Rican flags, others stomping to the rhythm of the music and the drums that she uses to accompany her performances. The plague of crime and poverty has always preferred to reside in neighborhoods such as the one she grew up in. Today, the neighborhood is largely unchanged, except now the threats posed by the plague of AIDS compound the reality of daily life.

The spirituality she brings to her poetry includes a high level of social consciousness, because, she says, "I am a very spiritual person." Her listeners often feel transformed by the power of her message. The audience at her November 23 performance came from all backgrounds, many of them college students. Henry Lopez came in from New York to see her. Lopez said that he had seen her perform

on various stages and continues to be fascinated by her substance and delivery. She can be a highly dramatic and passionate performer, yet she also enjoys humor in her poetry.

In her poem "Notes From A Solitary Rumba," she describes a moment in the life of an always-aspiring solitary musician whose time has probably passed. "He's played in five bands, In twenty-seven countries. The blood of several conquered peoples shoots through his veins. Although his hands and feet have been temporarily choreographed by Network Univision to the Three Stooges.'

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When asked about the different messages that compose her work, she described calmly that her work is born out of her life experience. "There are a lot of forgotten people in this society and I speak about them... the lonely, the frustrated, the disenfranchised and the ill.” There is something about the big city that brings out the worst in people's realities. She comes from there. She has seen all this. However, for her those realities become the fire which can fuel the escape. She escaped the streets by recognizing and confronting her pain and her need to fulfill her dreams.

Rodriguez spoke about the need to continue to fight the ills that plague our communities, including the devastation caused by AIDS. She plans to continue her performances throughout the world and dreams of performing in Puerto Rico sometime soon. Her performances are a rich mixture of English and Spanish. But the language, that of the City, is universal.

Delphia Carr

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