Taco Shop Poets

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Taco Shop Poets
Origin United States
Genre(s) Poetry, Spoken Word, Performance Art, Jazz, Punk, hip hop
Years active 1994–2004?
Label(s) Chorizo Tonguefire Press, Calaca Press

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Contents

[edit] History

This poetry and spoken word collective initially started in 1994 as a Poetry Series at the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park called “Taco Shop Poetry” by hosted by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez. At one point, it grew to a collective of over 30 poets, band members and performance artists who founded and utilized El Campo Ruse on 16th St. in Downtown San DIego’s East Village as their home base.

The Taco Shop Poets are often credited with single-handedly reviving, redefining, and revolutionizing the face of spoken word. They employed a very aggressive style of "guerilla" poetry often noted for having an improvisational nature with the consciousness of punk and the directness of hip-hop. It's no surprise considering the backgrounds of all those involved. Their legacy is recognized world-wide and has spawned numerous copy-cat groups across the nation.[1]

In 2002, members of the Taco Shop Poets and other like-minded individuals came together to create an artistic space in which to house and develop art. That artistic space came to be known as the non-profit organization known as Voz Alta. Although the poets as a collective are no longer active on Voz Alta's board, most members participate in the Voz Alta movement as it continues to host events and artists today.

After 10 years, the Taco Shop Poets currently seem to be inactive as a collaborative. Each of the members, however, can still be found performing or educating throughout the country or abroad.

...still researching...

[edit] Releases

A compilation of selected writings was released in 1999 by the Taco Shop Poets titled Chorizo Tonguefire. A compact disc by the same name featuring performances of some of the writings contained in the book was also released that year by a publishing company called Calaca Press. In 2004, a second compact disc featuring offerings from Raul R. Salinas and Jose Montoya titled Intersections was released.

In addition, many members have ventured out and have releases on their own. Among these are:

Bennie Herron:
- "Seed-n-Soil" - Audio CD (circa 1999(?), Independent Release)
- "Churches and Liquor Stores Vol. 1" - Audio CD (2003, On1Ent)

Paul Phruksukarn under the alias of ThaiMex:
- "Intuition is the Key" - Audio CD (1999, Infinite Shades Music)
- "Blind Issues" - Audio CD (2000, Infinite Shades Music)
- "No Luciano Just a Drum and a Piano" - Audio CD (2001, Infinite Shades Music)

Tomás Riley:
- "Mahcic: Selected Poems" - Paperback Release (2005, Calaca Press)
- "Message From the New For Real" - Audio CD (2002, Independent Release)

[edit] Members

Taco Shop Poets has included:

[edit] Poets

[edit] Musicians

  • Kevin P. Green
  • Michael Figgins
  • Angel Navarez
  • Lenon Honor
  • Skip Howlette
  • Paul Hernandez
  • Nick Carvajal
  • Cameron Jasper
  • Bourbon LeMond
  • Andy Burton

[edit] Notable Collaborations

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ An Interview at UCSB featuring the Taco Shop Poets (Includes Adrian Arancibia, Migual-Angel Soria, and Paul "ThaiMex" Phruksukarn)