The "Poetry 4 Peace" Event.. Ends the Year at CAC@SJB with a Blast!

The Center's final event of 2005, "Poetry 4 Peace", which took place on Saturday, Dec. 17th, turned out to be yet another wonderful event full of amazing poetry performances by some very gifted youth and adults from our community. In other words, we sent 2005 out with a serious blast of peace and love.. and set things off for 2006!

We can't say it enough.. without the constant support and presence of the talented youth and adults who continue coming to the Center, to share their gifts, and bless us with their presence, the Center would be dead. But, thank heaven above, the Center is far from dead.. it's alive and kicking because of these loving, generous, and truly gifted individuals who inspire us to continue doing what we do, and keep coming back for more. We thank you so much for bypassing the negative energy around us, and the controlling forces that seek to oppress us rather than sincerely bless us. We especially thank you for your constant support, your dedication, and your belief in us, our mission, and for your unshakeable faith. It's for these reasons that we remain committed to serving you, and to sharing all our gifts with you as well.

Young poet to watch, William Locario, takes the mic

It's both an honor, and a privilege to open the doors to anyone, and everyone from our community who desires to find a place where they can just be themselves without being judged, and made to feel unwelcome. We assure you that everyone is welcome at the Center no matter what faith, belief, or background you may come from. We pride ourselves on being open to all our community youth and adult residents, as long as you come with an open mind, a willing heart, and bring positive energy with you.. because the Center is full of nothing but positive, and loving individuals seeking to make a difference in our community with the God-given gifts we have. That's what we're about, and will continue to be about for as long as we are here. Hey, somebody's gotta do it!

Host, Luis Bernard, receives a rousing ovation
after the performance of his poem, "I Write Poetry"

With that said, the Poetry 4 Peace open-mic event was a testament to the amazing talent that already exists in our community that needs to be brought to the light, and given the platform for their voices to be heard. The event was hosted by the dedicated, and inspiring poet, Luis Bernard (President of The In Progress Group), who set things off with some of his powerful poetry. And then, an eclectic array of gifted youth and adult poets took turns taking the mic, and just ripped us all to shreds! Being ripped apart never felt so good. The teen and young adult poets served notice that they had some deep thoughts, and very important things to share. They were flat-out incredible, held their own, and did themselves proud! We were all mighty proud and impressed by them.

Young poet, Yazmira Hurtado mesmerizes the crowd
with her amazing poetic gift.


Young and gifted, Rashid Locario touches our hearts
with his sensitivity, talent, and deep feelings


Danielle Locario conquers her fears
and our hearts with her poetry

The adults also staked claim to this event with poetry that stirred the heart and soul. The return of the Word Bird, Malik Canty, was a special treat for the ears, and the spirit as he took us all to another level. It was great having him back to remind us that the Word Bird is still in flight with us at the Center.

The amazing "Word Bird" Malik Canty,
unleashes the spirits through his prophetic poetry at the Center


The always inspiring Cynthia Jimenez represents,
and moves the crowd with her words

We also thank all the members of the Center's new Lyrical Sanctuary for attending. Our young poets who came and represented, William, Rashid, and Danielle Locario, special guest poet, Ivan Angel Aviles, the amazing Yazmira Hurtado, and the surpirising Miguel, who shared his deep love poems. And as always, to the Center's resident poet family, Cynthia Jimenez, Edith Maria Baez, and now, Rich Robles, adding to his long list of credentials. To all our guests who attended this special event, we thank you for making the trip, for your kind words of support and encouragement. We're happy you enjoyed the presentation. Add to that, the beautiful paintings, and artwork on display by Chantal Smith, Iandry Randriamandroso, and Glenn Angel, and what you have was a magical experience, and an absolutely blessed time!

Special guest poet, Ivan Angel Aviles, takes the mic
and blesses us with his heartfelt poetry

The CAC@SJB Poetry Fam strikes a pose
and all look forward to seeing you at the Center for our next event!

So, here's looking forward to more opportunities to share our poetry and all our artistic talents with you, and with one another in this New Year of 2006. We can't wait to experience what's coming next! Hope to see you at our next art exhibition, poetry event, or activity we've got going at the Center. We assure you, you're gonna enjoy yourself. Til then, keep yourself posted to our upcoming events this year on this site.. and feel free to share any of your thoughts, feedback, and comments with us. We'd love to hear from you. If you'd like to be a part of the Center family, or just assist us in any way, feel free to contact us by e-mail, or calling and leaving a message for us at the Center's office, and we'll get back to you asap.

Peace and blessings to you all!!