MISCELLANEOUS

The Acorn: Poetry Slam Slated

California Lutheran University will present a poetry slam from 5 to 7 p.m. Wed., April 22 in the William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art on the north side of Olsen Road between Campus Drive and Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus.

Mexican-American spoken-word artist David A. Romero will host the event, which will feature poets with their latest works. Audience reactions will decide the winners. Gift card prizes will be awarded. All styles of poetry are welcome, and the public can attend and participate. Poems can be memorized or read. Poets must read their own work. There is no fee to enter.

For more information, call curator Rachel T. Schmid at (805) 493-3697, email rollandgallery@callutheran.edu or visit www.CalLutheran.edu/rolland.

ASU Project Humanities - Event Recap

David Romero spoke about music and black culture--many white musicians have the title of "the King" or "the Inventor", even though many black musicians had been practicing the same music before them. He also spoke about food and culture...in America, we have "Americanized" foods such as Panda Express and Taco Bell which strip the culture of the food's rich history and origin.

9 LA Poets Giving Latinos a Voice

Hailing from Diamond Bar, California, Romero is only the second poet to be featured on All Def Digital, Russell Simmons' YouTube channel. He's also opened for Ozomatli and La Santa Cecilia. Currently touring, Romero is often featured alongside his literary partner in crime, Matt Sedillo.

October 3 — spoken word artist performance Teachable Events Committee, Champlain College

By Jennifer Jang, jjang@champlain.edu Where and when: IDX Fireside Lounge, 8 p.m. Slam poet and spoken word artist David Romero will perform on campus in concert with Hispanic Heritage Month.

BIO: David Romero lives in Diamond Bar, California and is a well-known artist. Romero has opened for winning and nominated artists. His poetry has been published with poet laureates like Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Hirschman and Alejandro Murguia. He has been featured alongside artists like Taalam Acey. David Romero has also published two books featuring his poetry dealing with identity, family, social justice issues as well as suburban Latino culture. At his one man performance here at Champlain College, Romero will celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of American Citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Champlain College students will not only enjoy a unique entertainment experience, but also gain insight into the fastest growing marketing demographic and voting bloc in the United States.

Play by play from East LA: ‘Undocumented Football’ (poetry video) Pocho.com

August 2013 By Guillermo Chespir

It’s the big game — Roosevelt vs Garfield — the East Los high school football rivalry that has lasted generations; David A. Romero supplies the play by play.

L.A. Letters Guide for National Poetry Month 2013 KCET Departures April 2013

By Mike "The Poet" Sonksen

Between the Bars is an open mic in Pomona, co-hosted by David Romero and Matt Sedillo. Named after a song by singer/songwriter Elliott Smith, Romero says, "find what you're looking for at Between the Bars ... Songs, words, verses and rhymes ... Our expression is our weapon. Between the Bars, we're condemned to be free." They currently run every second and fourth Wednesday, but will be switching to every second and fourth Tuesday starting in June. They also highlight social justice issues and allow for various nonprofits to come in and present their causes. Their resident percussionist Atomic Drums adds the magic of improvisation to the show.

News and Events, Modern Languages and Literatures, CSUF April 2013

By Modern Languages and Literatures

CSUF World Workshop #15: "Be Heard! Spoken Word For Activists" Sunday, April 28, 2013 @6:00 pm in CSUF Hum 123. FREE With invited artists: DAVID A. ROMERO and MATT SEDILLO Be Heard! Spoken Word for Activists focuses on the importance of freedom of expression and connecting the personal with the political. Students learn how to incorporate spoken word within the culture of their activism; cultivating an environment in which all are free to share the issues that concern them. Learn how to write poetry that reflects the call and response structure of protest chants. Develop confidence in your beliefs and deliver your list of demands via poetry with passion, intelligence and swag.

One University, Student Life at CU March 2013

By Diversity and Equity Initiatives

Voices, With David Romero, a workshop focused on combining spoken word with activism. “Be Heard! Spoken Word for Activists focuses on the importance of freedom of expression and connecting the personal with the political. Students learn how to incorporate spoken word within the culture of their activism; cultivating an environment in which all are free to share the issues that concern them.”

The Poly Post November 2012

By Andrea Jimenez

Local spoken word artist David A. Romero performed and had the crowd entertained with his references to Mexican stereotypes. Romero has opened for Latin Grammy winning artists Ozomatli and Latin Grammy nominated artists “La Santa Cecilia.”

ASInside CPP

October 2012 By Erin O'Brien

Local spoken word artist David A. Romero will also be performing, among others. Romero has opened for Latin Grammy winning artists Ozomatli and Latin Grammy nominated artists La Santa Cecilia. He has published two collections of poems through Dimlight Publishing, Diamond Bars: The Street Version and Fuzhou. He is also the host of Between the Bars Open Mic at the dba256 Gallery Wine Bar in Pomona, CA. Los Angeles-based band Las Cafeteras will be performing at 7 p.m. The group is known for sharing Son Jarocho — music that comes from the state of Veracruz in the gulf of Mexico — through singing, spoken word and dancing. http://www.dsa.csupomona.edu/cesarchavez.

Campus Times October 2012

By Amber J. Guadez

The Very Intellectual Poets and the Black Student Union collaborated to host an open mic showcase that focused on the topic of Political Warfare with the presidential election right around the corner. Two professional spoken word artists were featured and invited to perform, David Romero and Matt Sedillo, as well as Judah 1.

CSUF News October 2012

By Mimi Ko Cruz

“Chicano/Latino Pep Rally.” Syndicated television’s “LatiNation” host Gabriela Fresquez, comedian Ernie G. and poet David Romero will entertain and deliver a message about being proud to be Latino.

KCET Departures August 2012

By Mike "The Poet" Sonksen

Another poet-activist originally from A Mic & Dim Lights, the Diamond bar-based David Romero also hosts a bi-monthly event in the Pomona Arts Colony called, "Between the Bars." Held at the dBA 256 Wine bar lounge twice a month on Wednesdays, the event joins Besskepp's weekly along with the frequent events at Machine Pomona to offer a steady diet of culture for Claremont and Pomona. When he's not hosting shows, Romero leads workshops for the Los Angeles Public Library Say What? Teen Poetry program and with students at the Juvenile Detention and Assessment Centers in San Bernardino. Romero, Judah One and Besskepp are a big part of the emerging arts scene in Pomona.

Formaldehyde June 2011

By Jessica Bechtold

Diamond Bars: The Street Version attempts to give street cred back to the suburban kid and shows the world that art can come from suburbia too. Romero asserts "There's art everywhere! The place is an exhibit." In essence, Romero defies the common criticism of neighborhoods with Blue skies/Wide streets/ Green, clean-cut grass. He point-blankly refutes the oppositions idea of where poetry comes from and allows the wide streets of his childhood to create the spaces for each of his poems. Each poem sprawls across the page, does jumping jacks on the driveways, skips across the manicured lawns until they have written their words in chalk across the entire sidewalk of LA, washing all the asphalt in their color. No margin of the page is off limits, no style untouched, and no language is off limits, which seems only fitting. The language of the streets and not the scholar finds its home on the pages of Romero's collection. Each experience feels real and each finds beauty in the nine to five, the simple joy of drinking a fountain soda, or the endless traffic of southern California, "Silhouette smiles of the rising sun/ In my rearview" can bring back the fondest of memories. Political, passionate, and proud, David Romero's collection brings poetry to people that may have thought they didnt like poetry, and no poet will dispute the power in that.

Brooklyn & Boyle January 2011

By Lee Ballinger

David A. Romero isn't old enough to run for Congress yet, but he's done a lot of living in his brief time on Earth. In his new book, Diamond Bars: The Street Version, Romero gathers up armfuls of life and throws them against the wall. They all stick. Romero mixes suburban pride with a "Viva Mexico" cry. He moves from sex to cheese, from cheese to sweatshops, from sweatshops to capitalism; culminating in ideas of revolution. He ends Diamond Bars: The Street Version with painful poems dealing with the death of loved ones. At one point he asks the reader, "Have you ever seen a tree vomit blood?" The limits of the English language force me to call this a poetry book. But it's also a photography book. It's also something nearly indescribable in which Romero messes with fonts, layout, and grammar not in pursuit of avant garde credibility but in order to more effectively convey to YOU the passions which keep him sane. He sneaks rhymes in the back door like an underage drinker, tempers his sublime confidence with everyman dread, all the while looking for breaks in continuity where he can escape gravity's bounds and convince you that your best move and your favorite song are "Come Go With Me." You have two choices. You can ignore David A. Romero and spend the rest of your year trying to catch up. Or you can immerse yourself in Diamond Bars: The Street Version now and get ahead of the curve.

The Pasadena Star December 2010

By Michelle J. Mills

David A. Romero has published "Diamond Bars: The Street Version" (Dimlights Publishing, $15). Poetry and short stories gleaned from five years of Romero's writings, explore the humor and sadness of life and love. Romero is a spoken word artist living in Diamond Bar. He has led poetry workshops at Diamond Bar and Nogales High Schools and Whittier College.