3rd Annual Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival & 3rd Annual Poetry Pachanga!! April 22--25, 2010

 . . . With a plethora of international poets!

2010 VIPF Registered Poets: Teachers: invite poets to read at your campus and see related links.)

REGISTERED POETS

Armando Alanis (Monterrey, Nuevo León, México)

Armando Alanis is an award-winning poet from Monterrey, Nuevo Léon, México. Armando Alanis Pulido Monterrey NL 1969: poeta y promotor cultural; tiene publicados 15 libros de poesía; tres de ellos en edición bilingue 2 al francés y uno al portugues; ha obternido premios internacionales como el Nicolás Guillen de poesía en 2008 y el premio nacional de poesía experimental Raúl Renán en 2009; la UANL le otorgo el premio a las artes en 2005 por su trayectoria literaria; es creador y fundador del proyecto ACCIÓN POÉTICA que desde hace 15 años lleva en una especie de graffitti poético versos y frases a las bardas de Monterrey y su área metropolitana

Jay Alvarez (Brownsville, Texas)

I’m one of those almost obsolete poets, still messing with rhyme and metric, the classic style. It is always a challenge to write a poem this way and that is what I like about it. I have published a poetry book, Fantasias, besides six more books in different subjects: history, adventure, biography, humor, etc. I also do oil paintings and like to sing boleros accompanied by my guitar.

Adriana Babiak-Vázquez (Houston, Texas)

Adriana Babiak-Vázquez, a Rio Grande Valley native, works as an epidemiologist for Wyle at NASA, Johnson Space Center. Her poetry has appeared in several regional and local anthologies; she has also been a past juried poet for the Houston PoetryFest. She recently completed a mystery novella, set in the Valley, which combined prose and poetry and she hopes to see it published. She is a member of the Gulf Coast Poets and a co-facilitator for the Seabrook Coffee Oasis Reading Series. She and her husband live in Clearlake.

Jesus Beltran (McAllen, Texas)

I have been a writer since I was a preteen and strive to put the worlds I create on display in this world where others can enjoy them. I dream of making my dreams a reality.

Vanessa Brown (Mission, Texas)

Vanessa Brown, author of Twiffler, (El Zarape Press, 2009) grew up in Peñitas. She has been writing poetry in earnest since attended college at Texas A & M University Kingsville. She draws inspiration from being a wife, teacher, mother and observer of the world. Her most important influence is the family of loving and unique individuals she has been blessed to have surrounding her.

Robin Cate (Harlingen, Texas)

Writing poetry is an outlet for her inspiration and description. Writing for thirty years, she is published in “Feeding The Crow,” “tres-di-verse-city,” and “di-verse-city.” In 1984 her thesis was published by Texas A&M Press. Her recent work has appeared on NPR via Tree House Productions and most recently, she received third place in the contest by “Dos Gatos Press” in Austin.

Diana T. Cordova (Pasadena, Texas)

I have been employed in various professions and had a few different careers. However, I had a life-changing experience in the past year that made me realize I had to follow my heart. I had always wanted to write so I chose to pursue a vocation of writing. Now, all that had been suppressed was coming forth and flowing into poetry, into prose, and I am glad that now I am being fulfilled doing something I love to do.

Julieta Corpus, a.k.a. Julieta La Poeta (Weslaco, Texas)

“Poetry is my attempt at encapsulating fleeting moments all around us. It allows me to breathe. It is largely confessional, but my confessions are mirrors for other souls as well.”

Diana Dominguez (Brownsville, Texas)

Diana Dominguez is a professor of English literature and writing at The University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College and has published both scholarly and creative work in print and online journals and presented both scholarly and creative work at national and international conferences. Her poetry springs from the same well as her women’s studies research activities; in both cases her aim is to tell the stories of those who history and literature have made silent or invisible. “I believe poetry is the art of giving voice and making the invisible visible.”

Ernesto Dueñas (McAllen, Texas)

Ernesto Dueñas is an educator and artist in the Rio Grande Valley and has been published previously in “The Pan American,” The University of Texas-Pan American student newspaper, Boundless 2009 the anthology of the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival, and more recently in Interstice, an annual literary journal published by South Texas College.

Lauren Espinoza (McAllen, Texas)

Lauren is an undergrad at the University of Texas-Pan American and likes to eat spaghetti, pet kittens, drink beer with salt and lime, and write poems. Lauren currently reads Harry Potter to escape stress.

Daniel García Ordaz (Mission, Texas)

Daniel García Ordaz, a.k.a. The Poet Mariachi, teaches English at McAllen Memorial High School and is the author of You Know What I'm Sayin'? from El Zarape Press. He is a former journalist and is also a founder of the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival. He has been called “the voice of the Rio Grande Valley” by The Monitor’s book critic. Daniel was one of five writers and the only poet selected to participate in the Texas Latino Voices project in 2009. Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for “the most dangerous poet south of the chorizo plant in San Manuel!” The Poet Mariachi, Daniel García Ordaz.

Rudy H. García (Laguna Vista, Texas)

I am an educator by vocation, a poet on occasion; Because Teachers Can Save The World One Student At a Time.

Efraín González (Reynosa, Tamaulipas)

Efraín González Macías was born in Brownsville, Texas, in 1972. He was raised in Reynosa, Tamaulipas until he was 14. He studied architecture at UT-Arlington. He has lived in Dallas, Texas, Barcelona, and Monterrey. He is an official member of the nonprofit organization Letra y Música in Dallas and part of the organizing committee for the Dallas Public Library’s Book Fair. He has participated in several international poetry festivals. His new book is called Cuando Vuelves La Vista/When You Turn Around (Ediciones Oficio, 2010).

Lucía González (San Antonio, Texas)

Lucía González has been a journalist since 1979 when she initiated her path as a reporter in Monterrey, México. Nevertheless her studies were focused in public relations and organizational communication. She has worked as a journalist, performing the roles of reporter, publisher and columnist. She worked in television for five years coordinating a weekly journalistic program for a Televisa affiliate. In addition, she has coordinated political campaigns in the area of communications for representatives, senator and governor in Monterrey, Yucatan, Campeche and Quintana Roo. She has received prizes from the Commission of Human Rights and from non-governmental organizations. She has published several books and has earned prizes for poetry and story writing. In the United States, she has worked in Dallas, Miami, Denver and Los Angeles, always in radio and press communication. She has been publisher for “The Star Telegram” in Dallas-Fort Worth and in “HOY” of Chicago and Los Angeles. She was a conductor of a radio program in Denver and in Dallas. She has worked for such businesses as Univision y Telemundo. Her books are: Lluvia Tácita, poetry; Desde otra torre, poetry; Cartas a un fantasma real, narrative; and La noche en Belice City, narrative.

Meliton Hinojosa (Harlingen, Texas)

Meliton Hinojosa, Jr. has a BA and an MA in education from Texas A & M-Corpus Christi. He teaches automotive mechanics at San Benito High School. He was born in El Sauz, Texas to Meliton Hinojosa and Guadalupe Hinojosa in 1948. He and his family migrated in the 1960's to California to pick grapes and do other type of field work.

Katie Hoerth (Edinburg, Texas)

Katherine Hoerth is the author of Among the Mariposas and the winner of the Nuestra Voz poetry prize from Mouthfeel Press. Her poetry and fiction have also appeared in several literary magazines including Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, Texas Journal of Women Writers, and is forthcoming in Clean Sheets. She is an MFA scholar at the University of Texas Pan American and holds a B.A in English. She lives in Edinburg, Texas with her soulmate and her many cats.

Ken Jones (Houston, Texas)

Ken Jones earned an MA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Texas at Austin and is a full-time faculty member at the Art Institute of Houston. He is the author of three published poetry collections, was a finalist for the 2008 West Chester Poet’s Prize and a Pushcart Prize nominee. He has published hundreds of poems and given readings of his work widely for over 25 years.

Lady Mariposa (Sullivan City, Texas)

Lady Mariposa is Veronica Sandoval, a spoken word junky, street-smart poet, preacher’s kid from Sullivan City. Former old school chola and new Americana poet, Lady has been hosting and reading poetry in the Rio Grande Valley, for over eight years.

P.C. McKinnon (San Antonio, Texas)

P.C. McKinnon began writing poetry in 1992. His first collection, If Only Yet The Fog, was released in 2003. He is currently looking for a publisher for his anti-war manuscript, Anthem. His current project is a non-fiction novel about a woman who endured more than 20 years of sexual abuse and domestic violence. His poems appear in numerous anthologies and Websites. He lives and works in San Antonio. P.C. McKinnon has been published in anthologies, magazines, online, and twice in the Texas Poetry Calendar.

Josie Mixon (San Antonio, Texas)

Josie (Bustos) Mixon is an award-winning domestic violence and sexual abuse awareness advocate. Born in Mission, Texas, she is a survivor of both sexual abuse and domestic violence of more than 20 years. She now advocates awareness and is a force to be reckoned with. In 2009, she was the recipient of the PEACE Initiative’s Phoenix Award for her contribution to end the cycle of violence. Her publication credits include two published collections of poetry: Reflections of My Battered Life (2007) and Of Flesh and Bone I Am Woman, Surviving Abuse (2008).

Gabo de Montemayor (Dallas, Texas)

Gabo is Josue Gabriel de Montemayor, is a poet/writer. He was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico in July 1974, and has a degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Regiomontana. He is the author of five books of poetry and fiction and has recently participated in the 14th Austin Annual International Poetry Festival April 20-23, 2006. He is the screenwriter, host and producer of a national TV network called Más Música TV. Gabriel is busy writing his first novel, preparing another poetry book and a multimedia project that includes film, poetry and music. Gabo’s first book of bilingual poetry was recently edited and released by a publisher in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México.

Brenda Nettles Riojas (Harlingen, Texas)

The Pilgrim Poet, Brenda Nettles Riojas, is a mother, writer, and creative spirit, who grew up on the border of South Texas and Mexico. Brenda's itinerant tendencies keep her in route to different destinations, exploring the world and capturing some of these experiences in her poetry. She is currently the editor of a new quarterly magazine, El Peregrino. She is also pursing a M.F.A. in creative writing. She authored a book about the history of the Catholic Church in the Rio Grande Valley, and has presented nationally on the subject of creativity. Brenda is also a founder of the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival.

Alan Oak (Brownsville, Texas)

Alan Oak accidentally became a poet in high school by writing haikus as an “easy” way to get through a creative writing assignment. After weeks of writing, rewriting and workshopping, those first poems were published in a national magazine. He’s been addicted to the writing life ever since. Alan’s poetical work ranges from formal to free verse, sarcastic and light to emotionally poignant. Currently he is a graduate English student at UTB/TSC and serves as senior editor in the university’s Offices of Marketing and Communication.

Oscar C. Peña (League City, Texas)

Oscar C. Peña is an essayist, poet and jazz musician. He is the author of a chapbook, Fire of Thorns and has been a featured poet at Barnes & Noble and Seabrook Coffee Oasis. His work appears in the 2007 Houston Poetry Fest Anthology; Boundless, the anthology of the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival (2008 & 2009), Texas Poetry Calendar—2009 and 2010 and the San Antonio Poetry Fair anthology Voices Along the River. Oscar hosts the Barnes & Noble 4th Tuesday Poetry Reading Series and has served as Master of Ceremonies for Houston Poetry Fest’s 2009 Poetry Out of Bounds series.

Juan Manuel Pérez, a.k.a. The Maroon Knight of Zavala County (La Pryor, Texas)

Juan Manuel Pérez, a Mexican American poet, is the author of Another Menudo Sunday (2007) and O Dark Heaven (2009, Onda Press) and six poetry chapbooks. He is also a public school history teacher and lives in La Pryor, Texas. He is currently entering rehab for his comic book addiction.

Francisco Piña, Jr. (Pharr, Texas)

Frank Piña is originally from Mission, Texas: “Like most poets I write poetry as a way of self healing; however, I have come to realize that I feel more connected to my poems when they are read to an audience.”

Cory Raymond (McAllen, Texas)

“I’ve come to poetry relatively late in life, starting in earnest towards the end of my sixty-first year. I now believe that I have always been a poet, but one who was hiding in the ‘poet closet.’ Now that I’m out of that closet, I am devoting every moment I can spare from my usual routine to concentrate on honing my skills. I enjoy, and often marvel at, the poetry of others but my real passion is writing it!”

Laura Reagan-Porras (Edinburg, Texas)

Laura Reagan-Porras is a sociologist and the executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of McAllen, Texas. She is a published technical writer but also enjoys writing a regular column in the “RGV Town Crier” called “Simply Make A Difference,” about youth development and mentoring. Her first published poem appeared in Boundless 2009, the anthology of the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival. Laura lives on the Texas-Mexico border in Edinburg, Texas, with her husband and two daughters. Her first poetry collection, La Familia Entera: Borders and Beyond (The Whole Family) will be published soon.

Shirley A. Rickett (Alamo, Texas)

Shirley Rickett has been writing and publishing since the 1970s. Her book, Dinner In Oslo, is available on Amazon.com. She and her husband Charlie are transplants from Kansas City, Missouri. She has a book in manuscript, a chapbook in manuscript, and is working on a third book. She sometimes works with the Pharr Literacy Project.

Virginia (Vicky) Rodríguez Garza (Monterrey, Nuevo León)

Virginia Rodríguez Garza was born in Monterrey, México. She is an entrepreneur, untiring traveler, and is joyous and generous. Her necessity: the insatiable restlessness to know about the world and to understand its sense. Her inspiration is life, because life itself is poetry. Virginia is the author of the poetry book Luz, Péndulo, Voz (Moon, Pendulum, Voice).

Linda Romero (Harlingen, Texas)

I’m originally from Harlingen, TX and have a BA in Journalism from UT-Pan American. Though I consider myself a newfound poeta, I am constantly learning about writing, and what it takes to delve deep to make my poetry resonante with others' emotions—allowing a familiarity with our collective experiences.”

Arturo Saldaña (Port Isabel, Texas)

Arturo Saldaña is the proud son of María López Saldaña and Agustín Cisneros Guillen. Born in McAllen, Arturo sauntered through life as a Chicano activist, an agricultural migrant worker, a student with three degrees, a truck driver, a United States Army veteran, and mucho mas things. Suffice to say, Arturo enjoys life with his wife, Dina, and as necessary, casts images with the spoken word while his wife elocutes with painting.

Dr. Steven P. Schneider (McAllen, Texas)

Steven P. Schneider is a professor of English at The University of Texas-Pan American. He is author of three collections of poetry. His most recent book is Borderlines: Drawing Border Lives (Wings Press, 2010). It is a bilingual collection of poems written in response to a series of 25 drawings by his wife, Reefka. The book has an introduction by Norma Cantú and has blurbs from Sandra Cisneros, René Saldaña, and Carmen Tafolla. Steven is the recipient of two NEA Big Read grants.

Mona D. Sizer (Harlingen, Texas)

Mona Sizer has written 36 books, including a book of poetry: Before The Wind. Her newest book is Glory Guys: Story of the U.S. Army Rangers. She belongs to Western Writers of America and Writers League of Texas. In 2006 she edited and contributed to Valley Byliners’s successful anthology, Tales Told At Midnight Along The Rio Grande. She speaks to schools and organizations Valleywide and handles publicity for RGV Birdfest. Her next proposed book for Rowman Littlefield Publishing Group is The Bombardiers. She and her husband of 48 years have traveled recently to the Galapagos, Peru, and Ecuador.

Tim Smith (Harlingen, Texas)

I began writing poetry in the mid 1960s while in the Navy. Afterwards I earned a degree in creative writing (poetry) at Cal State University—Long Beach. Though my career has been in the building trades, I have always composed poetry. My last published poem, entitled “comeback,” appeared in the December 2004 issue of “Milo,” a journal for strength athletes.

Lina Suárez (McAllen, Texas)

Priscilla Celina Suárez, co-author of the Texas State Library’s Bilingual Programs Chapter, is a native to the Rio Grande Valley and has had a great experience writing poetry for children. She is the author of Hija of the Valley and Mestiza Grill, and is a past recipient of the MexiCasa Writing Fellowship. Lina was also a presenter during the Cool Teen Programs panel at ALA 2009, where she presented a programming chapter she wrote for young adults.

Virginia Torres (Edinburg, Texas)

Virginia Torres was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. She is currently an MFA student in the Creative Writing Program at The University of Texas-Pan American, where she writes anything from poetry to screenplays. This will be her first time presenting as a registered poet for VIPF, and she is honored to be a part of this event.

Kenneth “Bluetown” Treviño (Port Isabel, Texas)

Ken "Bluetown" Treviño is a husband and a father who teaches English at Port Isabel High School. He is a poet and playwright. Bluetown is a member of the Narciso Martínez Cultural Arts Center Writers Forum and a co-founder of the Laguna Madre Writers Forum. His passions include poetry, music, and surfing. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Incarnate Word College and an Associate of Arts in Behavioral Sciences from San Antonio College. He is most proud of his wife Susy and his two daughets: Otilia Doralee and Kendra Susset.

Luis Vázquez (Houston, Texas)

Born in New York City and raised in Puerto Rico, Luis Vázquez is an electronics engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. His work has appeared in several regional anthologies, most recently in the Bayou Review. In addition, he has been featured in various poetry reading venues, including his latest appearance at the Friendswood Library Poetry reading. He is a past juried poet for the Houston PoetryFest. He is a member of the Gulf Coast Poets and his co-facilitator of the Seabrook Coffee Oasis reading Series. He and his wife call Clear Lake home.

Rolando Villafuerte (Edinburg, Texas)

Originally from the State of Illinois and now living in Texas. Happily married and with children. I have had many experiences in my life and have been blessed, I think, with a gift of being able to form words together and my mission, I believe, is to reach those that think they cannot be touched and be a voice to those who can’t seem to say how they feel!!! [Top] [Links]

[2010 Registered Poets] [2010 Featured Poets] [2010 Schedule of Events] [2010 Venues] [2010 Poetry Pachanga] [2010 Sponsors & Sponsorship Opportunities] [2010 Volunteer Opportunities] [2010 Youth Poetry Slam] [2010 Adult Poetry Slam] [2010 Registration] [Boundless 2010 Anthology Submissions] [2010 VIPF Home]