About Rodrigo:
Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria is a writer and spoken word poet of Peruvian heritage, heavily involved with Palabristas, a local Latin@ poets collective. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and is an involved activist in the Latin@ community. He writes about fatherhood, the duality of two cultures in English, Spanglish and Spanish, and issues pertaining to his community and life experiences. In 2006, he was a member of the poetry collective, “Found In Translation,” which was commissioned for the Minneapolis Mosaic Festival and one of the recipients of the 2005 SASE VERVE Spoken Word Grant. He has performed with Yellow Rage, Los Nativos, Chicano Messengers of the Spoken Word and Big Quarters. Sanchez-Chavarria hosted El Café Open Mic, located at El Burrito Mercado in the heart of the Westside of St. Paul. He also takes the power of his work to local high schools, colleges, and universities, both in the Metro Area and in Greater Minnesota, in which he engages in conversation with students in regards to the art of spoken word and how they can use it as tool of liberation. He manufactured and independently released a Spoken Word CD in 2006 titled “Desconocidos” with the collaboration of other local poets, and is featured in the Palabristas Chapbook titled “Outside the Lines.”