La Dulce Palabra photo by Mel Ferrand.
As you enter the storefront at 4111 W. Armitage, you see what appears to be a seemingly standard dance studio—a balance bar is anchored to one wall, while the opposite one is covered with a mirror from ceiling to floor. However, as you begin to take in the details, you realize this is not simply a dance space. The wall with the balance bar is bright cherry red and is adorned with a large Cuca original demanding that you give it some of your attention, and unlike most dance studios, you don't stop there, this room leads to another.
Once you've passed the threshold into the next space, you have been transported into a tiny theatre complete with stage, lights and audience seats. This is where I was introduced one by one to the women of the La Dulce Palabra Spoken Word Ensemble ( La Dulce ) . Almost as if on cue, they entered from different doors, each bringing with her, her own unique flourish of energy as she/they settled in for the following interview.
Initially, I asked about the history and for some basic background on La Dulce. Maritza Nazario and Milka Ramirez, two of the founders of the seven women collective, explained that La Dulce is merely two and a half years old and evolved out of a collaboration between En Las Tablas Performing Arts and Amigas Latinas. Originally designed to offer open mic/spoken word opportunities, when 40 women arrived for workshops on writing and acting, it soon became apparent that much more was needed.
As time went on, seven women took it one step further and La Dulce Palabra ( the sweet word ) Spoken Word Ensemble was formed. Alicia Tellez, Vega, Evon Flores Barrera, Maria Calderon, Marixa Rojas, and Martha Cartagena joined Maritza and Milka in their quest to do more performances and the collective has been continuing to take things further ever since.
The success of this self-described collective of queer and allied Latina performers seems to be the universality of their experiences in the stories they tell. Additionally, they inspire others. For example, Linda Garcia Merchant was so moved by their show that she produced a documentary of La Dulce and has won critical acclaim for it. Further, the Smithsonian has approached them and asked that they participate in a nationwide project as part of a traveling exhibit to archive Latino/a ( s ) in the United States. Consequently, La Dulce will be part of the Chicago contingent in the category of Latina Lesbian Voices in the Arts.
To see them here at home, check out their upcoming show entitled, "¡Siempre Viva! Silent No More" As a kick-off to Pride weekend, La Dulce will have two shows at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green. These performances will be firsts for both the collective and the Chicago Center. For La Dulce, it's the first professional theatre they will have performed in, and for the Performing Arts Center, this will be the inaugural show to feature openly queer performers performing a queer themed show.
"¡Siempre Viva!" is a tribute to the 40th anniversary of Stonewall and the participation of queer people of color in the LGBTQ rights movement. Ramirez said, "It's a tribute to our roots: African, Indigenous, Taino and Aztec." When asked to give somewhat of a trailer, Nazario said, "The spoken word, multimedia show will be begin with a poem titled, "¿Adonde es mi ayer? ( Where Did My Yesterday Go? ) She further explained, "The show begins as a woman tries to capture a lost past [ or more accurately, a past she was robbed of ] and then evolves into the future we want to create. We want people to take the journey ( to the future ) with us, but know each journey is different."
La Dulce Palabra Spoken Word Ensemble will perform "Siempre Viva! Silent No More!" on Friday-Saturday, June 26-27 at the Chicago Center for Performing Arts, 777 N. Green, at 8 p.m. For tickets go to www.theaterland.com .
