Contributors
SECOND EDITION CONTRIBUTORS
GABRIELLE DAVID, a contributor, is the publisher of 2Leaf Press, a Black/Brown female-led nonprofit press based in New York that promotes multicultural literature and literacy, of which she serves as executive director. She is also editor-in-chief of the award-winning quarterly phati’tude Literary Magazine. Her poetry and essays have appeared in the Paterson Literary Review, Journal of New Jersey Poets, AIM Magazine, and the Huffington Post,and she is an editor of Hey Yo! Yo Soy! 40 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry by Jesús Papoleto Meléndez (2012), The Branches of The Tree of Life (2014), What Does it Mean to be White in America? (2016), and is the author of the TRAILBLAZERS series (https://trailblazersblackwomen.org). https://gabrielledavid.com
VAGABOND, a contributor who also designed the cover of this second edition, is a filmmaker and multi-disciplinary artist born in Brooklyn to Puerto Rican and Jamaican parents. A graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & the Arts, he attended The School of Visual Arts but dropped out after his first year to work on independent black films such as Spikes Lee’s Do The Right Thing, where he quickly learned all aspects of filmmaking and forged his own alternative aesthetic. He has written, produced and directed the documentary, Ricanstructing Vieques and the award-winning feature film, Machetero. A former member of the Ricanstruction Netwerk, a politically radical artist collective in the vein of the “Situationist International,” Vagabond continues to work on films, create posters, pamphlets, videos and all kinds of other agit-propaganda for “the cause” or just because. http://nothingtobegainedhere.com.
CAROLINA FUNG FENG, an original co-translator of the first edition and translator of this second edition, was born and raised in Costa Rica to Chinese parents, and grew up speaking Spanish and Cantonese before she learned English. Her interest in linguistics led her to study translation, and she earned a BA in Spanish-English translation and interpretation, and English Language Arts from Hunter College (CUNY). She also holds Cambridge CELTA certification and has taught ESL to adult immigrants in New York City. Hey Yo! Yo Soy! was her first literary translation, and Fung Feng has continued to serve as copy editor and translator for 2Leaf Press.
FIRST EDITION CONTRIBUTORS
Introduction by Sandra Maria Esteves
SANDRA MARIA ESTEVES is a Dominican Nuyorican poet and visual artist who is often associated with the Nuyorican Movement. She has published nine collections of poetry, including, DivaNations (audio cd, 2010); Wildflowers (audio cd, 2009); Portal (2007); and Poems In Concert (2006). Her work has appeared in numerous publications, and she is the recipient of several awards and fellowships including a Pregones Theater/NEA Master Artist Award (2010), and the Con Tinta Award from the Acentos Poetry Collective (2007). A teaching artist for over thirty years, Esteves has conducted literary programs for the New York City Board of Education, Teachers & Writers Collaborative, the Bronx Council on the Arts, the Caribbean Cultural Center and El Museo del Barrio, among others.
Foreword by Samuel Diaz Carrion and Carmen M. Pietri-Diaz
SAMUEL DIAZ CARRION (1947-2017) was a Puerto Rican poet and writer born in the South Bronx. While working as a chemist, he participated in meetings that led to the founding of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, New Rican Village and other venues. Over the years, he has coordinated poetry and reading series, and managed theatrical events for Pedro Pietri and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Diaz also served as a coordinator for the Puerto Rican-based Bienal de la Poesía Puertoriqueña and subsequent events for La Muestra de la Bienal. He also led Computer and Administrative Office Services (BxCAOS), which assisted small businesses and nonprofits in the arts and housing. Diaz Carrion is the author of Our Nuyorican Thing, The Birth of a Self-Made Identity (2014) under 2Leaf Press’ NUYORICAN WORLD SERIES.
CARMEN M. PIETRI-DIAZ (1946- 2015) was the former executive director of the world renown, Nuyorican Poets Cafe. She produced and curated the Nuyorican anniversary events at New York’s Town Hall as well as other cultural events among the college circuit in the New York Metropolitan area. In 2008, she was publicly honored with the title of executive director emeritus of the Nuyorican Cafe. Pietri-Diaz sat on the boards of various cultural organizations, including the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center and the Federation of East Village Artists (FEVA). She earned a BA in Liberal Arts from City College (CUNY) and a Juris Doctorate from CUNY Law School at Queens College. Pietri-Diaz was honored by Diario-La Prensa in 2004 as one of fifty outstanding Latina women in the U.S. She served as President and CEO of Zero Budget Productions, was a literary consultant for 2Leaf Press, and remained active in community and cultural affairs until her untimely death.
Afterword and cover design by Jaime “Shaggy” Flores
JAIME “SHAGGY” FLORES is a Nuyorican Massarican Poet, writer and African Diaspora scholar born in Spanish Harlem and raised in Cupey, Puerto Rico and Springfield, Massachusetts. While attending UMass Amherst, he became involved with student organizations, and created the annual “Voices for the Voiceless,” one of the largest poetry concerts in the Northeast that brought nationally established African Diaspora writers to the five-college community. It was at this event that Flores established the Louis Reyes Rivera Lifetime Achievement Award to honor legendary artists. After receiving his BA in African Diaspora, he completed his master’s in History from Virginia State University (HBCU). His work has appeared in numerous anthologies and he the author of two books. Flores has worked in communications and outreach in the labor, public and private sector for nearly twenty years.
Translated by Adam Wier, Carolina Fung Feng and Marjorie González
ADAM WIER, head translator, graduated as valedictorian from Hunter College (CUNY), where he majored in Spanish-English Translation and Interpretation, and Interdisciplinary Honors Studies. Wier is also a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy’s theatre and film program. He founded Haberdasher Theatre along with some of his fellow graduates and served as the company’s managing director. He has worked as a freelance translator, and was the senior translator for the U.S. Latino edition of phati’tude Literary Magazine (2012), and rendered the subtitles for the films La Mirada de Las Fotos (Staring Pictures) (2010) and Lo Que Quiero De Ti (What I Want From You) (2012). He is currently a Fullstack Javascript developer and resides in Paris.
MARJORIE GONZÁLEZ, born in Chile, was a student at Hunter College (CUNY) student majoring in Spanish/English translation when she worked on Hey Yo! Yo Soy!, her first literary translation.
Edited by Gabrielle David and Kevin E. Tobar Pesántez
KEVIN E. TOBAR PESÁNTEZ served as an editor for phati’tude Literary Magazine, and poetry editor for 2Leaf Press. Pesántez has worked as a Workshop Facilitator of the Boy’s Town Detention Center, developing spoken word theater workshops in Brooklyn, and as a playwright and actor in cultural programs in Quito, Ecuador. He was a member of The Forum Project, New York’s first ever Theatre of the Oppressed performance troupe, was a housing advocate at University Settlement, and served as a columnist for the Rivard Report serving San Antonio, Texas. Pesántez is currently a leader of Bhakti Yoga and does outreach with yoga centers throughout the world.
Here's What People Are Saying
“Papoleto’s book, HEY YO! YO SOY! is a wonderful insight into the mind and creation of a classic Nuyorican Poet. It is not just a compendium of forty years of Nuyorican Poetry; it also shows the growth and development of a Nuyorican Legend. For up-and-coming poets, writers, and spoken word artists, this book is a must-read. Not only is the poetry an oral history of events of close to a half a century, but his words/commentary paint a beautiful mosaic of the raw power that Nuyorican Poetry contains. Kudos to Papoleto and the publisher for putting this invaluable text together for all to enjoy!” ~Frank Perez author, poet, and playwright
“HEY YO! YO SOY! reveals a courageous voice watching and living the harsh realities of poor Puerto Rican and Black communities. In contrast with the beauty of nature and the world of the “privileged” classes are the violence and pain of the world of poverty, drug addiction and cultural oppression. These poems communicate an absurd, tragic sense of life, sometimes with humor. They reveal the role of the state and religion in both creating and neglecting these conditions. Papoleto encourages us to revolt, to create a freer world by rebelling, even in the smallest acts. This book is a gift of love.” ~Myrna Nieves, Ph.D. writer and editor of anthologies, professor at Boricua College in New York City
“HEY YO! YO SOY! presents forty years of Meléndez’ poetry, the authentic sound-the songs-of life perceived through an ‘open window’ in El Barrio. To begin, the poet announces himself in the rollicking, prancing title poem, ‘Hey Yo! Yo Soy!’ The following sixty-plus poems echo the rhythms of El Barrio and reveal its inner life through sharply etched images. With distilled clarity, Meléndez renders the disappointment, loneliness, and anger of ugly ghetto streets and redeems that pain with his poet’s desire to hear the ‘lovely sounds’ and attain ‘new growth.’” ~Evelyn A. Flory, Ph.D., Head of School (Retired) St. Paul’s School for Girls, Baltimore
“In HEY YO! YO SOY!, poet Jesus Papoleto Meléndez is the true voice of a poet, who disrobes society for us to see it raw and naked as it is in its own skin. Many of us are not ready to see society as it is. Papoleto brings us closer through his magnify glass of words, drawing us to the sad, dark, and rebellious part of our humanity that deserves to be seen and analyzed. His poetry represents freedom of speech and thinking, bringing voice to the often-silenced perspectives in our society. I look forward to sharing these poems with my friends and students—we are all in need of a linguistic venue for our critical thinking.” ~Melissa Nieves, director of Adult Education, Union Settlement Association
“Finally, a body of work from the school of Nuyorican Poetry that calls us from the street while we’re on the rooftop making faces at the stars: The Birth of Yo in Us. You can feel the steam of winter wreck our souls in Papoleto’s verse; in it, you find the cascading flow of personal and political evolution born of chaos and fracture. Poetry has never spoke louder; same goes for love in this collection. Let Papoleto’s book, HEY YO! YO SOY!, serve as a chronicle of transnational awakening.” ~Willie Perdomo, PEN Beyond Margins award-winning author of Smoking Lovely (2004)
“Jesus Papoleto Meléndez is a living spanglish lexicon. HEY YO! YO SOY! is a testament to the dedication & documentation of the nuyorican experience. it carries so many words in between the pages: longevity, strength, survival, transformation. a very necessary piece in the literary history of puerto ricans in new york.” ~Bonafide Rojas, publisher of Concourse Press, and author of When The City Sleeps (2012)
“The beat and rhythms of Papo’s voice, his cadence and unique style, are synonymous with a mosaic; pieces of jazz and blues, street drums, guaguancó, tumbao, bomba and plena, English/Spanish/Spanglish, an operatic Mack the Knife, screaming in defiance, held together by hope for a better tomorrow!” ~Mariposa Maria Teresa Fernandez, poet
“The poetry of Papoleto Meléndez blends and stretches the English language in novel ways to create a unique poetic voice. Like a jazz musician, he emphasizes or distorts words, sentences, and punctuation in his verses to form meaningful soundscapes. In live performances, his voice evolves into an Indian chant-like trance, while on the written page his elaborate use of typography and layout makes you, literally, visualize and hear his poems. HEY YO! YO SOY! provides a much-needed collection of the work of a true American original, in both English and Spanish.” ~Javier de Pisón, journalist
“From San Diego’s Barrio Logan to the streets of East Harlem, Papoleto Meléndez is a legendary figure. This volume of collected and lovingly translated poetry is long overdue. The poems sing with rhythms of the streets, but Papa’s cogent use of metaphor and penetrating insight elevates him to the ranks of the great poets of this era.” ~DeeDee Halleck, founder of Paper Tiger TV, and co-founder Deep Dish Network, Democracy Now, and lndymedia
“Papoleto’s poetry captures the essence of a time and place that is ‘relevant’ even to the streets of El Barrio today, catching the pain of a culture trapped within a society that still does not recognize its ma/dad against a great people and land. I wept with the junkie and raised my fist with the revolutionary as I read words written long ago as I understood, yet again, my Nuyorican heritage is still a privilege not to be taken lightly.” ~Caridad De La Luz of De La Luz, Inc.
“Jesus Papoleto Meléndez ‘s poetry is an important chronicle of the life of one of the early Puerto Rican writers published in the United States. From his poem “THEY-THOSE” to “have you seen liberation” to “of a butterfly in el barrio,” Meléndez ‘s vision, feelings and views of his world are presented with vivid resilience and decided purpose; his passion for social justice and love of his community gleaming through these pages.” ~Nancy Mercado, Ph.D., author of It Concerns the Madness (2000)
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