Spoken word artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai was recently featured in our Spring 2011 issue for her notable and powerful performances. (I have had the good fortune to see her perform live, and it was amazing.)
Photo courtesy of Yellowgurl.com.
Now you’ll get the chance to see her perform at the Say You Heard My Echo show commissioned by the Asian American Arts Alliance (A4).
Not sure what to do for the upcoming weekends? Perhaps you want to take a break on a weekday after a long day at the office. Here are some fun alternatives — from poppin’ to boppin’ to art hoppin’ — to just going home and vegging out in front of the tube. Go out for a night of music, art and culture — or some good ol’ fashioned sex. (Keep reading to see what we mean.)
Clara C Tour
When: Saturday, March 19, 8 pm
Where: Hotel Cafe 1623 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028
How: claramusic.com
Kollaboration winner Clara C is going on tour!! If you don’t know who Clara C is, you are definitely missing out and need to go check out her YouTube page ASAP. Her first stop will be in L.A. at the Hotel Cafe. Pre-sale tickets will be $11 and you can get it at www.hotelcafe.com. It is a 21+ event, so if you’re under 21, sorry … maybe next time? If you know who Clara C is, you’ll be sure to make it there by 7 when doors open because there will definitely be a line.
In our Winter 2010-11 issue, we introduced you to Ruby Veridiano, writer, speaker, arts educator, media personality and founder of the Glamourbaby Diaries, a writing empowerment program for Asian American college women. Here, more of our conversation with Ruby.
Photo by Chaz Cruz.
Audrey Magazine: OK, give us the basics.
Ruby Veridiano: Filipina-Chinese American, 27, born in Manila, raised in Sacramento, and currently residing in New York City. I went to University of California Davis, majored in Sociology of World Development with minors in Asian American Studies and Communications.
AM: You’ve been conducting writing workshops called the Glamourbaby Diaries, thanks to a grant by Asian Women Giving Circle. What are these workshops about, who’s attending, and why are you holding them?
RV: The workshops are for young women ages 14-20. I designed it for Asian American women as a space for dialogue about issues that they face. However, it is open to all women of various backgrounds. Right now, I have a group of girls from different backgrounds attending, which is great because it allows us all to learn from each other, and build solidarity between different communities. I held these workshops because I wanted to create an empowering place where women can view positive Asian American female role models that stand for something.
I’m also in the midst of planning the Glamourbaby Diaries speaking tour in the Spring of 2011, taking this program and compacting it into a one day event. I am excited to share this program and dialogue with future female leaders all across the U.S. next year!
AM: What does “glamourbaby” mean to you? Why that name?
RV: Ah, the term “glamourbaby.” Well, let me tell you how it came about. My friend once taped me speaking, and I kept messing up with all of these bloopers. I think I kept spitting and sounded like I had a lisp! And then I said, “Ah man, well…it’s not all glamour, baby.”
And much like most of life, it isn’t all glamour. Especially when you’re striving towards a dream, the path towards anything worth fighting for is filled with obstacles. Moreover, as an activist, there’s nothing glamorous about the injustice you witness and the disparity that you become aware of. But it’s about fighting through the struggle, embracing adversity to let it serve as a lesson of humility and perseverance, and continuing to represent something beautiful for your community. The people I consider glamourbabies are those who represent truth, love, and hope. They are influential, purposeful, visionary. They set trends and but more importantly, they set goals. They are aware of their power to inspire and act.
Read more after the jump.
Though there are signs of a recovering economy, like so many crocuses poking their colorful petals out of the frozen ground, as a certain overweight rodent tells us, it’s still pretty blustery out there. Everything tells me to pull the covers over my head and stay in bed for a spell longer. But, if I were in New York City, I just might be persuaded to grab a few gently used items from my closet and head on over to Asian Women Giving Circle’s fundraiser, “Sip, Shop and Swap.” Held together with Circle of Sisters for Social Change of the New York Women’s Foundation, the idea is to shop your — or as in this case, someone else’s — closet for a good cause.
The “cause” can be any number of worthy efforts — all Asian American women-led. Proceeds from the fundraiser go into one big pot of cash that AWGC then awards to a community-led social change project. Since its founding in 2005, the nonprofit says it’s awarded about $270,000 to Asian women. Now that’s a stimulus we can all get behind.
DETAILS: March 17, 2010, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Bridge Gallery at 98 Orchard St. RSVP deadline March 12.
