By Hannah Grace Morrison
Onda Latinx open mic nights serve our community’s needs by coming together to share in space and time to reflect and slam down our thoughts about our world. Each event is unique in the collection of art forms that take center stage and the artists that stand strong in one another’s love, anger, and solidarity. The dynamic group and events center decolonial feminists of color and their allies in a communal sharing of voices, laughter, and tears. With a few frequent flyers, Onda Latinx is an event that continues to foster and value the arts as a medium to show the world who and how we are.
Our Onda Latinx open mic 2024 took place at the Flavor’d Flow Studio in Columbus, Ohio on December 6. The graffitied walls and tall stage set the tone for our collective resistance and the opening of our hearts to listen and respect each participant of the night. The chusma box started us off and wiggled its way in between each performer reminding us of things we are grateful for, the political havoc that holds our breath, and our lingering exes that we are tired of seeing.
The event had two special invited Latinx Ohio guests: comedian and poet Stephanie Ginese and Trans Drag Queen Hiliana Pérez. Hiliana Pérez stunned in a royal blue cocktail dress and matching heels with tall, curly hair and bangs touching her eyelashes. Pérez’s spunk and jokes had us cackling about soap operas and bathroom bans. Her genuine spirit and iconic banter sparked joy, resistance, and snark.
Hiliana Perez
Stephanie Ginese, a South Lorain born artist, cracked more than a few jokes in between sharing earth shattering poems from her recent book Unto Dogs. Tying the transnational histories and experiences that her body knows and holds, she taught us a history lesson on important historical women from Puerto Rico in her poems: THE Lolita Lebrón, Gladys, and Irene. Her unrelenting challenge to misogyny and American ignorance paired with her rich metaphors that punched hard when she claimed center stage for her own.
Stephanie Ginese
Many other local artists showed up to participate. The MC and foundational member Paloma Martínez-Cruz shared a taste of her own poetry drawing attention to our fight against racism, imperialism, and misogyny. Javier Alvarez gave us his own fresh take on comedy. Hiliana Perez’s longtime partner left us speechless belting a song. Cat Ramos shared her intimate poems from her recent mother’s journey and passing. Eric Serrano, pianist and poet, read some of his iconic left-handed poems. As a dutiful performance artist, I invited the crowd to get involved through a hand-in-hand call-and-response community love and solidarity poem. Andrea Armijos Echeverría spilled some juicy poetry gossip in her conversational piece that she and I performed. She spoke to coming to terms with being a lot, but not in a bad way. Passionate and crazy when in love, her character would not accept anything less than fierce intimacy in return. Visual artist Juan Daza (DAZA) shared anecdotes from being racially profiled at work to his first community Thanksgiving turkey in the United States.
Javier Alvarez
At Onda Latinx 2024, the stage was incredibly bright, and our voices were loud. This was our first time having an event in Hungarian Village at Flavor’d Flow, so much appreciation goes out to James Alexander for hosting us and making space for our voices, poems, songs, comedy, stories, and authentic expression.