Oye spoken phrase poetry present celebrates Latine heritage and Day of the Useless
On Sunday night, Yale’s Oye Spoken Phrase group and different teams on campus celebrated Día de Los Muertos, mixing poetry and music to honor cultural traditions.
Lukas Nel
Employees Reporter
Courtesy of Tabatha Stewart
On Sunday night, the Trumbull Theater hosted a efficiency by the Oye Spoken Phrase group, who introduced a sequence of poems and oratory that paid homage to Latine tradition.
The present was referred to as “Para Siempre” and was a celebration of the Day of the Useless. On the coronary heart of the present, which additionally featured a efficiency by Mariachi Lux Et Veritas de Yale, had been themes of affection, loss, rebirth and the enduring spirit of Día de Los Muertos.
Andrea Chow ’25, Oye’s president, stated that the occasion served as a technique to create house for individuals from Mexican and Latin American communities to return collectively. Chow additionally stated that it was a chance to create neighborhood and categorical resistance and creativity by means of spoken phrase poetry.
“It’s actually necessary to intentionally create house for individuals from marginalized communities, particularly individuals from the Mexican and Latin American communities, to have the ability to have fun dying and or not have fun dying,” Chow stated. “To honor our misplaced family members and to honor dying and create house for us to only be collectively.“
The night began with a efficiency by the Yale undergraduate conventional Mariachi group, Mariachi Lux Et Veritas de Yale.
After Mariachi Lux Et Veritas, the poets gave a public efficiency of the poetry that they had written as a part of Oye.
“I feel it was a novel occasion to really honor Mexican heritage and traditions,” stated Fernando Landa SOM ’24, a member of Mariachi Lux Et Veritas. “Hopefully they are going to be capable to have extra mechanisms to attempt to unfold the phrase as a result of I feel this was stunning. I had no concept that there was this a lot expertise in poetry and in music (at Yale).
Yakeleen Almazan ‘25, the founding father of Mariachi Lux et Veritas de Yale, stated that the present was additionally a nod to the legacies left behind by family members.
In the course of the occasion, Chow carried out her piece, “A Eulogy for my Youthful Self.”
The poem acknowledged necessary components of Chow’s id, incorporating motifs in Mexican spirituality and Catholicism. The piece, she stated, additionally served as a approach for her to grapple with an acute grief she has carried for years, stemming from the lack of many family members as a result of gun violence and the pandemic — points that she stated additionally deeply have an effect on her neighborhood.
Diego Faria ’26 carried out his piece titled “Adiós,” a private reflection on farewells. Within the piece, he portrays the method of grappling with the ache that outcomes from having to say goodbye. In accordance with Faria, the poem was a medium of self-introspection and progress — for ultimately, he understands the significance of ultimate acceptance, letting farewells encourage artwork, ache and gratitude.
“Once I first began writing the poem, I had simply been going by means of the method of claiming goodbye to somebody that was very particular to me. And within the strategy of realizing that I used to be afraid of claiming goodbye, of the act of doing it,” Faria stated. “I discovered that I would like to begin writing it.“
Alex Guzman Caceres ’26 carried out her piece “La Bendita” — which touched on individuals experiencing poverty in Guatemala in addition to her household’s sacrifices.
Tabatha Stewart ’26 carried out her piece “Locket for a Fantasmita” about misplaced associates over time, and Morgan Vannell ’27 carried out his piece “Wood Home” about associates saved over time.
Kayleigh Hackett ‘25, the host for the night, recommended the performers who volunteered to share their creative expressions.
“We had fairly just a few individuals volunteer to carry out and I feel they did very well,” Hackett stated.
Past the poetry, the occasion “Para Siempre,” that means “ceaselessly,” additionally aimed to lift funds for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan, or MEChA, de Yale’s Sueño Scholarship, supporting undocumented college students in Connecticut. MEChA additionally offered conventional meals after the occasion for attendees.
The Nick Chapel Theatre is situated within the basement of Trumbull School.
