It’s been one year since an open mic at Kendall Whittier's Pancho Anaya Bakery started.
The original goal was to give Spanish speakers a place to sing, recite poetry and perform in their native tongue.
Wednesday night’s open mic, Voces y Versos, was held at the Sofia Event Center in midtown with a different goal: bringing bilingual people together.
One of the hosts for the free event is Giovanna Castro. She recited an Amado Nervo poem.
In the poem, the famed Mexican poet asks God where the dead go. He talks about his mother being lost and how he is unable to find her.
Tears flowed from Castro’s eyes during her reading.
“I knew I was going into difficult territory reading that poem,” Castro said after her reading. “It's a very emotional poem.”
The poem mourns the separation of a mother and son through death, its emotional force reverberates beyond that loss.
As the ACLU alleges the Trump administration continues to separate parents from children, the poem’s portrayal of a mother and son torn apart took on a different meaning.
Even the simple act of speaking Spanish can feel transgressive as the White House’s Spanish-language page was shuttered earlier this year.
“I think what's happening, it really gives you inspiration,” Castro said. “You can see the injustice. You can see the xenophobia firsthand.”
Russian immigrant and poet Zhenya Yevtushenko heard about bilingual night while at the Tulsa Public Library.
Yevtushenko started gravitating towards the Spanish-speaking community as a child because of his own immigrant experience. He grew up with a limited Russian speaking community during the 90's in Tulsa. So, Yevtushenko searched for another culture to bond with.
“As a young kid it was the Spanish speaking world,” he said. “It's really, really fascinating to see how the Spanish speaking community connects.”
Fellow performers and audience members listened intently to each reading and song.
Yevtushenko recited poet Alexander Pushkin, a man he described as “the lovechild of William Shakespeare and Walt Whitman," in his native Russian.
Adriana Nelson sings Luis Miguel’s "Si Nos Dejan" and La gata Bajo La Lluvia by Rocio Durcal in Spanish. She also belts a rendition of "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" by Paul Anka in English.
Many other poets and songwriters read their original works.
At the end of many of the performances Castro yells out an encouraging “vamo” in appreciation of the artists.
“We plan to keep doing it bilingual, so we can really enjoy ourselves together,” she said after the first bilingual night event. “And create community.”
