BIOS


	A. Whittaker "El Galo" 1986, Was born and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal. Actor, poet, visual and circus artist. Streetwise and self-taught, he's dedicated to the idleness and pleasure of the word. His motto: "I move then I exist." He has years of trajectory in the great theater of the streets. Presently, he's focus is on surviving in this world and intervening public spaces through scenic poetry, theatre improvisation and clowning. A Chat Mini Interview: Pilar: Why do you write? Galo: so I won't kill my neighbors P: so, if you have no neighbors, you don't write? G: if I say I write because I like it seems too simple if I say, cause it's my life, it's so corny it makes me sick... to avoid arthritis... that has been said already it is the best way I know to relate and interact with the world in a healthy manner and it keeps me away from death no, not the last reason ... the Skinny Lady just knocked on my door

	Abril Albarrán 1987, Was born and lives in Nezahualcóyotl City, Estado de México. Abril studies Literary Creation at the Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (UACM). She was part of the university project "Ecos de la imagen" (Echoes of the Image), an interactive poetry book. Some of her writings have appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies in Colombia, Mexico and England. "Every writer starts expressing her ideas because of a need, however, as pages start to fill up, such need starts becoming the emergency exit for how abysmal the everyday life can be, because going through a door is going into another cosmos. Turning pages, feeling the rain of words hitting one's chest following the rhythm of one's heartbeat becomes an addiction, but we don't settle for anonymity, because we believe that, maybe, in some corner of the world, someone can feel and/or think, even, I dare say, inspired. In these bustling, violent and lonely times, we have lost the ability to connect with one another to such degree we feel alien from the human species, in other words, we are not affected by the misfortune of others or we simply don't turn our heads to contemplate the other. This is why I defend the importance of art in these technological times, we require a way to understand ourselves as a rational animal species, be able to enter the heartbeat of our neighbor to sing, if not the very same notes, but certainly the same hymn."

	América Zapata 1987, Was born and lives in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua. América decided to write when she was 8 years old, thanks to her 3rd grade teacher. That is why every time she writes, she identifies herself with the beauty of being a child even if an adult says the opposite. She started her college education when she was 21 years old, at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua (UACH) pursuing a degree in Spanish Literature. She was selected by the literary group "Reencuentro" to be part of the "11th Conference of Poets and Writers from Latin America," in Santiago del Estero, Argentina (2012), and was the youngest participant. She has also attended other conferences like "Women Poets from the Northeast," in Ciudad de Jiménez, the "5th Regional Conference of Women Poets" in Huejuquilla," and various editions of the "Encuentro de Mujeres Poetas en el País de las Nubes," Oaxaca (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012). América has been published in various anthologies, among them: "Hechiceras de la palabra," "Paisajes Interiores," "Al filo del Poema," "La República en la voz de sus poetas," and "Compilación de poemas inéditos. Homenaje póstumo a Rogelio Treviño" (2013). She was named Exemplary Citizen from Chihuahua for her poetic work, by the newspaper "El Heraldo de Chihuahua." She is a radio announcer in Radio Universidad hosting a program on electronic music. URL: www.americasyalfonsinas.blogspot.mx

	Athena Ramírez y Ramírez 1982, Was born in Mexico City and lives in Tepoztlán, Morelos. Radio presenter, poet, short story writer and tarot reader, Athena studied Literary Creation at the Sociedad General de Escritores Mexicanos (SOGEM). She is a licensed radio announcer who produces a show dedicated to the spread of poetry. She has published in various anthologies and magazines. Her collection, "Incivil," was recently published by VersoDestierro after winning second place at their 2011 Poetry Tournament. "I discovered words and experimented with them in sound. I discovered reading and doors opened themselves. I discovered poetry and started to understand the world. The word comes after me in all its facets and I have no other option but follow this path, which I accept as a way of life, and at some point, as a religion. I remember having written a short dramatic dialogue when I was 8 years old, making a homemade documentary on chrysalis, when I was 9, and saying I would be a "poet and a tourist" when I grew up. Such innocent decree keeps ruling my life. Gorostiza, Paz, Szymborska, Mallarmé, Bukowski, Pizarnik, Whitman, Huidobro, Castro, Castellanos and Gelman are some of the poets who inhabit my bookshelves. Contemporary Women's poetry is a motor which revolutionizes ideas. I fervently believe that poetry is everywhere, but whoever learns to see it is destined to evolve." URL: www.lazonadeniebla.blogspot.mx

	Aura Sabina 1985, Was born and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal. Aura Sabina, poet, narrator and journalist belonging to the organization "Periodistas de a Pie". She was born under the sign of the crab and swears the moon is her double. She studied Communication Sciences at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), and attended a certification program on Literary Creation offered by the National Institute of Beaux Arts (INBA). Member of Raúl Renán's experimental poetry workshop. Committed to the Women's Cause, she is an outraged, mystical and amorous autonomous activist. She collaborates with magazines like "Va de Nuez," "Mujeresnet," "Zarabanda," "Letralia," among others. Has taught at the UNAM Political and Science Department. Her work has been included in anthologies like "Hechiceras de la Palabra," "Paisajes Interiores," "Alter Lego," "Taller y fuga," "Mujeres de la lluvia," etc. Dreaming is very important for her. She very firmly believes that dreams are as important as what we believe tangible. Apprentice of psychomagic, a fervent admirer of the surrealists. Loves coffee, tobacco, good art, meadows, colonial cities, enchanted houses and heartbreak. "I write since I was a child. I remember that in elementary school I wrote very detailed journals. I was an only child and I was my own partner in dialogue. It was one way to remember and explore myself. For me, writing is everything. I believe sometimes I can't express orally what I feel. Sometimes, because of shyness, or because my addressee is not near. Or may never will. It implies immediacy, like taking a photograph, with words, of an instant, the emotion. On the other hand, as no one interrupts me, being such a lonely trade, it allows me to reflect, mend and spin. Writing is my Ariadne's thread. This way, I can go into labyrinths and know I will come back, alive."

	Careli López-Falfán, 1982, Was born in Jalapa, Veracruz and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal. Careli describes herself as a lunar fish born in March, sensitive to cold, who loves sleeping and has four cats: Tuvalú, Beluga, Oriana and Pancho. She has published poetry in the 2011 and 2012 anthologies of the Encuentro de Poesía "Mujeres en el País de las Nubes," as well as short stories in magazines from Argentina and Colombia. She has attended various poetry workshops and is part of Lab-Poesía Expuesta, a group founded by Pilar Rodríguez Aranda and Edwing "Canuto" Roldán. "Because of different circumstances I started traveling very young, sometimes with either of my parents, my brothers, and many times on my own. Thanks to my aunt Ema I acquired a taste for literature and without knowing it, I started playing with language. Having grown up and traveled among different cultures belonging to the original peoples in Mexico had its advantages: words and the different ways of speaking shaped my world and I started writing a diary. Perhaps that is why I studied linguistic anthropology, and later on, history. While at the university I had my first contact with Caribbean, Chicana, Afroamerican and Asian literatures, which opened my eyes to other possibilities. In my country there are many myths around being a writer, one of them being having to study Hispanic Literature, spend time in Academia, and hope to be recognized by critics. Undoubtedly, that is one option, but not mine. I am glad to have read "Beloved," by Tony Morrison; "In the name of Salomé" by Julia Alvarez; "Mothertongue" by Demetria Martínez, "Borderlands" by Gloria Anzaldúa and "The House of Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros. It was then that I resumed my interest in writing. Poetry became the element which allowed me to manifest my ethic position before all injustices, love and pain, through metaphors. Short stories became a therapy which helped me heal still open wounds; through essays I learned to express theoretically my philosophical and social approaches."

	Carlos Titos Barraza, 1988 Was born in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, and lives in Mexico City With a migrant spirit he took his first steps in writing when he was 9 years old. Many years and experiences passed, both sweet and bitter, before he started to express his words aloud. He was halfway in his studies: Communication and electronic engineering (Instituto Politécnico Nacional, or IPN), for the first time excited about physics and mathematics. That's when he discovered electronic art, sound art and techno-poetry. He registered in a workshop called "Spoken Word, Slam Poetry and Hip Hop," offered by Rojo Córdova, and discovered ways to elevate and perform his words, embodying them out from the page. Since August, 2010, he has become part of the Poetry Slam scene in Mexico. "My word speaks mainly of two things: my life and science. When I realized that, by putting together art and science I was creating a beautiful and infinite clash of presences, I haven't stopped using both in my creations. My project "Oscillation of Emptiness" seeks to develop electronic interfaces for audiovisual experimentation, machines which make noise and visuals, create atmospheres. At the same time, I am working on my first poetry book, a book-object called "Forests of Logarithmic Conifers."..." URLs: www.lespistoilettes.blogspot.mx www.proyectooscilacion.blogspot.mx

	Carolina Alvarado 1986, Was born and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal. Poet and documentary filmmaker, Mexican and Guatemalan. She studied Literary Creation at the Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (UACM). Has published poetry and short story in anthologies and literary magazines in Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Guatemala. In 2007 she received first and second place for poetry in the First Competition "Mujeres Accionando desde el Arte," presented by the Colectiva of Women in the Arts, and the Institute for the Studies of the National Literature, in Guatemala. In 2004 she received second place in the contest "Poetizando," Museo Miraflores, Guatemala City. She has published the book: Amando un cielo Libre, 2005, and her documentaries include: La vida rota, 2008 and Mujeres tejedoras, 2008. "I have always liked adventures, searching for the treasure, fighting dragons and traversing deserts. Every time I write I start a journey towards unknown places, and I face the page, the page and my fears. Throughout those journeys, I am always searching for poetry, perhaps the most beautiful of treasures. My mother is a poet, and as a child, I would watch her, attentive to her notebook, writing. When she finished, she would read me her poems. So one day I sat next to her to write, because I also wanted to be a poet. My first poem was about a girl who traveled in a crystal rowboat, under the moonlight, which lit up her golden hair. My mother recorded me reading out loud, I was seven years old, and since then, I haven't stopped writing."

	ch bukejov, 1989, Was born in Mexico City, lives in Naucalpan, Estado de México He's attended workshops with Benjamín García González, Raúl Renán, Salvador Castañeda and Eduardo Cerecedo. He has published independently in self-made offerings, like: "Lahoja," a legal-sized page he glues above the urinals or on public toilet doors; and, "Letrapak," using recycled Tetra Pak one liter containers as covers for compilations of his own work (2006-2012). He has also published in "normal" mags and anthologies, among them "Bitácora 09," "Urbe Poética, Escritores del FARO de Oriente" (2010), and "Palabras Malditas. Antología Poética," (2012). "It all started when it started and without knowing why. I think my lack of skill for drawing made me get into 'la escribida' as a means to paint ideas and sensations which go through this head of mine. Then, time passed, I learned the tricks, and I told myself: You are good and different... mmm, yes, go on even if they tell you the opposite. And that's it, I have created my own form, of what? I don't know, but I have fun when I do it, and if you want to know what I write about, then bump into my letters, and maybe a live 'presentada'."

	Edwing "Canuto" Roldán 1988, Was born and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal. He studied Hispanic Language and Literatures at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He has published in various magazines and won 3rd place at the VersoDestierro 2011 Poetry Tournament. He is a member of the National Network of Language and Literature Students (REDNELL), which meets twice a year at which time he has organized and presented workshops on experimental poetry (DF, Mérida and Tijuana). He is a 100 Thousand Poets for Change organizer (with a workshop called Poetic Dialog), founding member of Lab Poesía Expuesta, and member of the Academic group Marsilio Ficino. He teaches Spanish as a second language at CELCUM Idiomas. "At REDNELL we have discussed the place of poetry aloud. We say, we write to communicate. We study literature to spread it as a place of encounter. We read to dialogue, we enunciate to get something moving and strengthen or create conexions. The problem is not the quality of the text; there are many poems and very few will survive time and will become part of the canon. The other poems happen by the vocation to communicate, and communication is an act which, at some point emerges from the written form and serves enunciation. This is why we think it is necessary to offer workshops on Creative Reading, to complement the educational curriculum for Literature students. I have learned that poetry, whether aloud or silent, reaches whoever is looking for it, the best way he or she requires. Therefore, written or enunciated, poetry needs to have appropriate spaces so that people can approach it any way they wish."

	Elier Eskalante Verdugo 1987, Was born and lives in Motozintla, Chiapas "After having studied all my life in Motozintla, in 2006 I migrated to the city of Saltillo to start my studies at Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, to become a production agronomist, graduating on December, 2010. Presently, I am back in my home town, collaborating in a civil association, looking for new opportunities in the rural area. I like music, preferably rock, Mexican ska, and traditional ballad ("trova"). I was part of a rock band called "Etilika," which represented my college, I played second guitar." "I write because of an ontological need, it is fundamental for human beings to express as little or as much of their ideas, spanning great constellations of thought, which include every fragment of many thinkers from planet Earth and the universe. I usually write in my bedroom, when circumstances merit the use of pen and pencil, to express my thoughts about different phenomena which turn up in my life or the life of others. I am an admirer of the unforgettable Chiapas poet Jaime Sabines, and his writings have been a great influence in my life. The way I relate problems which belong to Earth with the universe is something left in my mind after I had this great professor at the university who was teaching a class called "Crops and Microclimate", and I remember he based a lot on quantum physics to explain the phenomena happening in crops and the ways these would perceive the sun's great energy for their healthy development. The universe is important for me, because all phenomena revolve around it, therefore our problems are based on gravitation. Love and relativity, according to Einstein, who in his theory explains why, on occasions, time lengthens or shortens, and that depends on the circumstances we find ourselves in." URL: www.facebook.com/Elier.poetadeNingunLugar

	Gerardo Grande 1991, Was born and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal He has published in various magazines in Mexico, among them: "Radiador," "Anders Behring," "Trifulca," "Mantarraya," "Gaceta Literal," and "La Piedra", as well as in a selection of 30 Mexican poets in UNAM's periodical "Punto de Partida". Gerardo has participated in poetry festivals in Mazatlán, Aguascalientes, Cuernavaca, Puebla, Chiapas, Tijuana and Mexico City. He was part of the "Red de los Poetas Salvajes" until the conclusion of this project, on December 2010. He is founder of the publishing house/map "Orquesta Eléctrica", and an organizing member of the Subterranean Festival of Poetry. In 2011 he was selected by the Fundación para las Letras Mexicanas and the Universidad Metropolitana de Monterrey to be part of a course on Literary Creation for Young Writers. His mini album of poems entitled "Canto de mi árbol en el incendio (UÁ-IÁ IÍ-Á)" is about to be published. Presently he works in a LP of digital poems.

	Jhonnatan Curiel 1986, Was born and lives in Tijuana, Baja California. "Since I was small I would write poems that I would give to the girls in my school and also to my family. I remember some of these texts because they would tell me I hadn't written them, and when I saw they didn't believe me I stopped writing for many years. It was until I turned 16 that I realized something made my life go towards writing, and that is how I became interested in literature. I remember the exact instant in my youth when I experimented a kind of epiphany facing a cut flower, and in that very moment I knew which road I wanted to follow for my life." "Up to date, I have published 5 books of poetry: "Estival" (Proyecto Editorial Existir, 2006), "Crónica de unos zapatos" (Escuela de Humanidades, UABC, 2008), "Kayrós" (Kodama Cartonera, 2011), "Poemas peligrosos" (Arde la calle, Offline, 2012) and "Flores Cerebrales" (Instituto Sinaloense de Cultura, Navachiste Ediciones, 2012)." "My work has been included in national and international anthologies, among others: "Tan lejos de Dios. Poesía en la frontera norte de México" (Baile de sol-UNAM, 2010), "San Diego Poetry Annual" (2011 & 2012), "Somos poetas y qué" (Honda Nómada Ediciones, 2011), "Mi país es un zombie" (2010). I was recipient of a Jóvenes Creadores grant from the state of Baja California (2008-2009), and have received awards like el Premio interamericano de poesía 2011 for young creators, a yearly award presented by the Festival de las Artes Navachiste." "Presently, I am artistic resident at the Casa Internacional del Escritor, in Bacalar, Quintana Roo." URL: www.jhonnatancuriel.blogspot.mx

	José Manuel D. Domínguez, 1986, Was born and lives in Acapulco, Guerrero. He is a founding member of the reading room, "Hojas en la hierba". He has been part of various public readings in Acapulco, among them: "Mexicanos al grito de la poesía" (September 15, 2011), and "Quiere subir hasta mi boca un canto..." organized by Editorial Rojo Siena (2012). He participated at the 5th National Young Writers Conference also in Acapulco, Guerrero. He was a 100 Thousand Poets for Change organizer in his city in 2011 and 2012. "I started writing because I didn't know when I would die, I still don't know it. I would write love poems, and when I was rejected I would write heartbreak poems. Then I forgot all that. Since I was very young I discovered that at home we didn't have a lot of those pads with many letters called "books". So I would write my own books. Then even more than now. I write because I love to read, to find myself or finish getting lost. I write what I see, what I feel and what I would like to feel. I feel encouraged by the fact that until now nobody cares about what I write. Music is a great driving force for me, not only in terms of music groups but also the themes, the sounds from the harbor, the city. Finally, I write about everything, I take notes about everything. I have a log where what stands out are my notes written about my binges." Known in the Social Media's Underworld as @DobleDDe

	Karloz Atl 1988, Was born and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal. Coordinator of the collective "Poesía y Trayecto" and director of "(H)onda Nómada Ediciones". His creative endeavors depart from poetry, performance, "action art" and the intervention of public places. He started doing this in 2010, reciting poetry in nahuatl, in public transport, as a way to make money; in 2011 he becomes part of the "Slam poetry" scene in Mexico City, winning many of them, and starts developing his present dynamics from there. He organized the "Re-appropriated Poetry Festival" (2011 & 2012); and produced the documentary "El poeta es un revólver en medio del dolor del mundo" (The Poet is a Gun in the Midst of the World's Pain) as part of 100 Thousand Poets for Change, 2011. Karloz considers himself a self-taught poet, although he has taken workshops and classes with Hernán Lavín Cerda, Raúl Renán, Rocío Cerón, José Eugenio Sánchez and Eugenio Tisselli. He studies both Intercultural Management and Development, at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), and Literary Creation at Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (UACM). He has published in various printed and online magazines and anthologies including "Radiador," "La Piedra," "Frontera Esquina," "Expoesía," "Punto en línea," "Círculo de Poesía," "Somos Poetas ¿Y Qué?: Poetas del D.F.," and "Erótika: lujuria poética iberoamericana," Cascada de Palabras Cartonera. He writes to have access to the various mental states of wakefulness and exercise his ability to bring poetry onto different mediums, his body being the main one, because, as he ascertains: "There isn't a place where poetry can't occur." URL: www.intervenciondelarealidad.blogspot.com

	Lázaro Tello Pedró 1986, Was born in Nochixtlán, Oaxaca and lives in Mexico City. He presently studies Literary Creation at the Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (UACM). Has published essays and poetry in various printed and digital magazines and participated in national language and literature student conferences. On what drives him to write, maybe it is simply the need to do it; he also believes in a literature that offers ways to read the world. Themes are universal and have been repeated throughout history. However, what matters is the renovation of the naming, which responds to aesthetic sensibilities that are in constant change. One has to look for the most effective way according to the sensibility one inhabits. Poet Ángel González says it like this: "There will be words for the new history and it is necessary to find them before it's too late." His influences are innumerable: the structure of a story like "One Thousand and One Nights," a musical verse by Góngora, a sudden adjective in a verse by Borges, the way García Lorca built a metaphor, the combative sensibility of Arab and Andalusian poets, everything is useful for the poet when it provokes some resonance in his spirit. URLs: www.aviolus.tumblr.com Twitter @aviolus

	Lorena Sosa 1988, Was born and lives in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua. She writes for pleasure, cause she believes it is the most wholesome and pure act of freedom, cause she believes that the white page is a place where life expands, and so does death. Because writing gives her the possibility of making a living and acquiring life, it allows her to give death to indifference and the occasional disappointment. She graduated in Spanish Literature at the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, and acknowledges Jesús Chávez Marín, friend and spiritual father, as one of his main mentors, who encouraged her to do that which made her most happy: literature. Today, there is no other purpose in her life other than writing about what she feels and sees, whenever her thoughts become assailed by wasps, her womb by volcanoes, and her heart by fireflies. Books and authors that have left an imprint on her include: Ernesto Cardenal, "Fahrenheit 451°" by Ray Bradbury, "La vida es sueño" by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Julio Cortázar's short stories, "Cien años de Soledad" by Gabriel García Márquez. Even though she doesn't remember all the books she's read, she knows they have all helped forming the vertebra of her "book spine", on which her eyes rested and today make their life revolutionize. She publishes a monthly column at the University newspaper, and has been included in various literature magazines and poetry anthologies.

	Mariana Orantes 1986, Was born and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal. Finishing her studies in Hispanic Literature at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa (UAM-I), and presently studying Literary Creation at Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (UACM). She was recipient of a "Jóvenes Creadores" grant, presented by the National Fund for the Culture and Arts (FONCA), 2011-2012, for poetry. She has published in various magazines, among them "Cuadrivio," "Avispero" and "Passvs". She has also received many awards both for short story and poetry. Her book "Érase una vez en Los Beatos" was published last year (CONAFE 2012). She was part of the editorial team behind the digital magazine "Aguja," and monthly newsletter of the "Ateneo Español" in Mexico. In her spare times she translates from English into Spanish. From 2012 until April 2013 she worked in the adaptation and translation of the play King Lear, under the direction of Hugo Hiriart, premiered on April 11 at the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz' theatre at the University Cultural Center (UNAM). Her three cats are her source of inspiration. She is a collaborator in the project "Terrario": www.terrar.io

	miguel(así,sinapellidos) 1984, Was born and lives in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He studied Hispanic Literature at the Universidad de Guadalajara, but miguel is also a photographer, performance artist, graphic designer, cyclist, and editor of Apócrifa Art Magazine. "I write poetry cause time gives me the words. I write poetry cause I'm a fugitive of a photograph my mother lost inside her womb. I write poetry...cause I feel like doing it. I am like the dawn when riding my bicycle, tiny and velvet-like when touched. I also write dislocated stories...light spirited, simple, a puff of silence." "I write since hormone times till the current I-need-new-glasses time, since the allowed nakedness in life until the last hot flash of the hem in my skirt. I write sometimes, and others I only imagine, and many others, I am a verse lost in the lights of the nocturnal city." "I am miguel(así,sinapellidos). I am the one who has the privilege of traveling at the root of their skin and in the reflection of your eyes. I am...one... one of many." URLs: www.miguelasisinapellidos.wordpress.com www.issuu.com/miguelasisinapellidos

	Pablo Valdés 1984, Was born in Torreón, Coahuila and lives in the Greenville, N.C. He is an anthropologist (Universidad Veracruzana), and a poet. He received a honorable mention at the José Emilio Pacheco Poetry Competition in 2008, for his collection "Que me envuelve esta soledad." Even though he sporadically was already writing one or some other poem, and had received as a gift his first poetry notebook from his platonic love in middle school, his Spanish teacher, Pablo started to write conscientiously as a scape valve, somewhere around 2007. Lovelorn. After that, he kept the bad habit. Other vices he adds to the list, include writing songs and never finishing them and play chess during working hours. Even though the South calls him, some strange force keeps pushing him north. Presently, he's finishing his Masters in Anthropology from East Carolina University.

	Pilar Rodríguez Aranda 1961, Was born in Mexico City and lives in Malinalco, Estado de Mexico. Pilar is a poet, video artist, translator by trade and border-crosser by vocation, who lived in California, Texas, and New Mexico, for a total of 13 years. She originally wanted to become a filmmaker, and started doing video while in college. Her piece "The Idea We Live In," won first place at the 1991 Athens International Film and Video Festival, in Ohio, and at the Bienal de Video de México, 1992 (plus an honorary mention for scriptwriting); "The Unexpected Turn of Jim Sagel," was "Best New Mexican Film" at the Roswell Film Festival in 1994, and "Return, or the Inexactness of Centre" was selected for the 2008 International Videopoetry Showcase (Argentina). Her video work has been shown in several festivals and museums in Europe and America. She has received grants from the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE), the National Fund for the Culture and the Arts (FONCA), and the City of Austin Arts Commission, among others. She makes a living as translator (www.pilartraductora.blogspot.mx), but has also published, most recently in the anthology Cantar de Espejos: poesía testimonial chicana de mujeres (Song of Mirrors: Chicana Women's Testimonial Poetry) UNAM/Univ. del Claustro de Sor Juana, 2012. As a writer, she published her first poem in a student magazine, and since then, she has continued to publish poetry, articles and reviews in various magazines and anthologies in North America, like Voices of Mexico, Replicante, Ruptures, Tribuno del Pueblo, Saguaro, The America's Review, Bilingual Review, DoveTales, and Mujeres de Maíz Flor y Canto, and Voces sin fronteras II, Éditions Alondras, Montreal, Quebec, to mention a few. In 2012 she published her first book of poetry, Asunto de mujeres (Story of Women), Cascada de Palabras, México. In february of 2013, she received as an award for her poem Nuestras Luchitas, a scholarship to participate at the 8th Annual San Miguel Writers' Conference. She considers herself an "artivist" and is a founding member of the collective Contra la violencia, el arte (Against Violence, Art), and coordinator for 100 Thousand Poets for Change, Mexico chapter. URL: pilarpoeta.blogspot.mx

	Raúl Aníbal Sánchez 1984, Was born and lives in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua. He has been publishing, since 2006, en various periodicals, both digital and printed, among them, "Qadrivio," "Metapolítica," "HermanoCerdo," "Periódico de Poesía," and "Playboy." He is editor of the digital magazine "Aguja al Norte." In 2008 he won first place in Children's Short Stories competition called "Science and Technology for the boys and girls in Mexico City," for his short story "Moon by Day." He's received honorable mentions in various other competitions, and first prize at the National Award for Children's and Youth Short Stories "Cuenta Conmigo" (CONAFE) and "Historias que trascienden," presented by Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM). He has also published in the anthologies "Cenzontle de papel" and "Florecer en la plaza mayor," by the publishing company Zócalo, of the Feria internacional del libro del Zócalo.

	Rojo Córdova 1986, Was born and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal. Performer-poet and a writer focused on exploring the possibilities of orality, hip hop, Spoken Word and Poetry Slams. He's working on his thesis for a major in Hispanic Language and Literature from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He has published in many literary magazines and anthologies in the country. Since 2007 he has performed his poetry in various stages, including: Teatro América (La Habana, Cuba), Sala "Adamo Boari" Palacio de Bellas Artes , Radio UNAM, Centro Cultural España, Zinco Jazz Club, Festival Poesía en Voz Alta (2009 and 2010), and Festival Vive Latino 2011 ((Mexico City). Monthly, he presents in different forums, two collections of novels for young adults, published by Fondo de Cultura Económica. Since 2010 he teaches Spoken Word and Poetry Slam workshops. He was general coordinator for the first Spoken Word Mexico City Festival "eSPOKEN FESTdf," which took place in april 2012, at the Museo Universitario del Chopo. Recently, he joined Paul Flores and Mayda del Valle, as the first delegation of North American Spoken Word Poets at the 16th International Poetry Festival in La Habana, Cuba. URL: www.rojoquerojo.blogspot.mx/

	Yanitsa Buendía de Llaca 1987, Was born and lives in Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal. Born in one of the biggest cities of the world, but was brought up in the temperate forest of the East, Yanitsa has used writing as a means for personal healing. As a child, a Shaman woman, whom she knew well, asked her to write down whatever made her ill; however, writing and time also started threading with all the marvels the world contains. Yanitsa has a BA in Hispanic Literature, has worked as proofreader and teacher of literature. Presently she is working on her Masters in Social Sciences. In her blog she publishes some of her poetry, as well as some journalistic exercises. Also, she is working on her first novel. URL: www.escomoquemarlasnaves.blogspot.mx

	Zazil Alaíde Collins 1984, Was born and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal. This is how she describes herself: Between periods and comas, poet with teponaztli; radio DJ and cloud hunter, Text-worker; presenter, scriptwriter, producer and music writer for various media. She has published two books of poetry: "Junkie de nada" (Lenguaraz, 2009) and "No todas las islas" (Instituto Sudcaliforniano de Cultura), Poetry State Winner Ciudad de La Paz, 2011. In an interview she was asked what were here literary models in her poetic work: "No doubt (whether it is obvious or not), I earnestly look to nourish myself from rhythm and sincerity. I get the rhythm form works like "Crisantempo" by Haroldo de Campos, "How to write" by Gertrude Stein, "Los motivos del son" by Guillén, "In the Room of Never Grieve" by Anne Waldman, and sincerity, from the pens of writers like Wislawa Szymborska, Ángel González, Rafael Alberti, Antonio Tabucchi, Saul Bellow, António Lobo Antunes, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Antonin Artaud... James Joyce, Vallejo, Machado or Georges Bataille. Honestly, other important references for me are the (musical and literary) works of Violeta Parra, Chico Buarque, Arnaldo Antunes, Arcadio Hidalgo, El Negro Ojeda and many more musicians and lyricists who create from the oral tradition of literature." [www.revistapingpong.org, México 9/21/2011] URLs: www.momalina.lacoctelera.net/

	Zita Noriega 1984, Was born and lives in Mexico City, Distrito Federal. She studied Hispanic Literature at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana campus Iztapalapa (UAM-I), and has taken several courses on writing, including a Certificate on Literary Creation at SOGEM (Sociedad General de Escritores Mexicanos). She has been awarded with several prizes for her writing, among them: third place in the competition "Palabras que matan... pero de risa" (UNAM), finalist in the Fifth National Competition of Oral and Written Expression "Octavio Paz" ( Universidad Anáhuac); third place in poetry (2002) and first place for short story (2003) at the Concurso Pre- Universitario de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She has published both short stories and poems in various magazines and anthologies, including: Revista Literaria Cultura de Veracruz, La grieta, Antología poética de la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Pléyade, Antología 2007 del Encuentro Internacional de Mujeres Poetas en el País de las Nubes, and Arcilla Roja.