Join us for a book launch, poetry reading, and visual showcase of Por Siempre. This event took place on May 17, 2023.

Por Siempre is a visual and verbal narrative of the grit and gentleness in Southwestern Latinx communities told through photography by Antonio Salazar and poetry by José Olivarez.

Guns, tattoos, pit bulls, and cars appear alongside a tender aubade, a couple holding hands, a baby bathing in a kitchen sink; landscapes and skylines in Phoenix and Los Angeles show palm trees and messy garages; long white socks and acrylic nails of younger generations meet the smiles and traditions of elders. In a society that would rather disappear or ignore its own grittier dimensions, Salazar’s work is both a refusal to be silenced and a love letter to the communities that sing, dance, live, and love, in their own beautiful and dangerous ways.

Alongside Salazar’s powerful visual narrative, a series of poetry by José Olivarez appears throughout the book. Each poem “speaks” in its own way—to, of, with, and beyond the subjects of Salazar’s photos—with humor, honesty, and compassion. These artists together in Por Siempre are a force: expanding and lifting each other’s best parts, as those in sincere and caring communities often do.

Order a Copy of Por Siempre: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/...

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Speakers:

Isela Meraz (Chela) is a self-taught community artist, she was born in Durango Mexico “Tierra de Los Alacranes” and has lived in Phoenix, AZ since 1991. The love for her community and social justice has led her to participate in civil disobedience, hunger strikes and spiritual fast. Creating art that honors her family, queerness and land. Her work is now part of the permanent collection of the ASU Art Museum and it is currently on display till July of 2023.

José Olivarez is the son of Mexican immigrants. His debut book of poems, Citizen Illegal, was a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Award and a winner of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize. It was named a top book of 2018 by the Adroit Journal, NPR, and the New York Public Library. Along with Felicia Chavez and Willie Perdomo, he coedited the poetry anthology The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext. He cohosts the poetry podcast The Poetry Gods.

Antonio Salazar is a photographer based in Phoenix, Arizona. His work features a glimpse into the culture of the fifth largest city in the U.S. Themes surrounding Chicane/x identity in the Southwest are heavily explored through his art.

Watch the live event recording: https://youtube.com/live/dfXwiCOL5zg

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