The American slam poet, teacher and author, Joaquin Zihuatanejo will be the keynote speaker for the 2nd Annual Latinos in Action High School Conference. The conference will take place Tuesday, Nov. 5 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Salt Lake Community College’s Taylorsville Redwood Campus Student Event Center. Zihuatanejo’s speech will begin at 9:40 a.m.
Zihuatanejo is a skillful artist of the spoken word; his presentations blend the magic of lecture, monologue, poetry and comedy.
His unique style has inspired people throughout the country, leaving them with an unforgettable impression of what it means to overcome challenges to pursue their dreams in life.
Richard Diaz, advisor for Latinos in Action at SLCC, indicated that the purpose of Zihuatanejo’s speech is to “motivate students and make them think positively about their future.”
Zihuatanejo was born and raised in the barrio of East Dallas. He seeks to capture and reinterpret the Chicano culture in his presentations. He tries to depict the core issues of barrio life to inspire future generations and encourage them to pursue their dreams. His own life has been hovering around writing about his difficult times of youth when he found refuge in a world of storytelling and poetry.
Joaquin Zihuatanejo is an award-winning poet and teacher.
In 2004, Zihuatanejo earned third place in the National Poetry Slam as part of the Dallas Poetry team. He was also featured on HBO’s Def Poetry in 2005. In 2008, he won the Individual World Poetry Slam and was the winner of the World Cup of Poetry Slam in 2009.
Zihuatanejo taught English and creative writing for several years. He has written and co-written several books such as “Of Fire and Rain,” “Barrio Songs” and “Family Tree.”
Zihuatanejo’s visit corresponds to the celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, and while doing so, he will provide the keynote speech for the conference. Additionally, he will participate in a student forum and interact with our local community.
The conference includes several workshops and activities that seek to inform the students of all the resources available for them to complete their education.
The student forum with Zihuatanejo will be on Nov. 6 at 1:30 p.m. at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus Student Event Center.
Zihuatanejo will be giving a presentation for the local community on Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. at the Mestizo Institute of Culture and Arts (MICA) inside the Mestizo Coffeehouse, located at 631W. North Temple, Ste. 700.
Only registration is needed to attend the conference on Nov. 5. For more information, contact Richard Diaz at (801) 957-5124.
