Raquel Salas Rivera and Vanessa Angélica Villarreal: November 22, 2019

Raquel Salas Rivera reads, in Spanish and in their own English translations, several poems from antes que isla es volcán / before island is volcano: “dejaqueveas" / "waitilyousee,” “julia keleher confiesa que cree en el fin de la historia" / "julia keleher confesses she believes in the end of history,” and four identically-titled poems called “la independencía (de puerto rico)" / "the independence (of puerto rico).”

Villarreal opens with a land acknowledgment and discussion of historical context, dedicated to the indigenous Ohlone people. She then reads poems from Beast Meridian: “To Actuate,” “Thirteen,” “Malinche,” and “Malinalli.” She concludes the event with two additional poems, “f=[(root)(future)]” and “Settlement.”