cuando la vida es la única razón por
mucho y el futuro se vuelva do de aqui
le pedo or Lexi Cunha respuesta when
life becomes the only reason to fight
for and the future becomes uncertain who
do I ask for or demand an answer from my
poetry has shaped my identity my goals
and my point of view of life 15 years
ago I perform poetry for the first time
my opening in Spanish was actually the
first stance I performed when I was only
9 years old that was a very significant
moment for me and it is not until now
that I can clearly understand why I was
so very shy girl I love reading I love
writing but I had a problem speaking up
spoken word felt like being a different
me I was at an age when people
underestimated me no one thought a 10
year old girl would come and stage and
talk about femicides about women being
killed and disappearing in my city well
I did I had to I cannot keep seeing this
without speaking up as the future of my
society being a child in Juarez Mexico
was not easy I’m from a border city that
used to be called the most dangerous
city in the world I remember waking up
every day to watch the death count on TV
I yet for inventi Cinco yesterday there
were 25 teens say 15 vs 10 o solo fueron
Cinco there were only 5 we became so
used to the violence and the corruption
that we became desensitized many of my
friends were directly affected by
violence
I remember getting calls from my friends
to tell me that someone had passed away
or that a friend had been kidnapped it
was heartbreaking business closed people
moved people died and that is where
spoken word came in to save me
I had many emotions I wanted to do
something for my city and the stage was
the only place
where I could channel all of those
emotions why am I telling you all of
those you may ask because this was my
main connection to my students our
backgrounds might be different but our
environments were very similar we were
in environments where we do not feel
completely free so now going to my
teaching year one I started teaching
three and a half years ago I moved to
Dallas to become part of their
organization Teach for America and I
became a pre-k teacher my first year was
relatively easy my students were very
sweet four year olds strong classroom
culture I had no problem at all during
that time I was really not performing
poetry because I really did not feel the
impact of moving to into a different
country let me tell you a little bit
about border life border life is very
different you’re from here by you’re
also from there I remember growing up in
Cuates and crossing tole Paso Texas a
couple times a week and then when I
moved for college to a paso crossing
back to Cuates every weekend just to
spend time with my friends
we’re sister cities it was not until my
second year teaching that I started
truly missing my culture the border my
family my friends my art and my second
year teaching changed my life completely
I got moved up to become a fourth grade
general education writing and social
studies teacher and a reading
interventionist so the first day of
class with my students I had picture
there’s wonderful meditation exercise we
would come in they were just this
wonderful team-building activity well it
went up completely different my students
came into the classroom two of my
students were fighting physically other
students was yelling at me and another
girl was being just too fired I asked
her to please take her seat and she said
no I’m not gonna do it what are you
gonna do about it
I said not what I did not know what to
do let me be honest with you I went home
that night and I couldn’t start crying
then there are these moments as a
teacher when you must make decisions
that you
my may upset someone in your building
but you know what if it benefits my
students I have to do it
first what did I know about my students
one I knew they were yelling fighting at
each other and two I knew that they did
not know how to channel all of those
emotions that they were holding inside
so we went back into the classroom and
we changed the whole dynamic we started
having sharing circles every day we
would come in we would meditate and then
we would share a word that describe how
we felt on that day so initially you
would get the most basic words right
happy sad mad angry but as time
progressed I remember the day one of
them said ignored Wow
such a powerful word coming from a
nine-year-old I’m not gonna tell you
what see see because it was not my
students can continue to fight continue
to yell at me continue to yell at each
other and it was not until I went back
to performing poetry that I thought
about bringing it into the classroom I
was struggling with assimilating into
the new country and I found a spoken
word group that allowed me to be Who I
am so we went back into the classroom I
asked them to keep writing and I wanted
to share with you the masks activity
that we did it was very important to us
on this masks activity I asked the
students to create their own masks so on
the front that would write words or
sentences that describe what they show
to others and on the back of the mask
they will read words or sentences of
emotions that they would hide from
others I had this very sweet student
that I’m never going to forget her mask
she is very sweet very nice and on the
front of the mask she wrote nice sweet
calm and on the back of the master II
wrote every time my mom tells me
something happened that she can’t find a
home I think sometime where are we going
to live my student didn’t know where she
was going to live I had other students
who were afraid of their parents being
deported when they went back home many
of my students were forced to become
adults at a very young age
based on my experience with the poetry
in the classroom I can tell you that it
helped us on three main aspects of our
lives
one self-esteem it provided them with an
outlet to express everything that they
were feeling to academics they wanted to
learn they wanted to write they wanted
to perform they were engaged and three
identity it held them built a sense of
identity most of my students were
African American and they did not know a
lot about my culture as Mexican so I
opened up to them I told them about what
my traditions are I told them about how
the way I dress represents Who I am and
where I come from and how my bilingual
poetry is a way for me to respect my own
creative process so now what comes next
I have students that are engaged I want
to participate I want to perform what
comes next
teachers use your connections I started
talking to local NGOs local poets local
bookstores and I started having people
come into the classroom they will share
their poems they were FaceTime with us
Skype with us I just wanted to get more
exposure so on the year three I went
back into the pre-k classroom and in
order to continue our work we created
the bilingual Poetry Club we would meet
on Wednesdays on Fridays and then we
would work on from there so after a
whole year of working hard of writing
our poems or practicing our performance
skills I was able to partner up with two
local NGOs and we organized an open mic
event they were beyond excited they
cannot wait to be heard we invited local
poets community members families they
were just so so excited and the results
we’re unbelievable their stories talked
about struggle about pain about real
life but their poems also talked about
hope and strength today I would like to
invite all of you to express who you are
find a place that allows you to channel
all those emotions that cannot time stop
you from achieving what you truly want
to achieve
and if you’re a teacher listen to your
students do not underestimate them
support them guide them you might end up
learning more from them than they do
from you muchisimas gracias thank you so
much
[Applause]
mucho y el futuro se vuelva do de aqui
le pedo or Lexi Cunha respuesta when
life becomes the only reason to fight
for and the future becomes uncertain who
do I ask for or demand an answer from my
poetry has shaped my identity my goals
and my point of view of life 15 years
ago I perform poetry for the first time
my opening in Spanish was actually the
first stance I performed when I was only
9 years old that was a very significant
moment for me and it is not until now
that I can clearly understand why I was
so very shy girl I love reading I love
writing but I had a problem speaking up
spoken word felt like being a different
me I was at an age when people
underestimated me no one thought a 10
year old girl would come and stage and
talk about femicides about women being
killed and disappearing in my city well
I did I had to I cannot keep seeing this
without speaking up as the future of my
society being a child in Juarez Mexico
was not easy I’m from a border city that
used to be called the most dangerous
city in the world I remember waking up
every day to watch the death count on TV
I yet for inventi Cinco yesterday there
were 25 teens say 15 vs 10 o solo fueron
Cinco there were only 5 we became so
used to the violence and the corruption
that we became desensitized many of my
friends were directly affected by
violence
I remember getting calls from my friends
to tell me that someone had passed away
or that a friend had been kidnapped it
was heartbreaking business closed people
moved people died and that is where
spoken word came in to save me
I had many emotions I wanted to do
something for my city and the stage was
the only place
where I could channel all of those
emotions why am I telling you all of
those you may ask because this was my
main connection to my students our
backgrounds might be different but our
environments were very similar we were
in environments where we do not feel
completely free so now going to my
teaching year one I started teaching
three and a half years ago I moved to
Dallas to become part of their
organization Teach for America and I
became a pre-k teacher my first year was
relatively easy my students were very
sweet four year olds strong classroom
culture I had no problem at all during
that time I was really not performing
poetry because I really did not feel the
impact of moving to into a different
country let me tell you a little bit
about border life border life is very
different you’re from here by you’re
also from there I remember growing up in
Cuates and crossing tole Paso Texas a
couple times a week and then when I
moved for college to a paso crossing
back to Cuates every weekend just to
spend time with my friends
we’re sister cities it was not until my
second year teaching that I started
truly missing my culture the border my
family my friends my art and my second
year teaching changed my life completely
I got moved up to become a fourth grade
general education writing and social
studies teacher and a reading
interventionist so the first day of
class with my students I had picture
there’s wonderful meditation exercise we
would come in they were just this
wonderful team-building activity well it
went up completely different my students
came into the classroom two of my
students were fighting physically other
students was yelling at me and another
girl was being just too fired I asked
her to please take her seat and she said
no I’m not gonna do it what are you
gonna do about it
I said not what I did not know what to
do let me be honest with you I went home
that night and I couldn’t start crying
then there are these moments as a
teacher when you must make decisions
that you
my may upset someone in your building
but you know what if it benefits my
students I have to do it
first what did I know about my students
one I knew they were yelling fighting at
each other and two I knew that they did
not know how to channel all of those
emotions that they were holding inside
so we went back into the classroom and
we changed the whole dynamic we started
having sharing circles every day we
would come in we would meditate and then
we would share a word that describe how
we felt on that day so initially you
would get the most basic words right
happy sad mad angry but as time
progressed I remember the day one of
them said ignored Wow
such a powerful word coming from a
nine-year-old I’m not gonna tell you
what see see because it was not my
students can continue to fight continue
to yell at me continue to yell at each
other and it was not until I went back
to performing poetry that I thought
about bringing it into the classroom I
was struggling with assimilating into
the new country and I found a spoken
word group that allowed me to be Who I
am so we went back into the classroom I
asked them to keep writing and I wanted
to share with you the masks activity
that we did it was very important to us
on this masks activity I asked the
students to create their own masks so on
the front that would write words or
sentences that describe what they show
to others and on the back of the mask
they will read words or sentences of
emotions that they would hide from
others I had this very sweet student
that I’m never going to forget her mask
she is very sweet very nice and on the
front of the mask she wrote nice sweet
calm and on the back of the master II
wrote every time my mom tells me
something happened that she can’t find a
home I think sometime where are we going
to live my student didn’t know where she
was going to live I had other students
who were afraid of their parents being
deported when they went back home many
of my students were forced to become
adults at a very young age
based on my experience with the poetry
in the classroom I can tell you that it
helped us on three main aspects of our
lives
one self-esteem it provided them with an
outlet to express everything that they
were feeling to academics they wanted to
learn they wanted to write they wanted
to perform they were engaged and three
identity it held them built a sense of
identity most of my students were
African American and they did not know a
lot about my culture as Mexican so I
opened up to them I told them about what
my traditions are I told them about how
the way I dress represents Who I am and
where I come from and how my bilingual
poetry is a way for me to respect my own
creative process so now what comes next
I have students that are engaged I want
to participate I want to perform what
comes next
teachers use your connections I started
talking to local NGOs local poets local
bookstores and I started having people
come into the classroom they will share
their poems they were FaceTime with us
Skype with us I just wanted to get more
exposure so on the year three I went
back into the pre-k classroom and in
order to continue our work we created
the bilingual Poetry Club we would meet
on Wednesdays on Fridays and then we
would work on from there so after a
whole year of working hard of writing
our poems or practicing our performance
skills I was able to partner up with two
local NGOs and we organized an open mic
event they were beyond excited they
cannot wait to be heard we invited local
poets community members families they
were just so so excited and the results
we’re unbelievable their stories talked
about struggle about pain about real
life but their poems also talked about
hope and strength today I would like to
invite all of you to express who you are
find a place that allows you to channel
all those emotions that cannot time stop
you from achieving what you truly want
to achieve
and if you’re a teacher listen to your
students do not underestimate them
support them guide them you might end up
learning more from them than they do
from you muchisimas gracias thank you so
much
[Applause]
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