Mariposa was born Maria Teresa
Fernandez and is an award winning Nuyorican poet from the Bronx.
She is the author of Born Bronxeña:
Poems on Identity, Love & Survival and has published articles
and poetry in the Centro Journal, Urban Latino Magazine, New York
Newsday, El Nuevo Dia, Hunt's Point Alive!, The Vieques Times,
NYU's Brownstone Magazine and Conciencia Magazine, AHA! Hispanic
Arts News, Resistance in Paradise: 100 Years of U.S. Colonialism,
Drum Voices Volume 23, What's Up Magazine and Def Poetry Jam's
Bumrush the Page.
A freelance writer, actor, educator, visual artist
and human rights activist, Mariposa has performed at over 100
colleges and universities throughout the United States; major
NYC venues including the Nuyorican Poets Café and the
Joseph Papp Public Theater, as well as the Institute for Puerto
Rican Culture and the Nuyorican Café in San Juan, Puerto
Rico; the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa;
and the 2001 Essence Music Fest in New Orleans where she, in
the words of Susan Taylor, "mesmerized an audience of 5,000." Mariposa's
poetry has been featured on the acclaimed HBO documentary "Americanos:
Latino Life in the US", produced by Edward James Olmos,
Nick Athas and Time Warner. In March 2002, Marisposa performed
in V-Day Harlem as a member of the Vulva Choir in Eve Ensler's
Vagina Monologues at the Apollo Theater, which was co-produced
by Rosie Perez and featured the likes of Selma Hayek, Lauren
Velez, Rosario Dawson, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Eve, Amie
Lauriex and others.
Mariposa has conducted residencies at
The Caribbean Cultural Center, Poets & Writers, Poets
House, The Bronx Writers Center and Teachers & Writers
Collaborative and has taught poetry workshops to elementary,
middle school, and high school students throughout New York
City, as well as several branches of The New York Public
Library, The Brooklyn Public Library and senior citizen centers.
She has edited numerous anthologies of her student's work.In
1999, Mariposa was awarded The Van Lier Literary Fellowship
by The Bronx Council on the Arts, funded by the Edward and Sally
Van Lier Fund of the New York Community Trust. In 1997 Mariposa
received "Lo mejor de Nuestra Comunidad" award by El
Comité Noviembre for her poem Ode to the Diasporican.
Mariposa
is currently working on the completion of a spoken word poetry
CD, a manuscript of selected poems and the production of a
short film based on one of her performance pieces. She currently hosts an open-mike series, Bronx Bohemia. The event is held at 9:00 pm on the Last Friday of every month at El Maestro Centro Cultural y Educacional, 700 Elton Avenue, 2nd Floor in the Bronx (Bus/Train: BX15, 2 & 5 to 149th Street/3rd Avenue). For more information, call (718) 585-6753 or email TatoBrujo@aol.com. |
