David A. Romero

As seen on Russell Simmons' All Def Digital, Latino spoken word artist David A. Romero travels from Los Angeles, CA to perform poetry and share his stories about food, family, social justice issues, and Latinx culture. In a show that combines performance poetry, personal testimony, and politically-charged commentary with a slideshow featuring images from history, current events, and Romero's own life experiences, Romero moves crowds to laugh hysterically, think critically, feel hungry, cry tears of joy or sorrow, and raise their fists in protest. Romero relates what it's like to be a “pocho,” or, a Latino who identifies more with mainstream American culture than what is often expected by society from his racial identity. His status as an outsider among his own people makes for an insightful, and often humorous, exploration of Latinx culture and identity politics. However, not merely a comedian, Romero's identification with the historically marginalized and oppressed of all races, classes and genders, coupled with his experience as a political activist, expresses itself in fiery poems that touch upon issues of prejudice, immigration, war, and economic injustice.

LONG BIO

David A. Romero is a Mexican-American spoken word artist from Diamond Bar, CA. Romero has appeared at over 60 colleges and universities in over 20 states in the USA. Romero is the second poet to be featured on All Def Digital, a YouTube channel from Russell Simmons. Romero has opened for Latin Grammy winning bands Ozomatli and La Santa Cecilia. Romero's work has been published alongside poet laureates Luis J. Rodriguez, Jack Hirschman, Alejandro Murguia, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Romero has won the Uptown Slam at the historic Green Mill in Chicago; the birthplace of slam poetry. Romero has appeared in-studio numerous times on multiple programs on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles. Romero's poetry deals with family, identity, social justice issues, and Latinx culture.

Romero donates a percentage of funds earned from his collegiate engagements to various nonprofits and social justice organizations. Fall 2017 will see the launch of a scholarship for high school seniors who are interested in spoken word and social justice: “The Romero Scholarship for Excellence in Spoken Word.”

David A. Romero has received honorariums from: Arizona State University, University of Missouri, The University of Memphis, Loyola University Chicago, University of Central Florida, University of New Hampshire, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Hamilton College, Drexel University, Queens University of Charlotte, USC, UCLA, and more!

Romero is a graduate of the University of Southern California, a double major in Film and Philosophy. Romero is the former host of Between the Bars Open Mic at the dba256 Gallery Wine Bar in Pomona, CA. Visit his website, (link hidden) for more.

PERFORMANCE/HOSTING

Spoken word poetry performance up to 30 minutes: $750 (plus travel if applicable)

Spoken word poetry performance up to 2 hours: $1000 (plus travel if applicable)

WORKSHOPS

Last Words: Giving Victims a Voice (1-2 hours) - Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Islan Nettles, Emmett Till, Brisenia Flores, and Matthew Shepard. Their names are familiar to lovers of social justice everywhere. Their stories have been carried on long after their tragic ends. Let’s give these victims of hate crimes and police brutality a voice! Participants receive a card with the name and information of a victim. Each story is read aloud. After observing a moment of silence, participants write poems from the perspective of these individuals; often painfully capturing their last moments. This workshop helps participants learn more about people of different races, genders, sexual preferences, and economic backgrounds.
$750

My Name is... (1-2 hours): Students write about what their names mean and what they mean to them! Students can choose to assert pride in their racial and/or familial identities by writing about their last names or can choose to write about the positive or negative feelings their first names or nicknames inspire. This workshop is based on David A. Romero's "My Name is Romero," a poem inspired by Corky Gonazlez's "I am Joaquin."
$750

Activism 101 (1-2 hours) Are your students interested in learning how to take a stand on the issues they care about: education, tuition costs, access to financial aid, expanding ethnic and gender studies, and more, on campus? As a leader with a variety of student groups: MEChA, UNICEF, USAS (United Students Against Sweatshops), etc. and a professional organizer: California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), Environment California, Los Angeles Homeless Services Coalition, etc., David A. Romero is equipped with the knowledge and experience to help activist student leaders succeed on campus! In a speech/training filled with humorous anecdotes and insight gathered from years of organizing, Romero provides tips for recruitment, coalition-building, media outreach, and leadership development. Activism 101 culminates in a break-out session where students are selected for groups to work on model campaigns that are based on real world student campaigns on various social justice issues that took place at campuses across the country!
$750

More workshops and information on the workshops listed can be found at (link hidden)

*Longer workshops, as well as multiple sessions, to culminate in a student “Slam” (poetry competition), can be negotiated. Professional-looking books and chapbooks to collect student work produced during workshops to be made available two months after workshops are conducted can also be negotiated.

**All workshops include a performance from David A. Romero as well as instruction on writing, memorization and performance (paper and writing utensils must be provided by students or host institutions).

***Some workshops require the use of a projector, projection screen, and computer connection.