On Friday, May 9th, experimental theater group Verbobala Spoken Video is set to arrive in Fort Worth for the first time to give a performance that will digitally cross borders and lyrically challenge listeners.

The group, based out of Cuernavaca, Mexico and Tucson, Arizona performs a unique blend of bilingual spoken word poetry and live, large-scale video projections. Although they perform frequently in central Mexico, this spring they have embarked on their first US tour.

“We’ve performed everywhere from a basement dance party in Portland to the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. So far the response has been great,” says poet and performer Logan Phillips.

Joining Phillips in the group is Chicano video artist Adam Cooper-Terán and Mexican VJ Moisés Regla.

They’ll be at The Embargo Bar at the first annual “Palabrazos Festival” a literary spoken word event that will feature the most exciting new innovations in performance poetry.

Organized and hosted by local poeta Tammy Gómez, other performers to grace the stage include Cesar Hernandez, Rodrigo Pessoa with The Shortest Distance, Priscilla Rice, and Gabo Montemayor.

 

 

“The idea is to sample everyday life like a DJ samples a record. Our pieces are basically big remixes, putting together voices and images from wherever we’ve traveled,” Phillips says. “The audience should come expecting something really unique. Digital storytelling in Spanglish isn’t nearly as common as it should be."

The Embargo Bar is at 210 E 8th St. in downtown Fort Worth.

Doors open at 7:00 P.M., the show begins at 8:00 P.M.

Palabrazos is a co-production of Cara Mia Theatre Co. and Sound Culture.

Admission is free and open to the public. Attendees under the age of 21 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Verbobala (“bullet verb”) is on the web at www. verbobala.com