Un Trip: raúlrsalinas and the Poetry of Liberation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UN TRIP: RAÚL SALINAS AND THE POETRY OF LIBERATION
LA LOMA
Neighborhood of my youth,
Demolished,
erased forever from the universe.
You live on, captive, in the lonely
cellblocks of my mind.
Un Trip through the Mind Jail, raúlrsalinas, 14 Sept. ’69 Leavenworth
UN TRIP: RAÚLRSALINAS AND THE POETRY OF LIBERATION (25 min) by
Anne Lewis and Laura Varela.
UN TRIP is a split screen jazz and liberation documentary based on "Un Trip through the Mind Jail" written in 1969 by the beloved Xicanindio poet raúlrsalinas while he was incarcerated at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.
Dr. Louis Mendoza, PhD, one of the foremost experts on raúl’s work writes of the film, “an aesthetically rendered treatment of Raúl Salinas’ poetic and social vision through the lens of his signature poem… gritty, poignant, and lyrical.”
Paul Stekler, acclaimed documentary filmmaker and founder of the Center for Politics and Governance at the LBJ School of Public Affairs writes, “reminds me of being at the old Nuyorican Poets Café in New York, where poetry, jazz, and politics mixed freely… just wonderful.”
UN TRIP is a story of transformation through political education in community (initially a community of the incarcerated). The specifics create a model of relationship once outside as well as inside the walls. The story is told by raúlrsalinas who spent most of his adolescent and young adult life inside as a petty criminal and drug dealer. He came out of Federal penitentiaries a deep and strong social advocate and community organizer. He never went back to prison.
The film explores contemporary issues: imprisonment, community destruction, gentrification, and the profound impact of cultural memory on sanity and salvation. This includes a poetry workshop led by raúl at the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. A young woman reads a poem that deals with her past.
For more information and review copies, contact Laura Varela at varelafilm@gmail.com; Anne Lewis at annelewis615@gmail.com or visit the films FB page for updates.