About
Although there are half a million Latinos living in Britain, they are often absent from mainstream UK literature events. Invisible Presence will change this. It will nurture and develop ten talented young writers (18-40) of Latin American (Hispanic and Brazilian) background living in Britain. These young writers will showcase their work at some of the UKs biggest arts venues-including the Roundhouse in Camden- and have their work published. The writers selected will not necessarily be highly experienced, they may write in journals they have never shared with anyone. But they will have passion, a love of literature, Latin American culture and a real desire to grow as writers.
They will create work in Spanish, Portuguese and English to highlight the cultural richness of the Latino community and become a force in literature for the future. The IP programme is unlike any other UK young writer development programme: it will look at Latin American texts/music and inspirations (in Spanish, Portuguese and in translation for those who are not bi-lingual). Almost all tutors will be bi-lingual. Writers will be encouraged to write in Spanish, Portuguese or English in a non-competitive environment and to develop their own unique voices. The IP journey will be a great mix of work and fiestas.
The programme is run by poet/Director Leo Boix and producer/Director Nathalie Teitler; both born in Argentina. Leo has published several collections in Latin America (Letras del Sur), is widely published in the UK and regularly performs at major festivals and events, including the Southbank, Aldeburgh and The Poetry Cafe. Nathalie Teitler has run writer mentoring and development programmes for over 15 years and is the Director of the Complete Works Poetry-one of the most successful diversity initiatives in British arts.
Ten British Latino Writers Selected
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We were overwhelmed with the quality and quantity of the applications for the IP writer development programme. They came from writers of all genres-theatre, poetry, spoken word and fiction- and represented all countries and ages. Together they prove not only that there is a considerable presence of British Latino writers in the UK but that they are of a much wider range of backgrounds than even we expected. We have selected ten exceptional writers who are now the Invisible Presence team. Congratulations to all those chosen.
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Over the next ten days we will put up their full biographies and photos on the website. We will also be putting up in-depth interviews with each writer talking not only about their art, but also about their lives and the unique culture of Latinos in the UK.
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If you would like to hear their work then they will be performing at the Roundhouse on June 23rd, with many other events organised.
http://www.roundhouse.org.uk/whats-on/2018/last-word-2018-/estamos-presente/
Armando Celayo (Mexico)
Alba Frederick (Bolivia)
Léster Gomez Medina ( Nicaragua-Costa Rica)
Guido García Lueches (Uruguay)
Lucio Bolivar (Ecuador)
Carla Rodríguez (Argentina)
Carlos Mauricio Rojas (Colombia)
Marina Sánchez (American Indian)
Denisse Vargas Bolaños (Bolivia)
Roseanna Wiseman (Brazil/Bolivia)
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​Carla Rodríguez is a translator and writer from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since she was young she felt a passion for literature and languages and a special interest in other cultures, which led her to study Literary Translation, since she felt it was the best way to fuse in one career her love for both the Spanish and the English Language. It was during her time at university that she began to write and to discover herself in that role.
CARLA RODRIGUEZ
BOLIVAR LUCIO
Bolivar Lucio was born in Quito, Ecuador. He has written fiction and non-fiction, from stories and blogs to chronicles and political speeches. He published a book of short stories and writes feature articles for Mundo Diners magazine. Bolivar is project manager of the Volunteer Scheme at the Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation (IRMO). Currently, he works on his first novel about the victims of an unsynchronised passion in a place that is ruled by words and confined to an instant.
MARINA SANCHEZ
Marina Sanchez is of Native American and Spanish origins and has been educated in Mexico and Europe. An award-winning poet and translator, her poems have been widely published in literary magazines and international anthologies. Her pamphlet Dragon Child (Acumen, 2014), was Book of the Month in the poetry kit website. Her poem ‘Considerations’ won one of the 2017 competitions of Poetry News.
CARLOS ROJAS
​Carlos Mauricio Rojas is a spoken word poet creating work centred around intersectional queer and Latinx identity, and reclaiming cultural heritage and language. He writes as a process of healing the wounds of trauma, understanding mestizaje, and learning his history.
DENISSE VARGAS
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Denisse Vargas -Bolaños was born in Bolivia. She studied Linguistics and Languages in Universidad Mayor de San Andrés. Currently, she lives in London working as a Community Interpreter. Denisse is a member of the Hispano-American Women Writers on Memory and of the collective SLAP (Spanish and Latin American Poets and Writers). Her poems were part of “Unravelling Memories” Anthology (2017), and her short stories were published in “Visitantes” Anthology (2018).
ARMANDO CELAYO
Armando Celayo is from Oklahoma City, OK, where he graduated from Northwest Classen High School, but now lives in England. His work has received numerous grants and awards, and has appeared in Ambit, Huizache, PEN International, and World Literature Today. He’s currently finishing up his first novel, 'For the Recovery of Lost Things', and a collection of stories.
GUIDO GARCIA LECHES
Guido Garcia Lueches is an Uruguayan actor, singer and writer. He has been writing poems first in Spanish, then after arriving in the UK in English. Lately he has been writing poetry with the idea of performing it, be that in spoken word format, or in song. He writes theatre and prose as well as poetry, but he finds the latter form the most powerful to express all the different facets of being a Latino person in London right now.
ROSSEANA WISEMAN
Rosseana Wiseman is a queer Latinx spoken word performer and activist from London. She uses her voice to project light onto difficult subjects.
LESTER GOMEZ
Lester is a Nicaraguan-Costa Rican writer. His passion for Spanish language and literature led him to study Spanish Philology, a subject on which he graduated at the UCR in San José, Costa Rica. In parallel, Lester carried out studies at INA, where he graduated as a professional voice over. Since 2014, he has lived in London where he completed an MA on Audiovisual Translation at the University of Roehampton (2018). Currently, he also attends to literary writing groups in English as well as in Spanish.
ALBA FREDERICK
​Alba is a writer from London who enjoys unravelling life through words. Poetry is her first love, but she's also indulged in writing scripts, essays (a lot of these), and a variety of texts for university and work throughout the years. To earn a living, she spends hours apologising in a multitude of ways to angry customers whose pizzas have arrived late and cold. When not working or spending time with family, she'll be on the hunt for a spoken word night, exhibition or performance to remind her of the fire of the human spirit. She's been blessed with a Bolivian mother and Jamaican father who continue to show her the importance of love and family.
Leo Boix
Co-Director
Leonardo Boix is an Argentinean poet and journalist based in the UK. He is the first Latino-British poet to be part of the Complete Works Poetry scheme. Boix’s poetry has been published in the Bloodaxe anthology ‘Ten: Poets of the New Generation’. He has also been published in Modern Poetry in Translation (MPT), Litro, The Rialto, Magma Poetry, The Morning Star, and Under the Radar. His Spanish language publications have included two collections, ‘Un Lugar Propio’ (2015) and ‘Mar de Noche’ (2016). Boix is currently working on a collection of poems based on Hieronymus Bosch.
Nathalie Teitler
Co-Director
Dr Nathalie Teitler is an arts activist and academic. Born in Argentina, she has a PhD in Latin American poetry (Kings College, 2000). She has worked supporting writers through development programmes for 20 years and is the Director of the Complete Works Poetry- a programme that helped to change the landscape of British Poetry. Her work has been published in journals, anthologies and books. She was inspired to begin Invisible Presence with poet Leo Boix after noticing a complete absence of British Latinos on mainstream UK literature platforms. Nathalie also founded the UKs first dance poetry company, Dancing Words.
Sarah Perry
Tutor
Sarah Perry is a fiction writer and poet. Her first novel - Let Me Be Like Water - will be published in the UK and the US in 2018. The first version of it was shortlisted for the Mslexia Award. Sarah is interested in the relationship between creative writing and wellbeing, memory, and recovery from violence. She's also interested in multi-lingual literature and translation, and how different languages live and are used in cities. She was the Cityread Young Writer in Residence in Soho in 2014 and she qualified on the 'Spoken Word Education Programme' the following year. She is involved in mentoring young poets’ collectives in Hackney, Glasgow, and Tegucigalpa.
Keith Jarrett
Tutor
Keith Jarrett writes poetry and short fiction. His book of poetry, Selah, was published with Burning Eye in 2017. His stories have appeared in anthologies and magazines, including Attitude and Tell Tales IV, with influences ranging from Caribbean trickster figures to Latin American surrealist authors. In 2010, Keith was UK Poetry Slam Champion. In 2014, he completed the pioneering Spoken Word Educators programme, teaching in a secondary school while studying for an MA at Goldsmiths University. He is currently a PhD scholar and tutor at Birkbeck University of London, where he is completing his first novel.
Kayo Chingonyi
Tutor
Kayo Chingonyi is a fellow of the Complete Works programme and the author of two pamphlets, Some Bright Elegance (Salt, 2012) and The Colour of James Brown’s Scream (Akashic, 2016). His first full-length collection, Kumukanda, was published in June 2017 by Chatto & Windus. As well as being widely published in journals and anthologies, Kayo has been invited to read from his work at venues and events across the UK and internationally. He was awarded the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize and has completed residencies with Kingston University, Cove Park, First Story, The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, and Royal Holloway University of London.
Sofia Buchuck
Tutor
Sofia Buchuck, originally from Cusco- Qosqo- the mystical centre of the world- or otherwise known as the Inca Capital of Peru. She is the only Quechua singer in the UK as well as playing Andean and Amazonian instruments with her energetic band of professional musicians at main folk and world music festivals. With Latin American and cultural studies; Sofia has completed research in ethnomusicology at the National School of Music in Mexico UNAM, gaining an MA in cultural studies. She also gained an MA in oral history and history research. Sofia has worked both at English and Latin American events in the UK, supporting human rights issues.
Invisible Presence
@InvPresence
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