Another Type Of Groove

First Wednesday of Every Month

Chumash Auditorium (University Union Building)
7:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

October 7, 2009
Tomás Riley

In honor of Latino Heritage Month, Another Type of Groove: Spoken Word Poetry Riley’s performance poetry career began in 1994 as a member of the Taco Shop Poets, an eminent Chicano spoken word collective that balanced poetry with live music and grassroots politics. As a member of the Taco Shop Poets and as a soloist, Riley has performed at more than 200 venues across the country. His work has been described as a meld of Chicano bilingualism and conscious cultural politics set to a soundtrack of hip hop, jazz and indigenous ceremony.

Riley was featured on HBO’s documentary “Americanos: Latino Life in the United States” and in the PBS series “American Family.” His poetry has been anthologized in “Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam” and in “Chorizo Tongue Fire: The Taco Shop Poets Anthology” in addition to appearing in many other publications, both in written and audio formats. Riley is director of Residencies at Youth Speaks, a literary arts organization for teen writers in San Francisco.

Click here to download the flyer for this event.

Mission Statement

The mission of Another Type of Groove is to create open space for the interchange of ideas, beliefs, and personal expression. Through this exchange and dialogue students can create respect for themselves as well as individuals of their community. Another Type of Groove endeavors to build an authentic sense of community throughout the Cal Poly student body by generating knowledge about the uniqueness of individuals and the cultures from which they come.