Jose Torres Tama is a man determined to express himself and talk about social concerns, the American dream, success, racial inequalities and money. He is a poet originally from Jersey City, and from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 he will perform at the nationally acclaimed Nuyorican Poets Café on 236 East Third St. in New York City.
Torres Tama, currently based in New Orleans, will present his one-man show "In Exile Close to the Equator." A provocative visual arts commentary focusing on the immigrant experience in modern America, the Ecuadorian-born Torres Tama aggressively tackles social topics in order to spark a sense of awareness from his audience.
"The show is dramatic but with hilarious observations. It’s very emotionally packed, and I’m always looking for a response from the crowd," he said. "I’ll speak to the audience and deliver universal ideas and information.
Last weekend he performed "Exile" at the Nuyorican Café. During several sold out shows, Torres Tama said he was content with the feedback he received from his hour-long performance.
"Most of the people at my show are young minds eager to listen," said the 40-something poet. "I seduce people with word in an intimate place."
During "Exile," Torres Tama talks about who he is:
I am brown therefore I am suspect.
I am Latino therefore I am spicy.
I am poet therefore I am lonely.
I studied art in college therefore I am unemployed.
Working artist
Since 1995, Torres Tama has been touring across the country with solo shows that thrive on a fusion of spoken word prose, bilingual poetry, rituals of fire, symbolic movement and exaggerated personalities, creating spectacles that are visually dynamic and politically charged. With interesting observations on consumer culture, Torres Tama is able to give his insight from a Hispanic artist point of view from the New Jersey/New York area. Typically, his work comments on the effect television has on race relations and the mythology of the American dream from the perspective of a Latino immigrant. He explores these themes through performance art, sound art collaborations and visual imagery.
"We have an image of ourselves that many times we don’t want to break. I always ask, what’s stronger, the pen or the sword," he said.
The recipient of the Louisiana Theater Fellowship, Torres Tama has also received a "Regional Artist Project" grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to develop "CasinoAmerica," his acclaimed piece examining a culture that glorifies greed.
His performances have been presented in Mexico, Eastern Europe and extensively across the country. As an arts educator, he is dedicated to working in minority communities with Latino and African-American teens through his Youth Performance projects that introduce performance art and poetry as a means of self-empowerment.
"After the show in New York, I want to keep moving forward. I want to tour more often and have more professional possibilities," Torres Tama said.
The Nuyorican Poets Café is located on 236 East Third St. (bet. Aves. B and C) in New York City. Tickets for the show are $12. For more information call the venue at (212) 505-8183 or visit Torres Tama on the web at www.torrestama.com. q