Organizer of Miami’s Spoken Soul Festival
Deborah Magdalena
Deborah Magdalena, spoken word artist and producer of Miami’s second annual SWAN Day Spoken Soul Festival, talks to Deborah Steinberg of The Fund for Women Artists about the successes and challenges of putting on an eclectic multi-media event, her response to President Obama’s call for community organizing, and women who inspire her.
FWA: How did you learn about SWAN Day? Why did the idea speak to you?DM: Our head of production, Michelle Massanet, turned me on to The Fund for Women Artists, so I signed up for the newsletters – so I heard about SWAN Day through that. Unfortunately, I feel that here in Miami the spoken word community is not as strong as in other cities and sometimes lacks strong support from the community – especially multi-ethnic poets and women poets. So I thought this would be a great opportunity to create an event for women poets. Knowing that at times poetry/spoken word isn’t enough to pack a place in Miami, I thought of other art forms that could bookend the performances… hence the great turnout and interest in supporting women artists in general is what has really helped our event grow.
FWA: Did the Spoken Soul collective already exist, or did you form in honor of last year’s festival? Can you tell us a little more about the formation of your artistic community?
Poster by Ivette Ortiz
DM: Once I decided to do this event I called my favorite women in the arts and production community to help me produce this event. The first production team – we came up with the name Poetic 7, and Spoken Soul is the title of my first CD – as we played around with names, the team felt this best described the event and our mission.
FWA: Does the collective do other events throughout the year?
DM: Not necessarily as a whole – but yes, we all at some point or another still work together – since we are all in the same industry. This year it’s not the same Poetic 7, due to team members having other gigs… but producing this has created a fantastic sisterhood.
FWA: What was the community/audience reaction to last year’s event, and how has it helped shape your plans for this year’s festival?
DM: I still can’t believe how well it went. It took me a few days to unwind – but when I realized that every fine artist and designer sold, and that every performer had made a connection and booked other gigs from our showcase – wow – now that’s success because that was the whole point of that showcase! So many people and artists wanted us to turn this into a monthly or quarterly… we tried quarterly but we are all so busy that it was hard to do that… But that response and request did make us want to make our event grow… Even to the point where PSI (Poetry Slam Inc.) hosts an annual Women of the World poetry slam, and its event coordinator heard about our event – that I was able to submit a bid to host the competition in 2010 during SWAN Day weekend. I’m super excited about that possibility.
FWA: What are some of the biggest challenges that the women artists in the Spoken Soul collective face?
DM: I think everyday drama – trying to stay busy; some maintain a career and their family, others are working too much… we try to get together and just release or bond… that is what has been most rewarding to me personally.
FWA: Do you feel that women are well incorporated into the spoken-word movement, or are they marginalized within that movement?
DM: Well, since I opened up the event to other art forms – I think each artist faces her own challenges.
FWA: You mention in the press release that this year’s Spoken Soul Festival is “local artists answering President Obama’s call for organizing America.” Can you tell us a little more about how you see the Spoken Soul movement in the context of “the new America?” What role will artists, and in particular women artists, play in shaping the future of our country?
DM: A huge role – if the world were to go back to cave time today – no Blackberries, no Facebook, no hospitals, no cars – we could still survive – medicine men would heal us and we would survive – but we couldn’t survive without laughter, music, and art – the human race just can’t live without it. During these hard times, art is not only fantastic entertainment – but it is healing. We need to remain inspired and not lose faith or hope – art reminds us of that. I want to take full responsibility for everything I do and hopefully inspire and positively impact people’s lives. If you want to be a part of Spoken Soul then you need to have that same goal. It is important that we take care our neighbors; like Mother Teresa used to say, “You want world peace? Go home and love your family!”
FWA: How has the election of President Obama affected the hopes, dreams, and fears of you and the other Spoken Soul artists? Is there more of a spirit of community in the Miami arts scene in general since the election? Has Obama’s grassroots approach been inspiring?
DM: Yes, yes and yes. Even during the elections many artists came together to host benefits and honor and help get him elected. I think all artists throughout the world are inspired by President Obama – when you hear President Obama speak – he is a spoken word artist!
FWA: The artists participating in both this year’s and last year’s Spoken Soul Festivals are from diverse cultural backgrounds and work in diverse media. Can you talk about how this diversity enriches the festival?
DM: I never tried to have that – it just happened. I just wanted each artist to be very different, to avoid any competitiveness, which organically ended up making a melting pot festival of cultures and styles.
FWA: Can you tell us more about your partnership with ASPIRA and what you hope to accomplish with the Miami-Dade Muchachos y Muchachas Conference this year? As a Puerto Rican woman artist, what messages would you like to pass on to young people at the summit? What are your hopes for this younger generation of Puerto Rican/Latino youth?
DM: ASPIRA has been around for years and they have done great things, not only for the Latino community in Miami but for the multi-ethnic youth. Yes, I am a black Puerto Rican woman – but when I set out to do something I just want to positively inspire – regardless of our backgrounds.
With these workshops we want young ladies to know that they can be anything they want to be; that there are many jobs in the creative field. We want them to dream big and know that anything is truly possible. Many people don’t even know that a graphic designer can actually design clothes or have a great job with a fashion designer – they think, graphic design – oh, websites only! They don’t know that that same graphic designer is also a multi-media artist – or that they can be hired to create patterns for fabrics or write and create their own animated series, and so on.
We want to expose them to the endless artistic possibilities. We are also presenting a spoken word workshop in the hope of teaching young ladies how to heal through creative writing – even if they never share it with anyone – writing can heal your heart.
FWA: The Spoken Soul press release is in both English and Spanish; one of last year’s performers speaks in Creole (I think!). Can you talk a little about the importance of bi- or multi-lingual artists, and how language ties into artists’ and communities’ sense of cultural heritage and community?
DM: Miami is tri-lingual – English, Spanish and Creole. I think it is so arrogant to ignore that. So I try to be a producer and artist that merges all. It’s who we are – it’s flavor full :).
FWA: Finally, who are some of your inspirations as a woman artist?
DM: The women that inspire me the most are not artists, believe it or not. I admire many – but to be inspired… is watching women overcome challenges with heroic skills, like my mother and my best friend Tanya, who lost the love of her life, FF Sergio Villanueva on 911 – an un-recovered fire fighter. The strength she had and still has to keep living and walking through the fire with humor and compassion is unreal! Now happily married with two beautiful baby girls – she is able to smile again – and that inspires me! There is art in living life to the fullest – no matter what!
Spoken Soul Festival 2009 – Three Days of Celebrating Women Artists and Our Community will take place from March 27-29, 2009, in Miami, Florida, and will feature a showcase of performance art, music, and visual arts; a brunch where women will talk about the artists who inspire them and hold a silent auction to benefit The Fund for Women Artists; and a conference about careers in the arts for teens co-sponsored by ASPIRA of Florida. For a complete list of events and artist lineup, as well as more information about Spoken Soul, please visit www.myspace.com/spokensoulshowcase.
To read about the Spoken Soul Festival please click here>>
To watch the TV ad for Spoken Soul Festival by Michelle Massanet please click here>>