Author Archives: Oscar Bermeo

The Friday Five

1. What vehicle do you drive?

currently… the iron horse of the NYMTA

2. How long have you had it?

for the last few months after i lost my honda (long story)

3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?

on the honda… everything! man and machine were like one in that bad boy!

4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?

the NYMTA… people! gawd they are so f’ing loud and with nothing to say

5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?

its a toss up between getting a jet black harley

or

the honda accord v6 coupe

“take a little trip, take a little trip with me”

‘the cabana cabal’ (myself, fish, & rich– credit shappy with the name) rode back down to the blue ox to catch willie perdomo… again. sign of a true poet, you just can’t get enough and there are always things one can learn about going about a set, poem selection, crowd reaction, etc.

also down with the brown, ed garica, eliel lucero, holmes mchenry, and juan. there were other readers (some latino) but they weren’t down with the acentos name brand.

good news– the cabana cabal all came with brand NEW pieces

bad news– we went up after willie and half the crowd was gone

no worries, we all came across well and pretty confident considering how fresh the pieces were (mine was less then three hours old)

this new piece is titled “Brooklyn Back Break Beat” and like a super egomainiac i was talkin’ about my lines all night on the ride back home with rich which sounds like a real schmuck move but i was so excited about the poem and all the possibilities that are in it after some more edits.

back to willie– the set was tight and very similair to the nuyo reading except without both ‘Reflections on the Metro North’ and no ‘Spotlight at the Nuyo…’ which makes all the sense in the world and was instead filled up with more passages from “Where A Nickle Costs A Dime”

funny moment was when will reads ‘Somking Lovely,’ “When you smoke crack…” and the VERY conservative BCA crowd starts laughing cuz they can’t figure out why he’s starting a poem like that. the crowd will be much different when will drops by on november 11th (check out the updated calendar to your right, y’all)

big head rush moment of the night– willie is plugging the october 13th book launch party at Bar13 and says “my boys from the Acentos crew will be holdin’ down the door”

hell yeah! the cabana cabal will be in the fullest effect!

“While we’re on the way to there”

this is that nebulous type blog posting that i always hate…

last night, a good friend shared his thoughts on my poetry and my writing instincts… he gushed all over them and called them both incredible.

all i can say is that it was good to hear that and it couldnt have come at a better time as i have been writing close to zip this whole summer.

as for the compliments, i was thinking how nobody wants to hear how quote-great-unquote they are but we are quick to jump on stage and accept a 10 from random strangers but are uncomfortable getting the equivalent response from a friend.

there is a lot of negativity associated with the poerty scene but when you can share a beer and some tostones with a friend that wants you to be the best that you can be… that makes life feel real good.

point of the post– if there is somone out there that you know and love who may need a word of encouragement… give it to em

“Beside me, to guide me To hold me”

woke up feelin’ like hell this morning. last night at 13 was just palin draining.

it’s incredible how much energy a poetry show can take from you. the first Acentos that i ever hosted had me laid out the whole next day, as if i had run a marathon. monday’s show was just so fucking low energy that it felt like i had to wildly clap each time someone finished on the mic or suffer the silence.

the open mic was the main culprit as it was devoid of any real spark.

taylor’s feature kicked ass. dropping covers, teaching math, exploring pi, and making the case for pure WATER! yes, the aristocrats may have theri ckae but WE will have our water, DAMN YOU!

the slam was equal parts doldrum and inspiration. we’ll leave the hate behind and focus on the final round– RAC vs ray vs jai.

most of the time you feel like slam is just a tool that lets the boiusterous rant theri way into the spotlight but this crew came at the crowd with sincerity, intricate word play, and innovative metaphor and, from the scorekeepers perch, were the clear favorites of a very diverse set of judges that were seriously harsh (as most slam judges should be).

congrats to the winners, as i raise my cup of coffee and salute them