The Mexi-Asian Perspective: A Mexican’s Guide to All Things Latin, Asian or Both

by David A. Romero

Have you ever watched or listened to an episode of “This American Life?” I haven’t.

But, I heard it’s good.

Projekt NewSpeak’s latest Mexi-Asian guest knows a lot about being an American. This son of Hmong Chinese immigrants bears the namesake.

A rising star of the underground Los Angeles theater scene, Amery Ken (Ameri-can) Thao was recently given the title of Artistic Co-Director for the much-buzzed-about Urban Theatre Movement collective based out of Long Beach.

This young director, already a veteran of plays like The Orphan Boy and Dragon Princess, Identity Crisis: Scenes from the Skin I’m In and Spit!, conveys that he more than up to handle the challenge.

I met with Thao to discuss his family life, directorial style and mission in regards to the future of this exciting new company of directors, actors and performers.

Your parents gave you the first name “Amery” and the middle name “Ken.” Did this name of “Ameri-can” shape your conception of yourself growing up? Does this choice of name reflect their expectations of you as Hmong immigrants making a home for themselves in this country?

Well, when I asked my parents how I got my name, my mom told me it came to my dad in a dream. Growing up, I didn’t really like my name because I thought it sounded like a girl’s name. But there’s actually a lot to my name. “Ken” is a derivative of a Hmong-Laotian word which means good, or skilled. I guess this planted the idea of what I thought I had to strive to be growing up, but it wasn’t until my college years that I started to look to myself to find myself. That’s a big factor in what’s shaped me into the artist I am now. I’m sure there was also some patriotism in the reason they chose the name. I think it’s appropriate for Hmong-Laotian immigrants to name their first born, first generation Hmong American, after the country they now proudly call home.

As the director of Spit! and Identity Crisis, you have dealt with different artists with different cultural backgrounds, styles of performance and themes present in their work. How do you combine all of those disparate elements into a coherent presentation?

I am a big fan of collaboration, and as a director, you have to, because you aren’t always going to be the expert at everything. I try to find a through line, something that connects everything together, especially since with these two pieces there isn’t really a linear story. So I look at the themes I find similar and sew them together, usually one theme will touch upon the next, or I put opposing arguments together. I try to find a way to get everyone on the same page as me as far as what I want us to accomplish and let them do their thing. It doesn’t always come as easily as ABC XYZ, but usually I know how I want to start a story and how to end it and everyone else fills in the rest.

Seemingly freeform musical sessions with beat boxing and dancing have appeared in two of your productions, Spit! and Identity Crisis: Scenes from the Skin I’m In. When did you first develop this device? What inspires you to keep channeling this cipher-like energy through your performers?

Ha! This was just a fun acting exercise used to warm up your body and vocal resonators, but I also found that it was a great tool in creating and developing an ensemble energy. I call it “the sound circle,” although I’m sure there are many names for it. The first time I used it for a show was in Identity Crisis to enhance a piece I used in another context by Lyn Nottage. Since both SPIT! and Identity Crisis were ensemble pieces, both with elements of hip hop, I found a way to finagle it in. I use it as it’s needed.

With The Orphan Boy and Dragon Princess, you’ve successfully directed a play in a decidedly Japanese style. What are some of the differences in terms of presenting traditional Japanese theatre as opposed to westernized theatre? Were there any unique challenges for you as a director? Were you familiar with the style at all prior to directing the play?

Well, first let me say that I’m no expert on Japanese Theatre. It was something I wanted to explore because well, it’s not something that’s widely studied like Shakespeare. That being said, The Orphan Boy and Dragon Princess isn’t traditional at all. It’s actually a Hmong fable, but since there is no history of Hmong theatre I used inspiration from other forms of Asian theatre, mainly Noh, Kabuki, Butoh, and one based on a popular TV series in Japan, Kaso Taisho, which has its roots in Bunraku Puppet Theatre. I’m sure there are a ton of differences in terms of presenting traditional Japanese theatre as opposed to westernized theatre, but I can’t explain the differences any better right now. To me it was still theatre, I just tried to take the essence of what I saw in my research, and understand why they did it the way they did, or why they do it the way they do, and apply it to my own.

The challenge with working on this piece was the fact that I had only three weeks to get it up and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do it by myself. I had a great team of designers, actors, crew, and musicians, not to mention an assistant director, so communication was key. I shared with everyone everything I was doing, I sent them images, music, and videos of things I found were useful and told them to do the same so there was always a clear channel of communication, but I always went back to my original inspiration to base everything on. It was really an exploration of myself and where I come from, having no documented history beyond the Vietnam War besides word of mouth. That’s why there’s a narrator in the show by the way. My only real knowledge of the style(s) prior to directing the play was the one week we spent on Asian theatre in my theatre history class; it’s one of the millions of reasons that drove me into it.

You have recently risen to the position of Co-Artistic Director of Urban Theatre Movement. Please speak about what you see as the vision of Urban Theatre Movement. How will you use your identity and past experiences to help to expand and/or redefine this vision?

To be honest I never had any intention of becoming Artistic Director. I joined the company because I saw it as an opportunity to direct. Then I fell in love with the company motto which seemed to be “We don’t know what we’re doing but we’re doing it!” which may seem a little weird, but what it said to me was ‘we make our own opportunities’ as opposed to waiting around for someone to discover me and give us one. Then the Founding Artistic Director Brenda Banda, who was a big part of the reason I was even in the company, stepped down after our last main stage production. The thought of being Artistic Director hadn’t even crossed my mind, but now the dream had no dreamer. When the position was offered to me I laughed because I thought it was a joke. People always say that theatre is a dying art form, but I believe that’s how you know it’s alive, and with Urban Theatre Movement it’s in the name. The only way this dream is going to die is if we stop moving. So I talked to my friend and fellow company member Israel Lopez and we felt the same way so we both agreed to take on the task of being Co-Artistic Directors.

My vision for the company is to stay true to the mission statement. “Urban Theatre Movement is a multicultural collective of artists dedicated to producing original, contemporary and classical works. We strive to create accessible art and life changing experiences through innovative theatre that serves and mirrors our rich and diverse inner-city communities. We seek to re-envision theatre and evolve as artists by empowering the residents of these neighborhoods. We aim to nurture, support and encourage underserved young artists. To give them voice and hone their potential starting at their most vulnerable stage in life. We will channel their cultural and regional roots to create a more productive and enlightened society.”

But going beyond company, every great somebody comes from somewhere. Every great actor, writer, artist hones their craft somewhere, and develops it in order to be great. We just produced a play by Stephen Adly Guirgis, one of the most well known playwrights in the country. Well, he didn’t just wake up one day and discover everyone thought he was great playwright. I want to make UTM that place where people can find how great they are through the original work we develop and create. And to have fun while we’re doing it.

As a director I always try to bring my own unique perspective to anything and everything I do.  I have always tried to use everything I experience in life, whether it be a lecture I heard in class or a video I saw on Youtube, to what’s going on in Egypt or maybe even just the experience of watching with my baby sister for the first time who is 25 years younger than me. It always comes together, even though at the time it may seem insignificant, I know there’s always a reason I am where I am at that very moment. This combined with the fact that I’m a minority among minorities but still American is all fuel for the fire. The mission statement is written in a way that it’s specific to the individual and yet all inclusive of everyone so I haven’t found the need to expand or redefine it yet. But I always look to it before deciding what move our company will make next.

As far as going beyond the company and fostering and creating original work. People often ask me where I’m from and I say, “here.” What they usually mean to ask is what my ethnic background is. When I tell them I’m Hmong they ask, where’s that? The answer is… well there is no simple answer, only more questions. My approach is to get people to ask the right questions and then let them find the answers for themselves.

Asian Latin fusion food has become a veritable phenomenon. Do you think that Asian Latin fusion food is just a passing trend, or the future?

I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner, I mean we do live in a postmodern society, in the country that is known as the melting pot of cultures. I mean even as children we mix all the flavors of ice cream in one bowl or all of the flavors from the soda fountain just to see what it tastes like. It’s instinctual in a way. Don’t let my stature and frame fool you, I love them both separately and together.

Who is your favorite Latino celebrity, historical figure, or fictional character?

Director Guillermo Del Torro with actor Michael Pena’s character Daniel in Crash (2004) in a close 2nd.

Would you rather date an Asian or someone of Latin descent?

I know my parents would prefer if i was ended up with a Hmong girl, but i don’t discriminate.

Any last words or shout outs?

Yeah, check out www.urbantheatremovement.com and look out for the next SPIT! and SPIT! auditions. We’re looking to put one up every quarter.

THANK YOU AMERY!

David A. Romero is a cheese enchilada-making spoken word artist who knows something about Mexicans. A lover of boba and a citizen of Diamond Bar, CA, he also knows a thing or two about Asians. http://www.davidaromero.com/

Have any ideas for the blog? Questions? Comments? Hit me up below! Or email me: davidaromero@projektnewspeak.com

The Mexi-Asian Perspective: A Mexican’s Guide to All Things Latin, Asian, or Both

By David A. Romero

Do you remember the Alamo? Matt Sedillo sure does.

This national slam poet and published author has turned the phrase “Remember the Alamo” on its head; in the process, kicking dirt in the face of empire (whether it be in the U.S., China, the Philippines, Vietnam, or elsewhere!).

Multiple nights a week, Matt Sedillo can be seen shocking and awing audiences with his powerful delivery and incendiery political content. It is therefore no surprise that this revolutionary poet and speaker was recently published in an anthology of 76 poets from 25 different countries along with such luminaries as Amiri Baraka, Jack Hirschman, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Luis J. Rodriguez.

I had a chance to conduct this Mexi-Asian interview with Sedillo the right way,  over a meal at Red Hot Kitchen: Asian Mexican Fusion restaurant in El Sereno, the neighborhood the poet grew up in. There we talked about the sex trade, the power and beauty of culture, and, of course, the Alamo. Click here to watch Matt Sedillo perform \”I Remember the Alamo.\”

 “I Remember the Alamo” could be misconstrued as a poem dealing with issues primarily relating to racism and Mexican-American identity. However, a closer inspection will quickly yield vast amounts of Asian history. How do you manage to relate the triumph of Mexican general Santa Ana over the white secessionist forces at the Alamo in 1836, to events such as Dien Bien Phu, the Tet Offensive, the Battle of Mactan and the Chinese Revolution?
 
I feel that these battles and victories belong to the whole of humanity. Dien Bien Phu for instance, was the first time in modern history that an industrialized European imperialist nation was pushed back by a colony. The reverberations of that (I mean, aside from perhaps Stalingrad) was probably the most historically significant battle in the past 500 years. It is said many of the fighters in the Algerian Revolution who fought in the French colonial army were prisoners of war in Vietnam. They were treated with preferential treatment and were inspired by the Vietnamese to return home and drive the French out of their country as well.  The Chinese Revolution, in terms of sheer numbers of lives affected, is the biggest event of any kind thus far in human history. As I said, I truly believe these events belong to everyone. “I Remember the Alamo” was the first poem I wrote that really seemed to resignate with an audience and I think that points to a general internationalist streak most people have that attend poetry readings. People readily understand parallels. That, and it’s loaded heavy with activist swag.   

You are the first Latino to be interviewed for the “Mexi-Asian Perspective” for Projekt NewSpeak. Aside from being a good friend, comrade and Mexican, when I think of Latinos who address Asian history and culture, your name is one of the first to come to mind. Unfortunately, it is also one of the few. Why do you think that there can be so little cross-cultural exchange in terms of artists from different backgrounds; especially in the spoken word community?

That is hard to say. I think most poets write about what is on their mind. A lot of my work is heavily researched. That is kind of who I am as a person not just as a writer, so for me it comes very naturally to write about issues happening accross the globe. Most people don’t do that so naturally they don’t write those poems. I don’t know really if it is a question of a lack of cultural exchange or awareness, I think it is really a question of what people identify with and how they identify themselves. The fact that we can even make the observation that people are not actively writing about struggles of others points to what is so great about this community namely it is embracing of people from all kinds of backgrounds. I think segments of American culture as a whole are headed in that direction. Self-segregation by custom, I think, is really on the road to being a thing of the past and as with every positive movement in human history, culture is at the forefront of that development. 

“Capitalism is Child Abuse” calls to our attention one of the darkest and most terrible problems affecting the Asian community on a global scale: the sex trade; especially of young children. What compelled you to write this poem? Are there moments when you feel uncomfortable quoting these facts about the horrors endured by the children of countries such as Thailand and India?
 
Well, it is an uncomfortable reality. The point of the poem isn’t just that it is sad but that there are definite root causes to these horrid crimes being committed against hundreds of millions of children everyday. When we speak of the word imperialism we are generally speaking of wars and bombs dropping and people being killed by soldiers and mercenaries. The reality is much deeper than that. Beyond the war without end we are talking about a global economic system that routinely starves children to death every day. And for what? The lavish comfort of less than a percent of the world’s population? Also too often we hear these horrid statistics about things happening in the poorest most exploited nations as a means to silence or mitigate dissent against America’s own police state. “Look how much better you have it than people living in ____” the argument goes. Well, the reality is, I don’t want to live in the squalor of a Nike village, but I don’t want the Indonesians to either. Capitalism is a pathological, murderous way to arrange society. Thirty-thousand children every day need something better if they are to survive the night; let alone lead healthy, productive lives. 

With this blog, I have often been guilty of promoting a very narrow view of Asian identity; one focused primarily on a handful of nationalities. One group that you have focused a lot of your time and energy upon is the various peoples of the Middle East. In “Muhammad at War” you say, “these peoples’ religion/their culture has about as much to do with/why we are over there killing them/as does calligraphy, or hummus/it just doesn’t.” You have also addressed Middle Eastern politics and culture in your poem “Don’t Get Confused.” Did your personal appreciation of elements of Middle Eastern culture precede or follow your political awakenings in respect to the region, its people and its history?

The brutality of the war as well as the demonization of Arabs were the catalyst for those poems. A lot of the anti-war movement is rooted in the same kind of nonsense that puts victim and victimizer on the same footing. So you have someone say, “Oh yes, I reject American imperialism but I also reject radical Islam, I embrace only peace.” Such words are cheap and easy when you are not the one being bombed. People don’t kill and die over abstractions they are facing real material threats and occupation. It was that basic reality that I was addressing. If deep religious feeling in and of itself birthed war and violence perhaps the Appalachian mountains would be burning. Culture does not produce war, economic pressures do. Forwarding the notion that religious dispositions create war is a blatant act of stupidity. It is the geopolitical equivelant to believing in spontanous generation.    

Asian Latin fusion food has become a veritable phenomenon. Do you think that Asian Latin fusion food is just a passing trend, or the future?

That shit is delicious. 

Who is your favorite Asian celebrity, historical figure, or fictional character?

Manny Pacquiao. Mao. Yojimbo (as played by Toshiro Mifune).

Would you rather date an Asian or someone of Latin descent?

Is this the part of the interview where I evade the question and make a self-effacing remark about just looking for a warm body with a steady pulse? Why, yes it is.
 
Any last words or shout outs?
 
Mattsedillo.com Shout out to Matt Sedillo.

THANK YOU MATT

David A. Romero is a cheese enchilada-making spoken word artist who knows a great deal about Mexicans. A lover of boba and a citizen of Diamond Bar, CA, he also knows a thing or two about Asians. Visit his website: http://www.davidaromero.com

Have any ideas for the blog? Questions? Comments? Email me at davidaromero@projektnewspeak.com

The Mexi-Asian Perspective: A Mexican’s Guide to All Things Latin, Asian, or Both by David A. Romero

For those used to thinking of Asians as a largely affluent “model minority” living in upper middle class neighborhoods, the reality of Asians struggling in the ghetto sounds almost like an oxymoron.

However, as it is with any community, Asians occupy many different social strata and are therefore affected by inner city problems such as gentrification and gang violence.

LA-based emcee, and proud Filipino, Bambu, has a clear solution to these inner city problems affecting Southeast Asians, Latinos and African Americans: organize!

A former gang member and current organizer with Kabataang maka-Bayan, Bambu calls for a day when gangs will turn their guns away from each other and turn their attention towards their true enemies as well as towards building up their local communities.

I first saw the emcee years ago at the We the People Festival at The South Central Farm and was amazed by his slow to rapid-fire rhyme delivery and political zeal. Since then, Bambu has released over six albums, EPs and mixtapes with frequent collaborator DJ Phatrick as well as with a variety of other noted underground Hip Hop producers. Recently, Bambu won “The Freshmen” music video contest on MTVU with his video “Crooks and Rooks.” Click here to watch \”Crooks and Rooks.\”

I was fortunate enough to chop it up with Bambu at the community collective Corazon del Pueblo in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles and discuss his many accomplishments as well as his perspectives on politics, culture and life in the hood.

In the video for “Slow Down” off of your latest EP, …paper cuts…, you can be seen using eskrima fighting sticks. In a recent interview with MTVU you expressed your interest in learning different martial arts. Why do think that it is important for Filipinos to learn the fighting styles of their pre-colonial history? Does this apply for other cultures as well? Click here to watch \”Slow Down.\”

What I think is wonderful about the Martial Arts is that within it a history is strongly embedded. You can learn so much about a people through the history of their Martial Arts — though they may not be publicized as much as Asian Martial Arts, EVERY country has a martial tradition. Yes, I think it is important for every person to know their lineage and their people’s story; and Martial Arts is a great medium for that.
 
When watching some of your videos such as “Old Man Raps” that depict gang life in Southeast Asian communities here in LA, I am always struck by how the attire of the gang members so closely reflects that of Latino gang members. What are some of the ways that these often impoverished communities have impacted each other culturally? Click here to watch \”Old Man Raps.\”

Well, I think we ALL (Black, Latino, Asian, etc.) share the same history as “foreigners” here in Los Angeles and so we ALL seem to share the same fashion and “look.” Specifically, within the Southeast Asian communities, we just adapted to whose neighborhood we happened to move into… You can see that through differences in Southeast Asian gang fashion for those communities that grew up in predominantly Black neighborhoods versus those who grew up in predominantly Latino neighborhoods. In the same fashion that the need for youth organizations happened in Black and Latino communities, as immigrant people, Southeast Asian youth needed that “banding together” as well. 

You’ve spent years doing community organizing with Kabataang maka-Bayan (which you have cited as “the strongest Pilipino youth and student organization in Los Angeles”)  as well as with other organizations. How does your music allow you to educate, mobilize and reach out to Filipino and other Southeast Asian youths? What are some of the skills that you teach as an organizer?

My music has only given me opportunities to speak on platforms and spread the message to the general masses, but the real work comes from the organizer. The real work comes from the people themselves — the ones who come to the educational discussions, the rallies, etc. My music is a very small part of that, but I’m appreciative of the opportunities it affords me and the organization I represent.
 
In the song “Crooks and Rooks” off of your last album …exact change…, you talk about uniting “every gang in LA from Southeast Asia: Cambodian, Samoan and Chamorro gangsters.” What do you hope to achieve with this unity of the Southeast Asian community? What are some of the causes of disunity between Southeast Asians?

The “disunity” exists in all communities. I only spoke to the Southeast Asian community in that song because they were the focus of it. But, that division exists in all communities of color, especially when poverty and oppression are rampant. I hope that we all (Black, Brown, etc.) take these organizations (gangs) we’ve created and utilize them to band together and CREATE the social change we so desperately need.
 
From the album …i scream bars for the children… to the current day with …paper cuts… your focus has shifted a bit from “guerrillas in the Philippine jungles” to encouraging raids on franchise coffee shops that have started popping up in the ghetto. What was the inspiration for this shift in focus? Or, are these struggles against neo-liberalism in the Philippines and gentrification in the hood closely related?

They are all related. The umbrella’ing tyranny secondary to US imperialism affects us all — locally and globally. With …paper cuts… I wanted to focus more on the issue of gentrification because at the time all we heard or talked about was our failing economic system. That’s all. I know that all of these problems are symbiotic in nature and that the root cause can all be traced back to one giant machine.
  
One of the most striking things about your work is how you range from downright militant to laugh out loud funny in the space of a few bars. What are some of your influences that have shaped this often sarcastic sense of humor?

You just have to hang out with me to figure that one out. I know what to take seriously and what to poke fun at — also, in the same manner that stand up comedians do, if you sweeten a very serious issue, it becomes easier to digest.
 
Asian Latin fusion food has become a veritable phenomenon. Do you think that Asian Latin fusion food is just a passing trend, or the future?

Hmmm… Good question. Not really a “food” guy, so I haven’t really given a lot of thought to it. I guess it’ll always be around, but because it is “trendy,” for the time being it’ll have exclusivity to those who can afford it. As soon as the “hipsters” find the next “new” thing, they’ll move on and we’ll have a chance to appreciate it. C’mon, $5 taco’s?! Get the fuck outta’ here! $.59 taco Tuesdays and Thursdays in Echo Park!
 
Who is your favorite Latin celebrity, historical figure, or fictional character?

Cliché, I know, but Emiliano Zapata.
 
Would you rather date an Asian or someone of Latin descent?

Bad question. I’ll date any woman of color regardless of ethnic background. Hello sisters!
 
Any last words or shout outs?

Organize.

 Contact Bambu:

• Youtube: Buck Taylor
• Twitter: Bambu de Pistola
• Myspace: Bambu Music
• Tumblr: Bambu de Pistola
• Facebook:  Bambu Music
• Website: Bambu.La

Email Bambu:

• Email:  bambu@bambu.la
  nativegunner@gmail.com

THANK YOU BAMBU

 David A. Romero is a cheese enchilada-making spoken word artist who knows something about Mexicans. A lover of boba and a citizen of Diamond Bar, CA, he also knows a thing or two about Asians. http://www.davidaromero.com/

Have any ideas for the blog? Questions? Comments? Hit me up below! Or email me: davidaromero@projektnewspeak.com

The Mexi-Asian Perspective: A Mexican’s Guide to All Things Latin, Asian, or Both

by David A. Romero

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…” It has been said that America is a nation of immigrants; not only in its history, but that America continues to be defined and redefined by those who travel to its shores and borders. The story of immigrants coming to America and rising in economic status therefore, is the very embodiment of the “American Dream.”

National slam poetry superstar Alvin Lau keeps that dream alive every time he spits through the mic. The son of Chinese immigrants, Lau has won more high stakes poetry slams than any other poet in the world, including consecutive championships at Brave New Voices: The National Youth Poetry Slam (‘02, ‘03), dozens of regional and invitational championships, and a record-setting six individual finals appearances at the National Poetry Slam and Individual World Poetry Slam (‘04, ‘06, ‘07, ‘09, ‘10). Lau’s poetry has been featured on two seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, NPR, Amnesty International’s spoken word tour, Rattle Magazine’s Tribute to Slam, and the Poetry Foundation online.

I was fortunate enough to meet this Chicago-based poet during one of his visits to Da Poetry Lounge in Hollywood.  It was there that I was able to gain insight into Lau’s work, hear some of his provocative views on politics and society and finally, learn some of his poker playing secrets.

In “Asia America, Where Have You Gone?” you talk about your immigrant family, their culture, and their history. What particularly resonates is how you talk about your “mother typing out her first book to the sound of crackling eggs.” Could you please talk about how the experience of your Chinese American working class parents informs your work?

Our family sprung up from the bottom rung of society: my parents both came to America laughably broke under spurious student visas, and had to grind out a very modest living in a pretty racist ’80s Greenville. In college, my dad worked midnight shifts as a janitor and finished two degrees in three years. He used to tell me stories about scraping shit– literally shit– off the ceiling after Rolling Stone concerts at SIU, and at some points he was so broke he had to eat dog food. He’d tell me these stories with a hint of pride. “Hey, look where I once was and where I am now.” American dream, all the way.

Common themes in my writing reinforce the same stance; I believe in change manifested through art, that great things bloom from the ground up, and that anything can be accomplished through enough furious effort. (Which is all kind of ironic, considering I’m a diehard Yankees fan. Fuck you, Cubs!) I try to write poetry that is as challenging to the reader as it is difficult for me to write. It’s easy to write about facebook, or temporarily relevant but ultimately forgettable topics, sure. Everyone loves Pokémon and American Idol jokes. But that’s not art. If it doesn’t spark simultaneous self-discovery in the audience and the artist, it’s failed. It’s not art if it’s not hard work. Click here to watch Lau perform \”Asia America, Where Have You Gone?\”

In “What Tiger Said” you challenge Woods’ “ivory tower” and “white-washed” perspective, saying that Woods could have been a “hero to minorities everywhere.” If you had a chance to talk to Tiger Woods, what would you say to him?

I’d play him the music video for “I’m on a Boat,” and then point at T-Pain and ask, “How does it feel like to be him?” I mean seriously, Tiger was a celebrated athlete because he was a minority in a white man’s game. If another white golfer comes along and breaks every record that Tiger set, he’s not going to get nearly as much attention or endorsements. If another minority comes along and becomes the greatest ever, he won’t be as celebrated, he won’t be a pioneer. Yet, Tiger plays down his roots, except of course, when he’s pushing his Buddhist streak when he gets caught boning ugly cocktail waitresses. Come on man, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t downplay your heritage and then use it as a crutch. Eminem never says “Nah, I’m just like any other black guy.” He celebrates his whiteness as much as his fans do. Click here to watch Lau perform \”What Tiger Said\”

In “Asia America, Where Have You Gone?” and “What Tiger Said” you promote unity between all minorities. Where do you see the cultural battlegrounds between minorities and mainstream America?

Oh man, I don’t even know where to start. I’m always shocked at how much blatantly ignorant B.S. pervades every aspect of our intellectual life: in media culture wars, in schools, in coffee shop conversations, even at poetry events. People don’t read enough. Don’t think critically enough. They listen to some ratings-bloating right wing rant from a radio personality and let their emotional centers overtake their logical ones. I remember in art school, 90% of the people around me were upper-middle class white people, and they’d always tell me “Alvin, you make everything about race.” And once more people of color started hanging out with us, they’d admit “Yeah, when you’re a person of color, everything IS about race.” (I was just watching Far East Movement’s latest music video and I was like “Whoa, there are Asians making popular music in America? Ah-maz-ing.”) So I think once people understand that White and non-White cultures are completely separate microcosms in America, understanding can begin. That, and Sarah Palin needs to be pushed off a cliff. Or pulled onto a boat and clubbed in the dome on TLC.

As a national figure speaking to audiences all across the country, what advice do you give for Asian and Latino performers in terms of balancing mainstream success with a connection to their cultural roots? Have you ever been put in a position where you felt like someone was asking you to “sell out?”

A lot of Asian writers strike me as being Asian first and writers second. They preach to almost entirely Asian choirs, becoming ethnocentric and exclusive. But as an artist hoping to reach as wide an audience as possible, I almost prefer to identify myself as “Writing Asian;” while I’ll always be proud of my culture and identity, I discuss those parts of myself only as a method of commenting on the greater human experience. If you’re an aspiring artist, I encourage you to do the same thing. Celebrate who you are with vigor, but don’t cut down members of your audience for not entirely understanding where you’re from. Help them understand. Understand them.

A couple years ago, I held workshops at an Asian student leadership conference, and the conference sponsors were MTV China, Fox News, and the U.S. Coast Guard, and I couldn’t help but think “How did we let MTV, FOX, and the military sponsor us? You’re inviting the enemy into our home and making them hot cocoa.” I felt really uncomfortable performing and speaking alongside representatives from those organizations. It’s just not what I stand for, you know?

Aside from being a poet, you are also an accomplished professional poker player and instructor. Poker tournaments seem to be one of the few places on TV where one can consistently see Asian Americans on television, could you please comment upon this phenomenon?

Hard work and calculation is all it takes, and Asian-Americans have that in spades (along with compulsive gambling problems). Whoops!

When it comes to poker, how DO you know when to hold ‘em? Know when to fold ‘em? Know when to walk away? Know when to run? Have you ever found yourself having to run away from a table?

I lived in Las Vegas for a few months for the World Series of Poker, and there I played some hands against very, very tough tournament players. Some of the better pros possess a battle aura, a presence, that you usually only detect in rock stars and celebrities, and it’s pretty scary to face down. I mean, it never sent me running scared, but it certainly made me want to just dive back into my headphones and disappear after a hand was over.

 Do you think that Asian Latin fusion food is just a passing trend, or the future?

Oh man, fusion food is absolutely my favorite food, so I’m going to be biased here. I’m going to cross my fingers and say it’s here to stay. I just can’t imagine not having papaya dipping sauces with my gyoza.

Who is your favorite Latin celebrity, historical figure, or fictional character?

One of my favorite writers is Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who is most famous for writing insanely amazing books which are subsequently turned into atrocious movie adaptations.

Would you rather date an Asian or someone of Latin descent?

I definitely have a half-Asian streak. German-Japanese? Korean-Polish? Nigerian-Vietnamese? ZOMG can’t get enough.

Any last words or shout outs?

Korean Fried Chicken is so delicious. It needs to get mainstream.

THANK YOU ALVIN

Alvin Lau

http://www.laymanlyric.com/alvin_lau

For booking information, email Travis Watkins at Poetry@Laymanlyric.com

David A. Romero is a cheese enchilada-making spoken word artist who knows something about Mexicans. A lover of boba and a citizen of Diamond Bar, CA, he also knows a thing or two about Asians. http://www.davidaromero.com/

Have any ideas for the blog? Questions? Comments? Hit me up below! Or email me: davidaromero@projektnewspeak.com