BACK AT THE PARKSIDE LOUNGE!
Featuring Alberto Areizaga and Dara Kalima
Hosted by Thomas Fucaloro
Plus poetry open mic
21+
$3 suggested donation. Two drink min, alcoholic or non.
Dara Kalima, also known as The Community Poet, is a Bronxite who started writing at 9, dedicated herself to the craft at 16, and locked into her voice at 25. She holds both a BA and MA in theater. She is the founder of Black Authors Collaborative and serves as vice president of Poetix University, an international home for all poets. She co-hosts Word2Wordz a monthly poetry focused podcast and hosts her solo podcast On Behalf Of. Kalima has performed on stages across New York and made her international debut in 2018 when performing in Scotland. She has also performed her poetry Off-Broadway. Kalima explores the concepts of love, equality, and healing all through lived experiences and personal observations. She has authored four books, Black Man, Black Woman, Black Child (2015), Casualty of Love (2017), Two X Chromosomes with an Extra Shot of Melanin (2019) and Still Laughin’ (2021). Connect with her at www.darakalima.com or on Instagram @DaraKalima.
Born in 1956 at Lincoln Hospital, Bronx, NY to traditional Puerto Rican parents, Albert Areizaga grew up watching his father draw. He started drawing at a very early age. When he was in the first grade, his teacher asked the students to draw a picture for their respective areas in the cloak room. Albert drew an Indian Chief that impressed his teacher so much so that they contacted his parents. He has through his entire life continued to create art in one form or another.
While still in High School, Albert joined the military and departed home a week after graduation to help pay for his continuing education. He initially served in as a reservist in the Army National Guard and in 1981 went on active duty until his retirement in 2001 as a Master Sergeant E-8. He attended college classes at night during his military service and graduated from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY with a degree in Art and Science. While attending college, Albert also took a photography course and would become a professional photographer and graphic designer.
Throughout Albert’s life, there has been an insatiable desire to create art, a desire that has never really subsided. When he retired from the military, he began a new career as a professional photographer and graphic designer. After a 13-year hiatus from painting to concentrate on photography and graphic design, he suddenly got the urge to paint again. He’s been painting regularly since. Much of his work revolves around his Puerto Rican culture which he used as a method to educate his children. Albert is also a poet who has been published by CENTRO (The Hunter College Center for Puerto Rican Studies) and recorded by “Willie Villegas Y Entre Amigos” and “Dave Santiago and Latin Affair.” His passion was always to reach art which was his 5th level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was realized when he began teaching art at Boricua College and now at the South Brooklyn Community High School.