contratiempo nfp A N N U A L
R E P O R T
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contratiempo nfp Contratiempo NFP is a publishing and writing center whose mission is to preserve and highlight the cultural identity and contributions of the Spanish-speaking Latino population of the United States. Contratiempo fulfills its mission by publishing revista contratiempo, conducting creative writing workshops, promoting Spanish-language literature written in Chicago through its Ediciones Vocesueltas imprint, and working collaboratively with other educational, literary and cultural organizations to present events relative to this mission.
annual report 2009
I. Introduction
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II. Programs
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• Poesía en abril
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• The Big Read
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• El Taller
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• Viernes de contratiempo
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III. Magazine
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IV. Ediciones vocesueltas
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V. Board, Staff, Partners and Sponsors 17
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I.
Intr o d u c tio n
As members of the immigrant community in the United States, we frequently wonder what of ourselves we have left behind and what new self we have become. We search for answers through reflection and dialogue, civic participation, and artistic and cultural expression. Contratiempo endeavours to contribute, through our programs and publications and to the degree that we can, to building an answer together. Such is our challenge and our goal. Contratiempo started as a magazine in 2003, was incorporated as a not for profit organization in 2004, and subsequently became a 501c3 tax exempt educational organization. Almost the entirety of the work is done on a volunteer basis, including the publication of contratiempo magazine and Vocesueltas books, and the organization of presentations, workshops, conferences and readings. Revista contratiempo has been published continuously for the last six years thanks to the indefatigable work of our volunteer staff, and with issue 70 in 2009 became the longest running Spanish language cultural and literary publication in Chicago. For the next four years, our additional challenge and goal will be to become the fully staffed organization needed to further reach, employ and draw talent from immigrant communities in metropolitan and suburban Chicago, and beyond.
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II.
Pr o g r a m s
Our public programs are as essential a part of our organization as our publications. From the creation of contratiempo, we have engaged in collaborations with institutions such as the Illinois Humanities Council, DePaul University, the National Museum of Mexican Art, Roosevelt University, the John Barry Foundation, the University of Chicago, Instituto Cervantes, the Poetry Foundation, National Louis University, Notre Dame Institute for Latino Studies, Boundless Readers, the Guild Complex, and many more, to present cultural and community programs. Our programs have ranged from creative writing and language workshops to discussion series, poetry readings, staged short stories, and immigration panels, all enthusiastically received.
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• Poesía en abril
To celebrate the growing influence on Spanish in the region, and recognize foreign as well as local writers, DePaul University’s Center for Latino Research, Northeastern Illinois University’s Department of Foreign Languages, and Contratiempo nfp joined forces to present “Poesia en Abril”, Chicago’s second annual Spanish-language poetry festival, celebrating Poetry Month. The festival ran from April 17th through April 19th, and it was held at The Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, DePaul University’s Lincoln Park campus, Café Efebos and Instituto Cervantes. The events were a wonderful and successful combination of the poetry of Nicaraguan Ernesto Cardenal, one of Latin America’s most celebrated poets, as the festival’s guest of honor, Ballet Roto from the Dominican Republic, Chicago poets, and our own creative writing workshop participants. The program was recorded by Chicago Public Radio. Other highlights included a poetry contest for students and members of the public; and a documentary presentation at the Chicago Latino Film Festival about the life and work of Ernesto Cardenal. Preparations are already in the works for our 2010 Poesia en Abril .
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• the Big Read The Big Read marked the first time Contratiempo nfp partnered with Boundless Readers and National Louis University for the Chicago edition of this National Endowment for the Arts program, in honor of which revista contratiempo published a special Literature and Identity issue in November. To celebrate the chosen book Sun, Stone and Shadows, a collection of short stories by Mexican literary giants such as Octavio Paz, Juan Rulfo, Sergio Pitol, Carlos Fuentes and Rosario Castellanos, both this narrative tradition and the emerging tradition of the Spanish language writers in Chicago were discussed and explored by writers at the Rudy Lozano Public Library in Pilsen, and a staging of some of the short stories was produced by contratiempo, in collaboration with Aguijon Theatre, at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
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• E l ta l l e r
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Part of contratiempo’s mission is accomplished by educating the next generation of writers. This is why, for the past five years, we have offered literary workshops in our Pilsen office twice monthly on Sundays, under the direction of our editorial board members. Participants present their own texts to be reviewed and critiqued, a unique opportunity, since the group is composed of both developing, and published, authors. These workshops are the legacy of literary magazines that since the early 1990’s have been held in Chicago by the founders of contratiempo. That experienced group of authors now serve as mentors for young writers who have increasingly become contributors of the magazine. 2009 was a solidifying year for our creative writing workshop, and we are very proud that the next publication of our Ediciones Vocesueltas imprint will be a collection of the best fiction work by workshop participants.
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• V i e r n e s d e c o n t r at i e m p o This monthly community discussion, literature and music series marks the release of our monthly contratiempo magazine, and it is a joint program with The Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council held at Café Efebinas in Pilsen and Tumbao in Humbolt Park. The event includes a Café Society Discussion in Spanish about the main topic of that months’ issue, moderated by a guest writer, and open to the public. There are lively conversations on topics ranging from Cinema in Latin America to Literature and Identity, to Art and Violence in Pilsen, to H1N1, and a musician is invited to play after the discussion. contratiempo has partnered with the IHC for three years now in the Café Society en español series, which have been held at Café Catedral as well.
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I I I . C o n t r at i e m p o Ma g a zin e Part of contratiempo’s mission is creating opportunities in the Chicago Latino community to read, write and publish relevant content in Spanish, and thus, it has published 71 issues of our free flagship magazine continuously since 2003, thus surpassing every other cultural Spanish publication in Chicago. contratiempo magazine is the premier Spanish-language cultural publication in the Midwest. Its sections are: Dossier, the topic of the month (From the vibrancy of Latino Art in Chicago, to Child Abuse, Obama and Latin America) Deshoras, our literary section Mirada Cómplice, featuring a local visual artist Tiempo Extra, for profiles, reviews and opinion pieces Tiempo de Sobra for short essays Latinidad, Notre Dame Institute for Latino Studies research and reports are translated and published. The magazine has developed a loyal readership in the communities where it is distributed, establishing itself as a solid and reliable publication that provides in-depth information on issues not often covered by the mainstream Hispanic media. Readers consistently have pointed out the important role that contratiempo plays in their respective areas, highlighting its literary quality, incisiveness of focus, the depth of its articles, the attractiveness of its design, and the variety of reading material presented each month undoubtedly distinguishes this magazine from all other Spanish-language periodicals populating the city. a n n u a l
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I V. E d i c i o n e s voce s u e lta s The small number of presses that publish in Spanish seem to ignore the increasing transnational flow between Latin America and United States Latinos and, in particular, the fact that this country is the fourth largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. The need for written accessible cultural work is very real and has not been fully addressed by any particular institution, not even academia. The history of creative writing workshops is long among the collective of writers that contribute to contratiempo. Ediciones Vocesueltas was created to promote the work of local Spanish language authors and to make known the quality literature written in Chicago. In 2007, the book of short stories that inspired the name of the Vocesueltas imprint, was born. “It is in Chicago where a group of writers, brought together by contratiempo magazine, launch this short story anthology, which will bring prestige to the authors and Spanish-language literature not only in that metropolis but also in the whole of the United States”, says noted scholar Luis Leal. Our second publication was Desarraigos, a collection of poetry, of which Hugo Gutierrez Vega said: “Desarraigos is the conjunction of four disquieted voices well rooted in the realm of poetry. Four Latin Americans in Chicago delivering to the world their visions, their songs. It is well worth entering the world to which they invite us, to go across with them, to the other side of the mirror.¨Our most recent book, Extrasístoles, published
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in 2009, “leaves us with the impression that the author is of a spirit essentially curious and inquisitive: he’s not only a specialist in cardiology, but also a humanist, to whom, as with Terence, “nothing human is foreign”. To our benefit and good fortune as readers“, in the words of F. González-Crussí. We are very excited about our next book publishing projects, born of the five-year history of contratiempo writing workshops: a collection of short stories and poetry from workshop participants, to be published in 2010.
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v. B o a r d , S ta f f, Partn e r s a n d Spo n s o r s 17
contratiempo nfp BOARD OF DIRECTORS President of the Board: Helen Valdez Board of Directors: Gerardo Cárdenas, Gregory X. Gorman, Jochy Herrera, Félix Masud-Piloto, Moira Pujols, Rod Slemmons, Helen Valdez STAFF Executive Director: Moira Pujols Editorial Director: Gerardo Cárdenas Art Director: Esmeralda Morales Volunteer Coordinator: Ana Rechtman Event Coordinator: Luz Dyer
Revista Contratiempo Editorial Board: Gerardo Cárdenas, Raúl Dorantes, Rafael Franco, Jorge García, Catalina María Johnson, Esmeralda Morales, Ana Rechtman, Febronio Zatarain Editorial Director: Gerardo Cárdenas Art Director: Esmeralda Morales Graphic Design: Erin Beckman, Emily Herrera, Esmeralda Morales
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Section Editors: • deshoras: Febronio Zatarain • mirada cómplice: Ana Rechtman 18
• tiempo extra y tiempo de sobra: Raúl Dorantes Photographer: Santiago Weksler Proofreaders: Jorge García, Laura Pujols
Ediciones Vocesueltas Coordinators: Jochy Herrera, Raúl Dorantes
Creative Writing Workshops Coordinator: Febronio Zatarain
Partners and Sponsors: Contratiempo nfp 2008-2009 projects and programs were made possible by the financial, logistical, in-kind and creative support and collaboration of the contratiempo board, staff, writers, artists and wide network of volunteers, and of the following institutions
Partners: The Public Square at The Illinois Humanities Council - Notre Dame University’s Institute for Latino Studies - DePaul University - National Louis University - Northeastern Illinois University -
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Boundless Readers - Aguijon Theatre - The Guild Complex - Poetry Magazine - Universe of Poetry - International Latino Cultural Center - Chicago Public Radio’s Chicago Amplified - Arte y Vida Chicago Efebinas Café -Kristoffers Café -Café Catedral - Tumbao 19
Funders and Sponsors Colegato Foundation - The Field Foundation - The Illinois Arts Council - The Illinois Humanities Council Blue Cross Blue Shield -Contratiempo Board of Directors -Saldemar Solutions -State Farm Insurance The City of Chicago CAAPs Grants – Individual Donors
Financial Summary INCOME Program Services $15,000 Contributed Income $54,000 In Kind Donations $80,000 EXPENSES Program Services $56,000 Management and General $10,000 Fundraising $3,000
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contratiempo nfp 1702 S Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60608 312-666 7466 w w w.contratiemponfp.org w w w. revistacontratiempo.com
Designed by Esmeralda Morales-Guerrero
contratiempo nfp