A THIEF, A PIMP, A USER, A MUGGER, A ROBBER, A CON ARTIST, AN ABUSER OF WOMEN AND DRUGS AND SO MUCH MORE. WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN. SOMETIMES THE HORRORS IN LIFE ARE WHAT MAKE US, ARE WHAT GIVES US THE PASSION OF WORDS. AND SOMETIMES WHEN WE FIND THE PASSION AND GET THE FAME AND THE NOTICED BEAUTY, WE STILL ARE STUCK INSIDE THAT LIFE SO MUCH THAT EVEN THE CLAWS OF SATAN HIMSELF CAN'T GET US OUT.
TO START OFF, YOU NEED A LITTLE LESSON I SUPPOSE. MIGUEL PINERO IS WHO YOU WOULD CALL A NUYORICAN POET. NUYORICAN IS A TERM TO DESCRIBE NEW YORKERS AND PUERTO RICANS, IT'S BASICALLY PUTTING LIFESTYLE OF BEING AN AMERICAN NEW YORKER AND ALSO A PUERTO RICAN TOGETHER. THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE THE WORD IS THE NUYORICAN POETS CAFE WHERE SOME OF THE GREATEST POETS READ THERE WORK. IT'S A CAFE WHERE POETRY, MUSIC, HIP HOP, VIDEO, COMEDY, VISUAL ARTS AND THEATRE ALL COME TOGETHER TO MAKE ART IN MANY FORMS. THE CLUB WAS FOUNDED IN 1973 IN THE EAST VILLAGE OF THE APARTMENT OF WRITER, POET AND ALSO A PROFESSOR AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, MIGUEL ALGARIN. ALONG WITH MIGUEL PINERO AND BITTMAN BIMBO RIVAS AND LUCKY CIENFUEGOS THEY CREATED AN ICONIC CLUB THAT STILL HOLDS IT'S BEAUTY IN THE ART WORLD TODAY. THE CLUB WENT FROM THE APARTMENT IN 1975 TO AN IRISH PUB THE SUNSHINE CAFE ON EAST 6TH STREET. AS THE CLUB GREW IN 1980 THEY MOVED TO 236 EAST 3RD STREET WHERE THEY STILL REMAIN TODAY.
CO-FOUNDER ALGARIN STATED THE PERFECT COMMENT ABOUT THE PLACE SAYING:"We must listen to one another. We must respect one another's habits and we must share the truth and the integrity that the voice of the poet so generously provide."
YOU CAN VISIT THE WEBSITE FOR THE CLUB HERE:http://www.nuyorican.org/
WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID IS THIS CLUB IS ONE OF THE FOUNDING MOVEMENTS OF THE POETRY WORLD OR ART WORLD THERE I SAID IT AND A LOT OF PEOPLE WONT. THIS PLACE BROUGHT FORTH MANY WONDERFUL GREATS AND ALSO COUNTLESS HOURS OF PURE POETRY, AND AMAZING SLAM POETRY. THIS IS A MUST GO TO PLACE FOR ANY TRUE POETRY BUFF IN THERE LIFE. IT'S A MUST VISIT AND A MUST ADVENTURE INTO THE BIRTH AND TRUTH ON SOME AMAZING THOUGHT PROVOKING IN YOUR FACE POETRY. ONE SAD THING IS THE TERM NUYORICAN HAS BEEN USED AS A DEROGATORY TERM TO SOME BUT SOME ARE PROUD TO STATE THEY ARE A NUYORICAN, WHAT EVER THE CASE IT CANNOT BE DENIED THE WONDER AND BEAUTY AND PURE ART THAT THIS MOVEMENT HAS CREATED.
THE COFOUNDER OF THIS CAFE WAS MIGUEL PINERO EVEN THOUGH HE HAD NO MONEY, IT WAS JUST HIS PASSION AND HIS ART FOR WORDS THAT COFOUNDED THIS PLACE. HE WAS BORN DEC. 19TH 1946 AND SADLY PASSED AWAY TO THAT ETERNAL SLEEP ON JUNE 18TH 1988. HE WAS BORN IN GURABO PUERTO RICO AND AT THE AGE OF 4 HE CAME TO NEW YORK WITH HIS PARENTS. SADLY HIS FATHER LEFT THEM MAKING HIS MOTHER AND HIM MOVE INTO A BASEMENT AND LIVE. PINERO BEGAN A CRIMINAL LIFESTYLE IN MORE OR LESS TO SURVIVE. AT THE AGE OF 11 HE WAS ARRESTED AND CHARGED FOR STEALING AND PLACED IN JUVENILE HALL. HE JOINED THE GANG KNOWN AS THE DRAGONS WHEN HE WAS 13 AND SOON HE WAS HUSTLING. BY THE AGE OF 20 HE WAS A DRUGGIE AND HAD A MASSIVE LONG CRIME RECORD TO SHOW EVERYONE. HIS LIFE SPIRALED DOWN HILL FOR THE LONGEST TIME AND IN TRUTH NEVER GOT OFF THAT SPIRAL. AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 25 HE WAS PLACED IN SING SING PRISON FOR ARMED ROBBERY WHERE HE WROTE ONE OF HIS PRIME MASTERPIECES. SHORT EYES WAS BASED ON HIS LIFE IN PRISON FROM EXPLAINING DEATH TO RAPE TO SURVIVING IN THE HELL OF THE PRISON LIFESTYLE. THERE AFTER GETTING OUT OF JAIL AND PUTTING IT TOGETHER FOR THE RIVERSIDE CHURCH IN MANHATTAN, THE PLAY WENT TO BROADWAY WINNING 6 TONY AWARDS. ALSO THE PLAY WON AN OBIE AWARD FOR BEST PLAY OF THE YEAR AND THE NEW YORK DRAMA CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD. THIS PLAY MADE PINERO THE FAME HE DESERVED FOR HIS TALENT. HE WAS A LITERARY MASTER AFTER THIS WRITTEN PLAY. SHORT EYES WAS PUBLISHED IN BOOK FORM AND ALSO IN 1977 IT WAS MADE INTO A MOVIE.
PINERO STARTED ACTING IN SMALL ROLES IN MOVIES. THE MOST FAMOUS MOVIE HE WAS IN WAS WITH PAUL NEWMAN IN FORT APACHE THE BRONX. IT WOULD BE THE FOUNDING OF THE NUYORICAN POETS CAFE THAT WOULD SEAL HIS NAME FOREVER.
THE PASSION AND POWER OF HIS WORDS FLOW INTO THE READER THAT IS READING OR LISTENING.
WHAT EVER YOU SAY ABOUT PINERO SOME HATE HIM AND SOME MAKE HIM OUT TO BE ONE OF THOSE MODERN DAY ANGELS. PINERO HAD A LIFE THAT SHOWCASED HIS WORDS. IT SEEMS TO BE EASY TO MAKE SOMEONE THAT WAS HATED BY A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THAT ALSO LOVED HIM INTO AN ICON. THIS DAY AND AGE FOR INSTANTANCE A ROCKER CAN BE A DRUGGIE WHO COMMITS SUICIDE AND THEN CAN BE MADE INTO A LEGEND. EVEN PAST MOVIE STARS OR MUSIC LEGENDS WHO IN LIFE MADE GREAT MUSIC AND ACTING AND AWESOME POETRY ENRICHED MUSIC AND SOUNDS WHO MORE OR LESS WHERE ABUSERS OF DRUGS AND PEOPLE YET THEY ARE MADE INTO ICONS AND HERO'S WHEN THEY CARRIED GUNS AND BEAT UP PEOPLE AND COMMITTED CRIMES. I RECENTLY CAME OVER A REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE PINERO WHILE RESEARCHING. THE REVIEW BASICALLY JUST SCOLDED PINERO AS BEING NOTHING MORE THEN A CRIME LACED DRUG ADDICT THAT DESERVED TO DIE. YES PINERO WAS A DRUG LACED POET THAT COMMITTED MANY CRIMES BUT HE ALSO HAD A TALENT THAT FEW HAD. IF WE ARE GOING TO MAKE ICONS OUT OF GANGSTERS AND THUGS AND DRUG LACED SUICIDE ROCKERS THEN WHY CAN'T A POET BE CONSIDERED A LEGEND AND ICON. PINERO WAS SO MUCH MORE THEN DRUGS AND CRIME. THAT DOES NOT MEAN I AM PRAISING THAT LIFESTYLE, IT MEANS I AM PRAISING THE SOUL OF THE PERSON. I AM PRAISING THE TALENT INSIDE THAT FLOWED OUT FOR PEOPLE TO SEE AND READ AND UNDERSTAND.
SO MANY OF US CAN SIT AND JUDGE PEOPLE AND SAY THIS AND SAY THAT BUT YOU KNOW WHAT MOST US HAVE NEVER WALKED IN THE SHOES OF CERTAIN PEOPLE. I AM NOT MAKING AN EXCUSE FOR PINERO'S ACTIONS BUT SOMETIMES LIFE IS HARD AND SOMETIMES DEPRESSION AND THE HORRORS PLACED UPON PEOPLE CAN CONTROL. WE CALL DRINKING A DISEASE AND AN ADDICTION AND THAT'S FINE BUT I ALSO THINK THE WOES IN LIFE CAN BE A DISEASE, AN ADDICTION. SOMETIMES GETTING OVER THE PAST IS FAR WORSE THEN ANY DRINK COULD BE. I LOOK AT PINERO SO DEEP BECAUSE I CAN RELATE TO HIM. I COULD HAVE BEEN THAT PERSON IF I HAD NOT GOT HELP THE WAY I DID. I WAS RAPED AND ABUSED AS A CHILD AND DID MANY THINGS I AM NOT PROUD OF AND YES MY LIFE COULD HAVE SPIRALED DOWN HILL BECAUSE OF THOSE ACTIONS, I CAME CLOSE TO A LIFE OF CRIME. I CAME SO FAR AS TO MAKE SUICIDE MY BUDDY AND TO MAKE HATE MY THOUGHTS. I WAS A LUCKY ONE THAT GOT HELP, YET THAT DISEASE IS STILL THERE. I STILL HAVE THE DEPRESSION AND THE HORROR LACED NIGHTMARES AND REALLY BAD DAYS BUT I WAS LUCKY AND WAS ABLE TO WORK OUT MY WOES, BUT SADLY PINERO DID NOT. I THINK THE COMMENT THAT PEOPLE SAY THE MOST "WELL PINERO BECAME FAMOUS AND BLEW IT AWAY ON DRUGS AND SO ON" , THATS TRUE BUT I THINK FAME AND MONEY CANNOT CHANGE OR STOP THE PAST OR EVEN MAKE THE FUTURE BETTER. JUST LIKE AlCOHOL, MONEY IS A CRUTCH, CRIME IS ALSO, ALL OF THESE CAN BE AN ADDICTION.
POEM SPOTLIGHT:
THE LOWER EASTSIDE POEM
Just once before I die
I want to climb up on atenement sky
to dream my lungs out till
I cry
then scatter my ashes thru
the Lower East Side.
So let me sing my song tonight
let me feel out of sight
and let all eyes be dry
when they scatter my ashes thru
the Lower East Side.
From Houston to 14th Street
from Second Avenue to the mighty D
here the hustlers & suckers meet
the faggots & freaks will all get
high
on the ashes that have been scattered
thru the Lower East Side.
There's no other place for me to be
there's no other place that I can see
there's no other town around that
brings you up or keeps you down
no food little heat sweeps by
fancy cars & pimps' bars & juke saloons
& greasy spoons make my spirits fly
with my ashes scattered thru the
Lower East Side . . .
A thief, a junkie I've been
committed every known sin
Jews and Gentiles . . . Bums and Men
of style . . . run away child
police shooting wild . . .
mother's futile wails . . . pushers
making sales . . . dope wheelers
& cocaine dealers . . . smoking pot
streets are hot & feed off those who bleed to death . . .
all that's true
all that's true
all that is true
but this ain't no lie
when I ask that my ashes be scattered thru
the Lower East Side.
So here I am, look at me
I stand proud as you can see
pleased to be from the Lower East
a street fighting man
a problem of this land
I am the Philosopher of the Criminal Mind
a dweller of prison time
a cancer of Rockefeller's ghettocide
this concrete tomb is my home
to belong to survive you gotta be strong
you can't be shy less without request
someone will scatter your ashes thru
the Lower East Side.
I don't wanna be buried in Puerto Rico
I don't wanna rest in long island cemetery
I wanna be near the stabbing shooting
gambling fighting & unnatural dying
& new birth crying
so please when I die . . .
don't take me far away
keep me near by
take my ashes and scatter them thru out
the Lower East Side . . .
by Miguel Pinero
THE POEM LOWER EAST SIDE IS A BEAUTIFUL POEM OF PINERO'S LOVE FOR WHO HE WAS AND WHERE HE CAME FROM. HE LOVED HIS HOME AND THE VERSE IN IT SAYS: TAKE MY ASHES AND SCATTER THEM THRU OUT THE LOWER EAST SIDE: AND THAT WAS THE TRUTH. AFTER PINERO DIED HIS ASHES WHERE TAKEN AND SPREAD ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE. MANY SAY WHEN YOU WALK THOSE STREETS YOUR WALKING WITH PINERO AND THAT'S TRUE.
PINERO2001
PLOT: THIS IS A MOVIE ABOUT THE ONE AND ONLY LATINO ICON MIGUEL PINERO, THE POET, PLAYWRIGHT AND ALSO ACTOR.
RUNTIME: 103 MINS
RATED: R
STARRING: BENJAMIN BRATT AS MIGUEL PINERO, GIANCARLO ESPOSITO AS MIGUEL ALGARIN, TALISA SOTO AS SUGAR, NELSON VASQUEZ AS TITO GOYA, MICHAEL IRBY AS REINALDO POVOD.DIRECTED: LEON ICHASO
RELEASE DATE: APRIL 12, 2002
MY REVIEWS AND THOUGHTS:
NOW TO MOVE ONTO THE MOVIE AND SPEAK ABOUT THE WONDER AND QUALITY OF AN AMAZING FILM AND SHOWCASE OF PINERO'S LIFE. ONE THING MUST BE SAID IS IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT SIX TO EIGHT MOVIES AND EVEN MORE TO SHOWCASE ALL OF PINERO'S LIFE BUT I FEEL THE MOVIE DOES CAPTURE THE STRUGGLE AND BEAUTY AND HORROR THAT WAS PINERO.
THIS MOVIE CAPTURES SOME OF THE BEAUTY AND HORROR IN PINERO'S SHORT LIFE. HE WAS A POWERFUL ARTIST THAT FLOWED WITH THE GRACE AND BEAUTY THAT POETRY AND THE ART OF WORDS ARE ABOUT. THE MOVIE IS FILMED IN A VERY ARTISTIC WAY WHERE YOU FLASH IN AND OUT OF BLACK AND WHITE TO COLOR. CERTAIN SHOTS ARE IN BLACK AND WHITE GIVING IT THAT SURREAL NEWSCAST TEXTURE AND THEN YOU FLASH INTO COLOR GIVING IT THE APPEAL OF THE MOVIE REALITY. THE MOVIE SHOWCASES PINERO'S LIFE BY FLASHING IN AND OUT OF HISTORY. FROM CHILDHOOD WATCHING HIS FATHER LEAVE, TO HIM BEING RAPED AS A KID TO HIM PIMPING HIS YOUNG SMALL BOY BODY OUT TO MEN TO MAKE MONEY TO LIVE. YOU WATCH THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF PINERO FROM A YOUNG AGE WHERE IT SEEMED HE HAD NO HOPE AND ALL THE HOPE HE HAD WAS STEALING OR COMMITTING CRIMES TO SURVIVE. YOU GET TO SEE HIS YOUNG AGE, TO HIS COCAINE AGE AND TO HIS LAST DAYS.
THE MOVIE IS FLAWLESSLY NARRATED THROUGH OUT WHERE PINERO TELLS HIS STORY. WHAT'S VERY INTERESTING TO NOTE MOST OF THE IMAGES FILMED ARE IMAGES IN HIS STORIES. BECAUSE MORE OR LESS PINERO'S STORIES AND HIS REALITY ARE INSIDE HIS POEMS. HE MIGHT NOT HAVE MENTIONED HIS NAME IN CERTAIN PARTS BUT THE READER COULD SENSE THE PASSION AND HORROR OF HIS LIFE INSIDE THE WORDS.BENJAMIN BRATT PLAYS THIS PART PERFECT, HE IS PINERO AND PINERO IS HIM. YOU COULD SENSE THE SOUL OF PINERO IN HIS ROLE.
THIS MOVIE SHOWCASES THE WONDERFUL ARTISTIC VALUE THAT PINERO HAD. THE REALLY COOL THING ABOUT THIS MOVIE IS YOU GET THE POETRY THROUGHOUT. YOU GET THE MOMENTS WHERE BRATT STANDS UP IN THE CAFE OR ON TOP OF A BUILDING AND HE SPEAKS IT OUT, THE WHOLE POEM. I THINK WHAT IS SO SAD ABOUT PINERO'S LIFE AND THE MOVIE SHOWCASES THAT IS HE NEVER HAD A CHANCE AS A KID. WHEN HE WROTE SHORT EYES IN JAIL THE WORLD STARTED TO NOTICE YET THAT HORROR OF HIS PAST AND THAT FLAVOR FOR CRIME AND DRUGS WHERE SO DUG INTO HIM THAT IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS TWO LATE. IN REALITY THE MONEY AND THE FAME ONLY DID HIM WORSE BECAUSE IT FED THE HORRORS AND IT DESTROYED HIM MORE.
PINERO'S SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEN AND WOMEN AND HIS LACK OF RELATIONSHIPS AND HIS TRIP INTO JAIL AND DRUGS AND HIS TORMENTED SOUL ARE SHOWCASED IN THE MOVIE. PINERO WAS ALWAYS TRYING TO BE SOMETHING AND YET HE WAS ALWAYS TRYING NOT TO BE SOMETHING. IT SEEMS THAT PINERO COULD NOT BE PINERO. FROM THE UPS AND THE DOWNS THE DOWNS BEING THE MORE, THE MOVIE EXPRESSES THE BATTLE RAGING INSIDE.
THE MOVIE IS SAD, HEART WARMING, DEPRESSING, REALITY BASED AND EVEN A TEAR JERKER. THE MOVIE MAKES IT'S POINT. THIS FILM SHOWCASES A BEAUTIFUL MAN, A BEAUTIFUL WRITER AND A BEAUTIFUL PART OF HISTORY THAT SADLY WE LOST TO THE DEMONS HAUNTING HIM.
PRAISE AND AWARDS FOR THE MOVIE:
WON THE 2002 ALMA AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACTOR, OUTSTANDING MOTION PICTURE AND OUTSTANDING SCREENPLAY.
ALSO WAS NOMINATED FOR THE 2002 ALMA AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR AND OUTSTANDING SUPPOTING ACTRESS.
WON THE 2002 C.I.C.A.E. AWARD AT THE BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FOR PANORAMA.
WON THE 2002 CHAMIZAL INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL AWARD FOR BEST AMERICAN FILM.
WAS NOMINATED FOR 2001 GRAND PRIX DES AMERIQUES AT THE MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL.
WON THE 2001 SPECIAL RECOGNITION AT THE NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW USA
ONE THING THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID ABOUT PINERO'S STORIES OR POEMS IS THAT HIS WORDS FLOW WITH LIFE, YOU CAN FEEL THE PASSION OF HIS SOUL AND THE NIGHTMARES INSIDE HIS HEAD. PINERO HAD AWAY WITH WORDS THAT SEEMED TO GRAB THE READER, GRABBED YOU IN A GOOD WAY YET SMACKED YOU AROUND AND FORCED YOU TO LISTEN, YET AFTER YOU WHERE FORCED TO LISTEN YOU COULD RELATE TO IT, YOU FELT IT ALIVE INSIDE YOU, THAT'S THE WAY PINERO WROTE. THAT'S THE WAY POETRY SHOULD BE. A LOT OF MODERN DAY POETS I INCLUDED SHOULD LOOK TO PINERO AND TO SEE HIS REALITY BASED POETRY TO SEE THE FEEL OF THE WAY HIS STORIES FLOW. PINERO WAS A GENIUS AT WORDS, MIXING BEAUTIFUL AND SOMETIMES HORROR LACED IMAGES INSIDE HIS WORDS MAKING THE QUALITY OF HIS POETRY A FORCE THAT LINGERS TO THIS DAY.
I THINK WHAT IS SO INTERESTING ABOUT PINERO'S STORY IS, IT WAS THE HORRORS IN HIS LIFE THAT MADE HIM THE POET HE WAS. HE WROTE FROM HIS HEART AND MIND, THE HEART AND MIND THAT WENT THROUGH THE CHILDHOOD MIXED WITH RAPE, HUSTLING HIS BODY, TO CRIME, TO JAIL, TO ALWAYS BEING MISPLACED IN CULTURE. WITHOUT THESE HORRIBLE MARKS AND DEEP DEPRESSIONS UPON HIM, IT'S HARD TO SAY IF WE WOULD KNOW PINERO WITHOUT THEM. THE VERY HORRORS THAT HE LIVED BECAME HIS PASSION IN WORDS YET ALSO WAS WHAT DESTROYED AND KILLED HIM AT THE SAME TIME. IT SEEMS OFTEN THAT ALL THE GREAT LEGENDS OF SPOKEN WORD OR POWERFUL BEINGS IN THE ART WORLD END UP DESTROYING THEMSELVES OR THE ART IS SO RICH THAT IT TAKES YOUR LIFE AWAY. ALL THESE HORRORS ULTIMATELY DESTROYED HIM YET ALSO ULTIMATELY MADE HIM.
I THINK WHAT MAKES PINERO UNIQUE IS HE BECAME THE POEM, HIS WHOLE BODY FLOWED WITH HIS POEM. HE BLED THE LETTERS THAT WHERE THE WORDS THAT WROTE THE POEM. HIS FACIAL EXPRESSIONS, HIS MOVEMENTS AND HIS ACTIONS ALL BECAME THE RICHNESS OF THE POEM. PINERO'S WORDS WILL RADIATE THROUGHOUT TIME. AS LONG AS THERE ARE POEM LOVERS, POETRY BUFFS, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PINERO'S POEMS.
I THINK WHAT IS SAD IN THE POETRY WORD PINERO IS OFTEN FORGOT ABOUT. HE IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED. HE TOOK HIS WORDS AND MADE THEM SOMETHING MORE THEN JUST WORDS ON A PAPER. I BELIEVE PINERO IS AN ORIGINATOR OF A DEEP SENSE AND LOVE AND PASSION OF THE WORDS THAT IS POETRY. THAT DEEP DARK FEELING A POET GETS WHEN READING OUT THE FORCE OF THE STORY. I THINK WHAT IS SO DEEP ABOUT PINERO'S POETRY IS HIS POEMS WHERE NOT ABOUT FLOWERS OR SUNSHINE, OR SIDEWALKS OF GOLD, BUTTERFLIES' OR BIRDS FLYING IN THE SKY OR SWEET PUPPY DOGS OR THE GOOD SIDE OF LIFE. PINERO'S POETRY WHERE THE DARK PARTS OF THE HEART, WAS THE INNER CAVES OF THE HIDDEN MIND. WHAT HE SAW HE WROTE, WHAT HE EXPERIENCED HE PUT INTO WORDS, PINERO BECAME HIS POETRY, THE WORDS FLOWED THROUGH HIS VEINS UPON THE PAPER. PINERO WAS NOT A HARVARD EDUCATED POET, PINERO LIVED THE STREET AND LIVED WHAT HE WROTE ABOUT, HE BECAME THE STREET, THE DRUNK, THE CRACK HEAD, THE TAR LACED VEINS, THE DIRTY NEEDLES IN THE GUTTER. HE WROTE HIS TRUTH AND NOT LIES. HIS POETRY FLOWED WITH REALITY. YOU COULD RELATE TO HIS STORIES AND POETRY. HIS POETRY WAS THE DARK SIDE OF LIFE AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES PINERO A TRUE LEGEND, AND A TRUE ICON OF POETRY.
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