Ballad of a Happy Immigrant
Join us for an evening of poetry, discussion, live music and film with Leo Boix, Janel Pineda and Malika Booker.
This December we’ve lined up six leading contemporary performers to explore immigration, identity and the many different meanings of ‘home’, for an evening inspired by Leo Boix’s acclaimed new collection Ballad of a Happy Immigrant.
How does it feel to leave one’s home country and arrive in a new place with a new language? What does it mean to live, love and write between two cultures and traditions?
Leo will be joined on-stage by Salvadoran poet Janel Pineda, bringing her own experience of her family’s migration to the US. The evening’s discussions will be hosted by their long-term friend, collaborator and multi-disciplinary writer Malika Booker.
Expect Latin American live music from Piero Pierini, Gaby Echevarría and Martin Espindola plus the premiere of Un Nuevo Sol’s film “Haikus for Lockdown” (featuring Leo’s haiku) as we celebrate the sounds and scenes of Latin American culture.
It isn’t often that one encounters a sensibility so interested in our world – and so compelling in its powers of attentiveness. Leo Boix’s poetry has a wide tilt and scope. It sings the doors open.
– Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic
Leo Boix is a Latinx bilingual poet and translator. A fellow of The Complete Works Poetry, he was awarded the Keats-Shelley Prize in 2019. Born in Argentina, he now divides his time between London and Deal, Kent.
Janel Pineda is a Los-Angeles born Salvadoran poet, educator, and the author of Lineage of Rain (Haymarket Books, 2021). She has performed her poetry internationally in both English and Spanish, and been published in various anthologies. Since her involvement with the 2018 Radical Roots Delegation, Pineda is also a member of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES). As a Marshall Scholar, Janel holds an MA in Creative Writing and Education from Goldsmiths, University of London and is currently pursuing an MPhil in Latin American Studies at the University of Cambridge.
Malika Booker is an international writer whose work is steeped in anthropological research methodology and rooted in storytelling. Her writing spans poetry, theatre, monologue, installation, and education. Clients and organisations she has worked with include Arts Council England, BBC, British Council, Wellcome Trust, National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Arvon, and Hampton Court Palace.
Piero Pierini is a multi-instrumentalist from La Plata in Buenos Aires. He graduated from UNLP “Art University of La Plata”. He has played in several projects across a range of genres, from Argentinian folklore to experimental music. He has also worked with people facing mental health challenges during musical projects like “Raw Sounds” and “Key Changes”.
Gaby Echevarría is a Singer-songwriter, pianist, arranger and teacher originally from Buenos Aires. She graduated as a Singer from EMBA and also studied Composition at UNA. She released three albums of her own songs with her chamber orchestra, led by herself. She has performed at important venues, toured throughout the world and worked with distinguished musicians.
