The Puerto Rican Independent Art Scene has seen a boom in all its facets, and literature is no stranger to this. With online services like Createspace and independent publishers like La Impresora, authors of all fields have found platforms that allow them to publish their works. Thus, seeing how many writers are slowly deciding to take power into their own hands, it is only fitting that we celebrate young up-and-coming and/or independent poets who are paving their own paths.
(picture found in the writer’s Facebook page)
Born in 1995 and currently living in San Germán, Xavier O. Aymat has been a member of the Puerto Rican West Coast independent arts movement for the last few years. As a writer, he has delved into poetry, short fiction, and play writing. He is also known for being a member of the bands Grumpa and Mal de Ojo. He has participated in a series of open mics held by Vox Populi: Puerto Rico and is now being featured in the project’s first anthology.
(picture provided by the writer)
Fiorella D. Cintrón Sentmanat was born September 11th, 1996 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and raised in Lajas. It wasn’t until a few years ago that she recognized how passionate she was about literature, though she’d come second place in a poetry competition when she was in eighth grade. Throughout her high school years, she invested a lot of time in poetry and narrative essays, discovering then her love for literature and all things art. She recently received her B.A. in English Literature and Grammar from the Interamerican University San Germán Campus and hopes to become a poetess/jazz singer. Sentmanat is also working on a poetry book and is the mother of a 3-year-old girl. During her college years, she became the President of the English Club for two consecutive years and volunteered at El Portal de Amor Orphanage, where she offered workshops on how to build a book. She has participated in a series of open mics held by Vox Populi: Puerto Rico and is now being featured in the project’s first anthology.
(picture provided by the writer)
Héctor Huyke Villeneuve is a Hispanic Studies Master’s student at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras (UPRRP). He dedicates himself to teaching, journalism, and poetry. Huyke Villeneuve has worked as a screenwriter for the Emmy-Award winning show Laboratorio de Comunicaciones Científicas and just interned at the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico. He also works as a Digital Communications Specialist and functions as a Department of State Gilman Scholarship Ambassador. He has participated in a series of open mics held by Vox Populi: Puerto Rico and is now being featured in the project’s first anthology.
(picture provided by the writer)
Steven Omar Méndez Hernández is a young poet and member of the University of Puerto Rico’s Banda Centenaria, and the Skydance Studio company. He’s currently in his third year of college as a Comparative Literature student. He’s an artist who loves music, painting, dancing, singing, writing, and expressing his inner feelings. Alongside Fernando E.E. Correa González, he published the poetry book SteFEN, and is now featured in the anthology Vox: 5 Años de la Voz del Pueblo.
(picture provided by the writer)
Alexandra M. Muñiz Acevedo was born in Mayagüez on October 19th, 1984. She studied Communications with a minor in Graphic Arts at the University of the Sacred Heart at Santurce, Puerto Rico. Working at Galería Fossil Arte in Old San Juan helped her give her exposure to the artistic community. Afterwards, she worked independently as a graphic designer for magazines and newspapers, starting in a public agency in 2014.She is a cultural organizer at Galería Betances in Mayagüez, member of the music group Bomba Urbana and of the fusion group Bajo La Luna. She has participated in a series of open mics held by Vox Populi: Puerto Rico and is now being featured in the project’s first anthology.