Performers
Crystal Lopez
Crystal Lopez is a 23-year-old Latina woman born and raised in the culturally rich streets of Brooklyn, NY. This December she will be completing her Bachelor's degree in Education at Long Island University: Post Campus. She fell in love with the power of spoken word in 2007 and has been writing and performing at different universities and open mic performances near you ever since. Her deepest wishes are to express, to touch, and to inspire through her art form in the hopes that she can be the change she hopes to see in the world today. She is a sister of Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
David Cruz
At age 22, David Cruz is a rising spoken word poet from Brooklyn, NY whose stage name is Broken Harmony. He has a B.S. in Earth Science from Dickinson College and is a proud brother of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. He has been writing poetry since middle school, and has been sharing his words for the past 4 years.
Diandra Torres
Diandra is a sister of Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. She has always had a deep passion for literature and poetry which flourished throughout high school and college. She was introduced to the art of spoken word performance during her years at Stony Brook University and since then has had the privilege of performing at various banquets, programs, events and, most notably, competing in the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Friday Night Poetry Slam.
Kelvin Tirado
Kelvin is a brother of The Tau Delta Chapter of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is currently an English Literature major who loves reading and writing, along with playing basketball and taking part in other hobbies. His writing usually deals with personal and known love stories and other narratives he is able to convey to the audience.
Marwa Al Omami
Marwa is of Moroccan descent. She is currently majoring in Media Studies and her passion is singing.
Moises Lopez
Chicago native, spoken word artist and educator, Moises Lopez realized his passion for the arts and education at an early age. Through educating young people around his community through his art, Moises realized the power of words on young people. Upon moving to New York city, Moises is now involved in the Hip Hop Education Center at New York University where he focuses specifically on the influence of hip hop around the world. He manages a global Hip-Hop Committee of over 30 representatives in 30 different countries. His overarching goal is to leave his footprints behind, to inspire the young people he comes into contact with and to help manifest the dreams of youth to make them a reality. Check out his organizations website at Hiphopeducation.org
Najee Omar
Najee Omar, a Brooklyn-based writer and performance artist, uses the language of theatre, music, and poetry to create an honest dialogue around the injustices of humanity. He has read and featured at the 2013 Harlem Arts Festival, Avery Fisher Hall, Au Chat Noir (Paris), and Duke University. As a teaching artist, he’s turned classrooms into stages by conducting poetry and theatre workshops for inner city teens and high-need youth in schools across the greater New York City and Los Angeles areas. In 2013, he began instructing poetry/creative writing workshops with incarcerated youth on Rikers Island. Najee's mission is to cultivate an audience of deep thinkers and inspire the next generation of change agents.
Pablo Vázquez
Pablo was born and raised in the Bronx in a single-parent household with a younger brother. Though his first language was Spanish, he was infatuated with hip-hop and R&B music growing up, which propelled a love for the English language and reading poetry. By the time he reached 9th grade, he was phased out of ESL classes. Until he sustained a shoulder injury sophomore year of college, Pablo was also a musician. At that point, he gave up his dream of becoming a music teacher and pursued his second love, the English language. Today, he is a student teacher at an early college high school where he teaches English literature and grammar. He is also a student in City College of New York, where he is majoring in English with a minor in Secondary Education and Creative Writing.
Crystal Lopez is a 23-year-old Latina woman born and raised in the culturally rich streets of Brooklyn, NY. This December she will be completing her Bachelor's degree in Education at Long Island University: Post Campus. She fell in love with the power of spoken word in 2007 and has been writing and performing at different universities and open mic performances near you ever since. Her deepest wishes are to express, to touch, and to inspire through her art form in the hopes that she can be the change she hopes to see in the world today. She is a sister of Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
David Cruz
At age 22, David Cruz is a rising spoken word poet from Brooklyn, NY whose stage name is Broken Harmony. He has a B.S. in Earth Science from Dickinson College and is a proud brother of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. He has been writing poetry since middle school, and has been sharing his words for the past 4 years.
Diandra Torres
Diandra is a sister of Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. She has always had a deep passion for literature and poetry which flourished throughout high school and college. She was introduced to the art of spoken word performance during her years at Stony Brook University and since then has had the privilege of performing at various banquets, programs, events and, most notably, competing in the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Friday Night Poetry Slam.
Kelvin Tirado
Kelvin is a brother of The Tau Delta Chapter of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is currently an English Literature major who loves reading and writing, along with playing basketball and taking part in other hobbies. His writing usually deals with personal and known love stories and other narratives he is able to convey to the audience.
Marwa Al Omami
Marwa is of Moroccan descent. She is currently majoring in Media Studies and her passion is singing.
Moises Lopez
Chicago native, spoken word artist and educator, Moises Lopez realized his passion for the arts and education at an early age. Through educating young people around his community through his art, Moises realized the power of words on young people. Upon moving to New York city, Moises is now involved in the Hip Hop Education Center at New York University where he focuses specifically on the influence of hip hop around the world. He manages a global Hip-Hop Committee of over 30 representatives in 30 different countries. His overarching goal is to leave his footprints behind, to inspire the young people he comes into contact with and to help manifest the dreams of youth to make them a reality. Check out his organizations website at Hiphopeducation.org
Najee Omar
Najee Omar, a Brooklyn-based writer and performance artist, uses the language of theatre, music, and poetry to create an honest dialogue around the injustices of humanity. He has read and featured at the 2013 Harlem Arts Festival, Avery Fisher Hall, Au Chat Noir (Paris), and Duke University. As a teaching artist, he’s turned classrooms into stages by conducting poetry and theatre workshops for inner city teens and high-need youth in schools across the greater New York City and Los Angeles areas. In 2013, he began instructing poetry/creative writing workshops with incarcerated youth on Rikers Island. Najee's mission is to cultivate an audience of deep thinkers and inspire the next generation of change agents.
Pablo Vázquez
Pablo was born and raised in the Bronx in a single-parent household with a younger brother. Though his first language was Spanish, he was infatuated with hip-hop and R&B music growing up, which propelled a love for the English language and reading poetry. By the time he reached 9th grade, he was phased out of ESL classes. Until he sustained a shoulder injury sophomore year of college, Pablo was also a musician. At that point, he gave up his dream of becoming a music teacher and pursued his second love, the English language. Today, he is a student teacher at an early college high school where he teaches English literature and grammar. He is also a student in City College of New York, where he is majoring in English with a minor in Secondary Education and Creative Writing.