Round one, two venues
Indies at Gallery 201 and Second Chance Music
This has been months in the making. The ringmaster of this event, Julia Orduña, is a study of laser-focus and concentration. She zips to and fro, asking questions, making sure that everything and everyone is where they’re supposed to be, driving from venue to venue.
Even though the South West Shoot Out is an established competition, this is the first time Laredo has hosted.
So there’s a twofold pressure for Julia and the rest of the members of the Laredo Border Slam to make sure the competition runs smoothly and is on par with all the previous competitions, and spread the word to ensure they get a good turnout crowd-wise.
The energy is palpable from all the volunteers.
At 7:00 p.m. the first round begins. The bout is called Indies – meaning solo spoken word performances.
The performances will be split into two groups taking place at two separate venues — Gallery 201 and Second Chance Music Store.
The combined winners of both will then compete against each other at 9:00 p.m. at On the Rocks Tavern – where bearded, Viking-looking Will Shrout is coordinating all the events.
Everyone is in place.
The poets are ready to begin.
Round one.
Preliminaries at Gallery 201 and Second Chance Music
One voice as powerful as three
The paperwork settled. The teams and groups are accounted for. The order of participation was randomly selected.
The judges were given their marching orders. Poems must be scored on a ten-point scale. The use of decimal numbers to eliminate ties was strongly encouraged.
The preliminaries were held at two different venues downtown, both within blocks of each other – Gallery 201, the usual home of the bi-monthly Laredo BorderSlam competitions, and Second Chance Music Store.
Each poet who stood up — some single, some in duos, some in trios — was supported by their teams. Voices spoke in unison, call and response, in echo, and even alone — one voice just as powerful as two, as three.
The applause was loud, enthusiastic, emphatic. Both venues were packed, multi-colored, multicultural – a beautiful site to see.
Indie finals are coming up at On The Rocks Tavern – a one on one poetry slam-off.
