Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Meditating on what I want ~ Life is a TEST ~

I gave him the test that I was accustomed to giving people I would meet on the journey. There were two books, The Alchemist and Mastery of Love. I didn’t want to continue making the same mistakes in relationships. I knew right away when something didn’t align. There were chapters in both books that were very significant for me in knowing if the person I was dealing with was on my level spiritually.

One was the story about Fatima meeting Santiago. There is a point in the Alchemist where Fatima encourages him to leave the desert and continue in pursuit of his treasure. Fatima told him that she would wait for him. Santiago didn’t want to leave her. He was madly in love with Fatima but she didn’t want him to look back at his life and have regrets.

The second story was from, Mastery of Love, about a man who didn’t believe in love. The man who didn’t believe in love spent his entire life studying and speaking on his theory that love doesn’t exist. One day he was walking down the street and saw a woman crying on a bench. He stopped to ask her what was wrong? She said crying, “I don’t believe in love.”

He thought he met the woman of his dreams. They became best friends. They believed in the same things. They made a pact that they would be together as long as it was clear that neither of them believed in love.

One night the man was walking and the most beautiful thing happened. A star came down from the sky and landed in his hands. He started feeling something amazing. He believed that it was love. He was so excited that he rushed home to tell her about his discovery. When he arrived he said to her, “Look! Look at what I brought back for you.”

He went to place the star in her hands and it dropped and shattered into a million pieces.

I asked Michael to share with me his interpretation of both stories. He called Fatima a bitch for pushing Santiago away, “Didn’t she see how much he loved her. How could she do that? What if she was his treasure?”


To read more ~

PURCHASE FINDING YOUR FORCE ON AMAZON ~

Monday, August 29, 2011

GLOBAL SOUL: All World Hip Hop & Soul Fundraiser Party

Join us for a special event raising consciousness about what is happening around the world, which directly has an affect on this side of the world. Afrolatinos:The Untaught Story and the Global Soul event is a fundraiser in solidarity with a Colombian woman named Omaris Andrade Palacios who has been feeding 130 children in her town of Bogotá, a town filled with millions of displaced families (mostly single women and children) due to war and violence in Colombia. If you are unable to attend please consider donating to her cause: Omaris Feeding the Future


Media Contact: William L. Salter III
Phone: 609.877.2647
Email: getatme1on1@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

[Welcome to the Go-Getters Union]

The Go-Getters Union, LLC and AFROLATINOS.TV announce “Global Soul: Hip Hop For The Human Family” at Little Fields in Brooklyn, NY.

Brooklyn, NY – The Go-Getters Union and AFROLATINOS.TV brings New York City its first and only International Hip Hop/Soul/Funk party.

This Labor Day holiday weekend The Go-Getters Union, LLC (GGU), AfroLatinos.tv and The Worldwide Beatbox Association present, “Global Soul: Hip Hop For The Human Family” and invites New York City to come out, lounge, dance, and absorb international Hip Hop culture with some of the world’s freshest artists. The party will take place Sept. 02 @ Little Fields (622 Degraw St. , BK) and will feature live performances by Chesney Snow(founder of the World Beatboxing Association) , Colombian violinist Blanca Celia Gonzalez, D.O. the Fabulous Drifter ,and will include a special screening of Afro-Latinos documentary Afrolatinos: La Historia Que Nunca Nos Contaron / Afrolatinos: The Untaught Story with the world-famous DJ Planamu on vibes. The show will be hosted by Alicia Anabel Santos Writer and Co-producer of Afro-Latinos).

This Global Soul event is a fundraiser in solidarity with a Colombian woman named Omaris Andrade Palacios who has been feeding 130 children in her town of Bogotá, a town filled with millions of displaced families (mostly single women and children) due to war and violence in Colombia. At this point she can no longer feed them because she doesn’t have the resources, so a percentage of overall proceeds from Global Soul will be sent to her in order to help her feed those children as well as her own family with the goal of helping Omaris build a community center in the very near future. This is a beautiful shared experience and cause for New York City to be a part of as it claims to be an international city filled with global citizens. Global Soul is an all world party, chic and exciting with entertainment that is high quality, cutting-edge, fresh and most importantly positive.

All the above and the tickets are only $10 and are available at www.littlefield.nyc.

The Go-Getters Union is a progressive international marketing brand for creative intellectuals in the arts, business and community.

If you have any questions or further inquires feel free to contact:

William L. Salter III
The Go-Getters Union, LLC
Phone: 609.877.2647
Hablo Español
Email: getatme1on1@gmail.com

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Readings & Events ~ SEPTEMBER 2011

SEPTEMBER

Friday, September 2nd @ 9:00pm
Global Soul & Afrolatinos Event
Little Field
622 Degraw st.
Brooklyn, NY

Wednesday, September 7th @ 6:00pm
Casa Atabex Ache
471 East 140th Street, Basement Level
Bronx, NY 10454

Thursday, September 8th @ 6:00pm
Word UP! Community Bookshop
4157 Broadway @ 176th Street
Washington Heights, NYC

Sunday, September 18th @ 12:00pm
Hispanic/Latino Authors (Booth 125)
Brooklyn Book Festival (Hosted by La Casa Azul Bookstore & Las Comadres Para Las Americas)
Brooklyn, NYC


Wednesday, September 28 @ 6:00pm
Reading at the LGBT Center
208 West 13th Street
New York, NY

Thursday, September 29 @ 7:00pm
Roots@Providence Inner City Arts
276 Westminster Street
Providence, RI 02903

To purchase FINDING YOUR FORCE visit Amazon.com

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Thank you for what you did for OMARIS!

Thank you to everyone who attended my book release on Saturday and donated to Omaris' dream. We raised $127.00 USD, that is $225,615.50 COP - $200 THOUSAND PESOS COLOMBIANOS... that is what the average Colombian makes in their country. It may not seem like a significant amount but it something that will help her feed the (130) children who come to her home to eat everyday. What Omaris provides these children with is for the most part the only meal they get a day. Thank you to everyone who contributed. Please continue to support Omaris' campaign by donating below.

Peace~


This video was created by us to help a woman in the Afro Colombian community. Omaris Andrade Palacios supports many displaced persons in Bogota, Colombia.





To donate to this cause please click the following link:


Omaris Feeding the Future / Alimentando el Futuro










Visit us at: WWW.AFROLATINOS.TV


For more information email us at:

info@creadorpictures.tv
Omaris25@live.com
Omaris Andrade Palacios (Colombia: 011 57 320 256 2210)

"La union hace la fuerza"

Latina Unleashes Inner Power in Finding Your Force: A Journey to Love

"Self-discovery and self-awareness have been themes since the beginning of literature. From Plato’s cave to Huck deciding to go to hell to Piri Thomas crying for recognition down to the enduring affection in “Love in the Time of Cholera.” Now Alicia Anabel Santos writes of her own self-empowerment in “Finding Your Force: A Journey to Love."

"This is a revealing catharsis for the author and a document left from mother to child shared with the world in order to make sense of her life, as she was trying to straighten out the turmoil and the dramas for a better tomorrow. Santos writes directly for her audience and her daughter revealing her most grim and painful experiences and most triumphant clarity. She goes from disorder to making sense of herself as a responsible parent who loves her child and at the same time finds a way to love her self."

by Robert Waddell


To read more of book review visit: myLATINO voice

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Encontrando tu Fuerza: Un Sendero De Amor

NEW YORK, NY, 20 de agosto de 2011, autora Alicia Anabel Santos lanza su libro: Finding Your Force A Journey to Love ~

Encontrando tu Fuerza: Un Sendero De Amor

Encontrando tu Fuerza (Finding Your Force) es un libro de memorias escrito en la forma de una carta de amor dirigida a una hija. Es una conversación íntima que viaja a las partes más oscuras del alma de Alicia. Caminamos con ella debajo de las ruinas, donde todos sus secretos se mantenían ocultos hasta ahora. La escritora excava dentro de sí misma para encontrar esa fuerza que le permitiera enfrentar esos momentos que la han transformado desde sobrevivir una violación sexual, sanar sus heridas y su salida del closet como lesbiana.. Encontrando tu Fuerza es una excursión por la vida, muerte y renacimiento de la escritora. Alicia le dice a su hija una historia que es cruda y desgarradora. No es otra historia sobre el amor, pero sin duda es una historia de amor. Encontrando tu Fuerza se acaba de publicar el 6 de agosto de 2011 (410 pp, TPB, $ 19.99, ISBN: 9780983794301).

Sobre La Autora

Alicia Anabel Santos es una escritora latina, productora y dramaturga. Dominicana nacida en New York, Apasionda en escribir obras que impulsa e inspira a las mujeres a encontrar su voz interior. Actualmente, está terminando su novela de ficción titulada, Las Hijas de la Revolución. Ella es la fundadora de New York City Latina Writers Group. La escritora Alicia Anabel Santos ha Co-producido durante tres años el documental Afrolatinos: La Historia que Qunca Nos Contaron (WWW.AFROLATINOS.TV) y escribio y dirigio su obra de teatro titulada I WAS BORN (Yo Naci) la cual fue elegida como uno de los primeros lugares del Festival de teatro en New York, esta obra te lleva a través del laberinto de América Latina donde siete valientes mujeres cuentan sus historias. Alicia vive en Harlem, New York y trabaja como escritora independiente y activista contra el abuso físico y sexual hacia las mujeres y los niños. Asistió a las Universidades New York University y Rhode Island College.

Dicho por los Lectores:
“Tengo mucho respeto por tu espíritu,tu fuerza y ​​sinceridad. Muchas personas no son capaces de sobrevivir el tipo de trauma que estás escribiendo. “

“Estoy tan orgullosa de ti por defender tus palabras, por darte cuenta de tu valor, una y otra vez. Estoy feliz de que nos muestres tu humanidad y permites a tus lectores ver dónde te duele y ver como revives y ganas fuerza otra vez. La gente responde porque inicias el diálogo, pensamientos, y palabras! También muestras lo que no toleras, lo que no es negociable. Y que a tu espacio solo entra quien tu autoriza, tu no permita que nadie entre a ti sin tu acceso, lo que demuestra que todavía estás en control. ¿Cómo te mantienes fuerte? Siendo fiel a todo lo que eres ahora y todo lo que estás haciendo para llegar a ser!”

LIBRO DISPONIBLE EN AMAZON.COM

DETALLES DEL EVENTO
Sábado, 20 de agosto 2011, 16:00-19:00 / 4:00pm – 7:00pm EST
Hue-Man Bookstore & Café, 2319 Frederick Douglass Boulevard Nueva York, NY 10027

La autora está disponible para charlas y reuniones de organización de la comunidad. Para concertar la firma de libros o entrevistas contactar a Emma Díaz por email: Findingyourforce@gmail.com.

PRESS RELEASE: Finding Your Force~


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


BOOK RELEASE FOR
FINDING YOUR FORCE by ALICIA ANABEL SANTOS

Media contact: Emma Diaz
Email: findingyourforce@gmail.com









NEW YORK, NY, August 18, 2011 — Finding Your Force: A Journey to Love. Finding Your Force is a memoir written in the form of a love letter to a daughter. In this intimate conversation we journey into the darkest parts of Alicia’s soul. We walk with her as she digs deep underneath the ruins where all her secrets are kept. Santos is being called on an excavation to stop running and face those moments that have transformed her from surviving rape, healing through loss and coming out as a lesbian. This is a journey about life, death and rebirth. Alicia tells her daughter a story that is raw and heart wrenching. It is not a love story but definitely a story of love. Finding Your Force was just released on August 6, 2011 (410 pp., tpb, $19.99, ISBN: 9780983794301).


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alicia Anabel Santos is a Latina Writer, Producer and Playwright. She is a New York-born Dominican who is passionate about writing works that empower and inspire women to find their voices. Currently, she is completing her historical fiction novel titled, The Daughters of the Revolution. She is the Founder of the New York City Latina Writers Group. Santos has been traveling for three years working on the documentary Afrolatinos: The Untaught Story (WWW.AFROLATINOS.TV) and her play I WAS BORN was chosen as part of the ONE Festival in NYC, where she takes you through the labyrinth of Latin America where seven brave women tell you their stories. Alicia lives in Harlem, NYC with her daughter Courtniana. She works as a freelance writer and activist against sexual and physical abuse towards women and children. She attended New York University and Rhode Island College.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

“I have so much respect for your spirit, strength and sincerity. Many people aren’t able to survive the kind of trauma that you are writing about.”


“I am so proud of you for standing up for your words, for realizing your worth, over and over again. I’m happy that you show your humanness and allow your readers to see where you hurt and to see you revive and gain strength again. People respond because you initiate -dialogue, thoughts, words! You also show what you won't tolerate, the non-negotiable. Part of that involves the space that no one is allowed to enter unless you give them access, which shows you are still in control. How do you stay strong? By staying true to all that you are now and all that you are growing to become!”


BOOK AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM

EVENT DETAILS
Saturday, August 20, 2011, 4:00pm – 7:00pm
Hue-Man Bookstore & Café, 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd New York, NY 10027

The author is available for speaking engagements and community organization meetings. To arrange book signings or interviews contact Emma Diaz via email at findingyourforce@gmail.com. Visit author website at: http://findingyourforce.blogspot.com/

Monday, August 15, 2011

Mami to a Teen Daughter: I'm Gay ~



I wasn’t sure how I was going to tell her.

I was going through a deep internal battle. Things were happening to me and I was confused. What I felt was beautiful. It also scared me. It felt wrong. I wanted to push what I was feeling out of my body. I wanted to resist and deny it. I really believed that I was going to hell. That day, while I was doing yoga and my eyes were closed, I cried and cried. Then I did what I aways do—prayed for an answer.

I began reading excerpts from the Bible and every passage that I read was about how women would be stoned for this or that. Honor thy man. God made Eve for Adam. Men and women were made to procreate. And anything outside of that was a sin.

CLICK TO READ MORE: MAMIVERSE

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Book Release Party for Finding Your Force~



You are invited to the launch of my new book

Finding Your Force: A Journey to Love

Saturday, August 20, 2011
Venue: Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe
2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd
(Between 124th and 125th Streets)
New York, NY 10027
4:00pm – 7:00pm






Finding Your Force is a memoir written in the form of a love letter to a daughter. In this intimate conversation we journey into the darkest parts of Alicia’s soul. We walk with her as she digs deep underneath the ruins where all her secrets are kept. Santos is being called on an excavation to stop running and face those moments that have transformed her from surviving rape, healing through loss and coming out as a lesbian. This is a journey about life, death and rebirth. Alicia tells her daughter a story that is raw and heart wrenching. It is not a love story but definitely a story of love.

~

I am so grateful for all the love and support I have received during this process. I can't wait to share this moment with you.

Peace, light and LOVE~
Alicia

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Pre-Order Finding Your Force ~

Pre-Order your copy of FINDING YOUR FORCE A JOURNEY TO LOVE ~

This is it~ My memoir just went live for purchase.

I am offering a special discounted rate of $16.00 (book is $19.99) no sales tax, no shipping fees. Your book will be available at the book launch.














Finding Your Force is a memoir written in the form of a love letter to a daughter. In this intimate conversation we journey into the darkest parts of Alicia’s soul. We walk with her as she digs deep underneath the ruins where all her secrets are kept. Santos is being called on an excavation to stop running and face those moments that have transformed her from surviving rape, healing through loss and coming out as a lesbian. This is a journey about life, death and rebirth. Alicia tells her daughter a story that is raw and heart wrenching. It is not a love story but definitely a story of love.


Join me for the launch of my new book

Finding Your Force: A Journey to Love

When: Saturday, August 20, 2011

Time: 4:00pm - 7:00pm

Venue: Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe
2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd
(Between 124th and 125th Streets)
New York, NY 10027


Discount ends August 18th~

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Papa, watch me fly!


What's wrong with wanting more?
If you can fly - then soar!
With ALL there is -
why settle for.............
just a piece of sky?


Yentl (Medley), Barbra Streisand

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Haiti a country of strength and struggle~





Hey everyone,

I just wanted to check in and say thank you to everyone who has donated on INDIEGOGO towards the completion of Afrolatinos: The Untaught Story. In this update I want to share why HAITI was the country that impacted me the most.

The first time I visited Haiti was summer 2008.

Renzo and I went to DaJabon, which is the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. One of the things that we have been blessed with is the opportunity to learn about cultures.

This project is important for many reasons to educate, to inform, to honor, to recognize and to share differences. The most important reason this project exists is to implement change. This project is about providing solutions. We are not sitting around in forums and at conferences simply talking about the issues that exist. We want to effect change. We want to help these communities that have been ignored for far too long.

The second time I visited Haiti we stayed in Carrefour, just outside of Port-au-Prince. We went a year before the earthquake in 2010. What I found in Haiti was a tremendous amount of struggle and strength. I don’t want to focus on poverty because we know it exists. Poverty exists throughout all of Latin America.

Haiti is the country that means the most to me aside from my motherland la Republica Dominicana, because I know that there is so much I can do to help women and children of that nation. Mostly, I want to work on Dominican/Haitian relations. With your help, we can help tell the story of the Afrolatinos who do not have a voice and are living in devastating conditions.

Please spread the word about this important project. Help us tell THEIR story. Support our INDIEGOGO campaign at: AFRICA Lives in Latin America~


To learn more about Haiti visit our website WWW.AFROLATINOS.TV

Thanks for your support!

Peace, light and LOVE~
Alicia