Bronx Stories

Bronx Stories was an evening of storytelling, poetry and music inspired by The Bronx and the works of art on view in the Art AIDS America exhibition. Presentations by Orlando Ferrand, Wanda Hernandez-Parks and Charlie Vazquez, hosted by Simply Rob, followed by an open mic.

PARTICIPANT BIOGRAPHIES

ORLANDO FERRAND is a Cuban-American award-winning poet, writer and multidisciplinary artist. A member of PEN American Center, the National Writers Union and Visual AIDS, he’s the author of the poetry collections Citywalker and La Otra Isla as well as the memoir Apologia: Cuban Childhood in My Backpack. He’s a writer/artist in residence at Hostos, and a teaching artist at the Bronx Council on the Arts.

WANDA HERNANDEZ-PARKS is a leading advocate for women living with HIV/AIDS and poor and working New Yorkers more broadly. In 2009, she participated in the first-ever White House summit on HIV/AIDS and homelessness. She recently helped lead the successful campaign to win a 30% rent cap affordable housing protection for over ten thousand homeless and at-risk New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS, including testifying during City Council and state legislative hearings. She is both a member and serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of VOCAL-NY, which builds power among people affected by HIV/AIDS, drug use and mass incarceration to create healthy and just communities. She is also working towards a publication of her poetry and works as a Peer Educator at Harlem United.

CHARLIE VAZQUEZ is the author of novels, short stories and poetry. He's the Director of the Bronx Writers Center and served as NYC Coordinator for Puerto Rico's Festival de la Palabra, an international literary festival, for four years. He lives in the Bronx, where he was born and raised and has finished his third novel and second short story collection.