Chicharra Poetry Slam Festival

04/23/2025

If you weren't able to attend this year's Chicharra Poetry Slam Festival or you just want to relive some of your favorite moments from the Champions Stage, you can watch the whole thing - Indie Finals and Team Finals on Youtube thanks to our dear friends at Sopapilla Productions and ABQ Channel 26!

It was an absolutely mind-blowing night of poetry and now you can relive it whenever you want :)

This is the final stage of the 2025 Chicharra Poetry Slam Festival (both the Indie Championship and the Team Championship).Individual Results:1st Place: Blac...

04/17/2025

When you vote for an event to win an award, you are voting for all of the organizers, volunteers, venues and sponsors that bring it to life. When you vote for the Chicharra Poetry Slam Festival you are voting for all of the poets who make up this incredible community too!

And winning awards like this help us find new sponsors and donors, so you are also helping us continue improving the festival.

If you haven't had a chance to vote for us yet at the NM Entertainment Awards, please take a minute to do so today! You can vote from anywhere in the nation and both of our categories are right on the first page (Top Annual Event and Top Event Producer)!

04/07/2025

Friends, I am so honored to say that the Chicharra Poetry Festival and myself have been nominated for Top Annual Event and Top Event Producer in the NM Entertainment Awards! If you know me, you know I pour every ounce of myself into this festival to try and make it something special, so if you would please go vote for us, (you can vote from anywhere) it would mean the world to us!

Both of these categories are right on the first page, and it only takes a minute, so please show some love and help us bring home these awards for our community!

https://www.nmentertains.com/nmeawards

03/23/2025

After an incredible & intense night of poetry in front of over 200 people, with very close scores and amazing performances, we have our 2025 Chicharra Poetry Slam Festival Southwest Regional Champions! And all of these poets were amazing so please give love to all of them!

In teams competition, fourth place goes to ABQ’s own Voices of the Barrio, with third place going to Nevermore, a second place win for Ghost Poetry and our new champions are Spotlight Poetry!!!

In individual competition, your winners are, in fourth place Penehuro Williams, third place winner Demetri Manabat and in second place is Khalil Houston. Your Individual champion is, for the second year in a row, Black Chakra!

Listen, 2025 was amazing and we appreciate all of the poets who came out, so thank you all!

03/23/2025

Poets Picnic is at Red Door Brewing!

03/22/2025

Nerd Slam is at the Gazebo in Old Town Plaza, 200 N Plaza St NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104 at 2:30 pm!

03/22/2025

Good news! You can still get tickets to tonight's Finals stage for only $25 and see the top 4 individual poets and top 4 teams compete!

And this lineup is epic!

https://artsandculture.cabq.gov/8573/8574

03/22/2025

After two nights of incredible competition and powerful performances, we have our Finalists!

All of the poets and teams gave wonderful performances and showed tremendous heart, but only these 4 individual poets and 4 teams will be going to the Champions Stage tomorrow night (Saturday, March 22)!

Our fifth place poet and fifth place team will be invited to perform as the sacrificial poets before each bout as well.

Individual Finalists:

1. Black Chakra
2. Demetri Manabat
3. Penehuro Williams
4. Khalil Houston

5. Ember Matthews: Indie Sac Poet

Team Finalists:

1. Never More
2. Spotlight Poetry
3. Voices of the Barrio
4. Ghost Poetry

5. Su***de Squad: Sac Team

Congratulations to all of these amazing artists! The Champions Stage goes down at the South Broadway Cultural Center (1025 Broadway Blvd SE) and doors open at 6 pm. This is going to be a night to talk about!

If you want to cheer on these poets, and see who wins their share of $5000 in prizes and a regional championship title, go get your tickets before they sell out!

https://artsandculture.cabq.gov/8573/8574

03/21/2025

This morning's side events are fire too y'all! Come out and share in the open mics or attend one of these fierce workshops!

03/21/2025

Here are your rankings for the first night of the Chicharra Poetry Slam Festival! These bouts are fire y'all!

03/20/2025

In case you haven't had a chance to read this awesome article by Michael Hodock and the Paper, here is a link :)

The main event begins tonight and the first round of bouts start at 6 pm, then again at 8 pm at Red Door Brewing, Ex Novo downtown and Damascio's Bar and Tapas! Do not miss the chance to see 75 of the hottest poets in the nation get down in our hometown!

Zachary Kluckman has been a poet for 20 years. He says he’s been invited to read and perform his work in locations as far as Kenya. He’s written poems

03/20/2025

Poets, we'll see you at the Main Library Downtown (501 Copper NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102) for orientation and swag!