words with real bishes: ramona

welcome to words with real bishes - an antidote to the famous for being famous and orange as the new black.  this week i celebrate ramona, paper mache artist, painter, and educator. she is also a first generation xicana. her work gives life!  if you're a real bish of color and have something to say, please email me here and let's chat. because you, baby are a star!  note: mama lisa is my teacher name and honorable designation. 

hola, hermana!

hola, mama lisa! 

mslisa: el primero algun, tell me how we met?

ramona: we met at encompass academy in east oakland. we immediately connected i think because we looked like the students there. we also both share a conscious and holistic approach to education as women of color.

mslisa: y amamos junot diaz! where were you born?

ramona: i was born in guanajuato, mexico. i came here with my parents when i was 13 years old.

mslisa: tell me about your experience?

ramona:  my parents were migrant farm workers. they came here to find work. it was a culture shock for me at first. i was not expecting such a hectic pace and the language barrier was difficult. i didn't feel very welcome.

mslisa: why didn't you feel welcome?

ramona : well, i was only 13 and i was going through puberty, so that was awkward already. and all these strangers around me. i definitely felt like an outsider.

mslisa; where did you and your parents settle in california?

ramona: we settled in sacramento where we already had family. that comes from a migrant tradition of going where you will have support. you know, it's weird - i don't think of sacramento as my home as i do guanajuato, but if i have a home in the US it's here.

mslisa: did you accomplish getting your education here?

(c) ramona garcia 

ramona: yes. i took english as a second language classes as a kid. i sort of became a nerd. i worked really hard in school and then i got accepted to UC Berkeley.

mslisa: what did you study at Berkeley?

ramona: i have a degree in art and education.

mslisa: you had a double major?

ramona: yes. it was through art that i was able to overcome a lot of my anxiety coming to the states. i also wanted to teach through art. it empowered me and i want to empower other people of color.

mslisa: so tell me about the context of your work?

(c) moon series  / ramona garcia 

ramona: i feel my work has really changed in the last couple of years. i've become more interested in different mediums. i'm currently working on making healing dolls. these are traditional dolls from guanajuato made from paper mache. the craft has indigenous roots, but that's changed with mechanization and plastic toys. so the artisans in guanajuato are having a hard time finding a market to sell them,

(c) ramona garcia

(c) moon series / ramona garcia 

(c) moon series / ramona garcia 

(c) moon series / ramona garcia 

mslisa: what do you intend to do with the dolls you've made?

ramona: well, primarily for me it's a form of cultural preservation; to keep the art alive.

mslisa: are you still teaching?

ramona: yes. i teach workshops for women on making the dolls. i would like to do more. i think this doll has a lot of potential not only in teaching about the folk art of guanajuato, but also for healing purposes.

mslisa: can you explain more about the healing uses of the doll?

ramona: it gave me healing to make them, so i want to pass that on to other people, particularly women of color because we deal with a lot of shit. i also think, in a metaphorical way, they have the potential to open people up.

mslisa: do you plan to go to graduate school at some point?

ramona: yes. i'm looking for an art therapy program. i think that would blend well into the work that i'm doing.

mslisa: what motivates you as an educator?

ramona: well, i've worked with children in schools who were dealing with a lot. the schools and programs didn't always meet their needs culturally. art can not only be a tool of expression, but can also be healing and tap into a higher level of awareness in a child;  (to understand) who we are and where we come from.

mslisa: you had an exhibition recently, tell me about that?

ramona: yes, i was in a show at sol collective. it's the only space we have in sacramento. the exhibition was called revisiting home : portraits of belonging and identity. it was interesting to me to reflect on my childhood and first coming to the states. my pieces were mostly self-portraits.

mslisa: what mediums did you use?

ramona: i use acrylic, watercolors, and paper mache.

mslisa : i'd seen images from the show you shared on facebook. i wanted to buy one! it's such a brilliant piece. it was a self-portrait of you topless with the moon. can you give me some more context about that?

moon series (c) ramona garcia

ramona: that one really brings together things i was dealing with - a response to all these images of white westernized beauty and barbie dolls and my current self.  the full moon is very feminine and it has all these cycles. for me, even if the moon does not seem full all the time, you know the whole is still there, even if you only see pieces of it during certain cycles. that self-portrait represents that for me.

mslisa: tell me more about what you've learned making the dolls?

ramona: when i went back to mexico i asked the artisans i was working with about the indigenous connection to the dolls.  most of them told me the craft came from spain. but, at the museum of anthropology in mexico city they have the exact same dolls on exhibition, only made from ceramic by the aztecas. they are called la muneca teotihuacan or the teotihuacan doll.

mslisa: can you tell me where the artesanos are from?

ramona: they're from celaya, a town in guanajuato. the art of paper mache is very vibrant there. i work closely with one artisan, her name is juana.

mslisa: you are such an extraordinary young woman. muchas gracias para hablar con mio! 

ramona: igualmente, mama lisa! 

ramona con juana, una artesana en celaya
guanajuanto, mexico

words with real bishes : bijou

kreativity rules everything around me

welcome to the next install of words with real bishes. this is an interview platform for every day grown black women. because you, baby are a star! are you grown and fabulous? are you holding it down with grace and fortitude? do you believe that cookie monster will save us all? are you about that life? got something to say? then please, email me here and let's chat.

today we have the honor of interviewing bijou, aka bijou m. kream. she's a senior development associate for youthspeaks.org, a businesswoman, and hardcore fashionista. a young renaissance sister of our time.  check out her website here.

hey girl!

hey girl!

mslisa: so tell me how we met?

bijou: we met through my fabulous sister dimitrua. i remember one valentine's day we were all single and we went to a tiki bar. that was cool. (i enjoyed) hanging out and getting all up in your fabulous aura,

mslisa:  you're too sweet! thank you. where were you born and raised?

bijou: i was born and raised in east oakland, ca.

mslisa: i think of you as quite the go-getter. between your work at youthspeaks, your eye wear line, and work as a stylist, how do you do all that? tell me a bit about what drives you?

bijou: what drives me the most is i hate being bored. i'm always doing something with my hands, making stuff. for now i'm juggling multiple things. it's hard work and tiring, but i know one day i'll be boss lady millionaire kream! 

mslisa: outstanding! next, i want to ask you about relationships with men of different races. i agree with missy : 'black, white, puerto rican, chinese boys'! how do you feel about this personally?

bijou: (giggles) : i'm all for it! i'm an equal opportunity dater. i don't think race matters as much. having a spiritual connection with someone that treats you well are the most important things.  i think people in the south would disagree with me.

mslisa :  why do you say that?

bijou: it's more segregated in the south. people are a bit ignorant about getting together. there's definitely a boundary there.

mslisa: do you think that's because of slavery?

bijou: definitely. the south was built on the backs of black people. because of its history there's a lot of distrust of white people there. folks tend to keep it separate.

mslisa: you're going to the afropunk festival this summer, what inspired you to check it out?

bijou: well, i was planning an epic trip for my birthday. some friends told me about this cool festival happening in brooklyn and i was like 'yeah! let's do it'. so, i got my little crew together and we're going. d'angelo was there last year...he's hella fine! i figured i have to go at least once in my life.

mslisa: who is an inspiration to you as a black woman?

bijou: the women in my family inspire me. i know a lot of people look up to celebrities or whatever, but the women in my family are fabulous. they're classy, loving, supportive, and down to earth. particularly my grandmother. the resilience the women of her generation had as women of color, is an inspiration to me.

 mslisa: tell me about your eye wear line, millionaire kream.

bijou: my eye wear consists of frames and accessories. most of the materials are hand-picked. each pair is unique and a limited edition.  the last line i put out was the roma collection. it was inspired by a trip i took to italy with my sister.  every pair has a name after a city we visited or a roman god.

mslisa: that's fabulous! what influences your personal style?

bijou : my style is not influenced by trendy fashion. that's just not cost effective!  for me, my big thing is thrifting, especially things from the 1980s. i like to rock what i like, which is usually black with a pop of color. i also love accessories. i love vintage, chunky chains and big earrings.

mslisa: how do you feel about your generation today?

bijou: i feel like my generation is one of the last generations that are real.  i mean, we played outside until the street lights went on, we respected our elders, and got an ass-whoppin if we didn't. we had real library cards. i think young people born in the 1990s didn't experience any of that with the changes in technology.

mslisa: things are quite complex for us in our society. how do you cope with being a young black woman in america ?

bijou:  i think the most important thing is to stay true to myself;  to remember my upbringing and my roots. being a young woman of color, we're often bombarded with images of an ideal we don't fit; that we don't look a certain way. i don't struggle with those issues because of the values i was raised with. i've always seen the beauty in who i am.

mslisa : thank you so much for talking with me today.

bijou: girl, thank you!

words with real bishes : mekela

(c) popart rupaul by bellonart

words with real bishes came out of an idea i had about my girls. they're lovely grown women, well-educated, strong, vulnerable, honest, supportive, and often hilarious. i wanted to do an interview format where we talk about all manner of things: the unbearable blackness of being in america, beauty, the legend that is cookie monster, and our current situations. also for the laughs. if you'd like to participate in words with real bishes, email me here. 

my first amazing sister is mekela. she's a graduate of UC davis, a substitute teacher for oakland unified school district, a mother of two gigantically tall sons, and a social media bon vivant (it was from her i learned what a hashtag even was a few years ago).

hey girl!

hey girl!

mslisa: so, tell me how we met?

mekela:  we met (about 10 years ago) as teachers at learning for life in east oakland. our supervisor was a bish! i knew you had black in you, but i wasn't sure how you identified. then you said something and i knew you were black!

mslisa: (chuckling) where were you born?

mekela: i was born and raised in oakland. i grew up in west oakland and went to oakland tech. i wasn't an east oakland person. when i was 7 i moved to kansas city for about 8 months, then came back. my grandmother lived right across the street from the dmv in temescal.

mslisa: i know you're a huge warriors fan. things have gotten super hot for them. how do you feel about the NBA finals?

mekela: i think it's so amazing! i grew up watching basketball; dr. jay and jordan, all these cool players. i broke up with the warriors once when they traded chris webber.  monta ellis was curry in 2007-08. there was always some kind of strange trade going on with the warriors. in 2012-13 monta got traded and the owner got booed out of the stadium. the team as a whole is doing so well right now. i can't believe it!

mslisa: you and i have an on-going facebook feud where you tag me with anti-cat propaganda. why do you hate cats so much?

mekela:  why do you call it propaganda?! i don't trust them. you never know where they are. i think they're plotting to murder us all and suck our breath out in our sleep.

mslisa: i sometimes tag you back with goat videos. what do you love about goats?

mekela: well, i'm a capricorn and i identify with goats. a capricorn never goes down without a fight! we're also ambitious. one of my nicknames growing up was billy goat because i did a lot of testing of items with my mouth. i think goats are so playful and friendly and cute. one day i want to have a goat farm.

mslisa: you recently posted a meme of a sexy dude for a BET film called chocolate city? girl, it was hilarious! is this real? i think it's a joke.

mekela: lisa, what's real anyway? well, i thought it was so funny, but i didn't get it. straight to BET? it was supposed to be in theaters? but, yes the film is real.  did you see the trailer? ginuwine is in it and brian white. girl, there are loads of chocolate in the movie.

mslisa: (cracking up) who is an inspiration to you as a black woman?

mekela: well today it's serena! she's super bad! but tomorrow it could be someone else, even in my own life. you know brandi is my BFF. i think she's way cool. i will say this; i was really faithful and into traditional african dance back in the day. there was a time when i was dancing with all of these black women. it was the most positive energy all the time. i was able to build wonderful relationships with those women. it gave me a lot of confidence as a black person.

mslisa: thank you, girl! this was cool.

mekela: thank you!

set fire to the stars

                                                          set fire to the stars / mad as birds films 

i always have a book of poetry somewhere; leroi jones, shakespeare's sonnets, william blake, or charles bukowski. my favorite is walt whitman's leaves of grass, a tattered old paperback which i still have and return to from time to time.  his language is sumptuous, erotic, romantic, and beautiful. now voyager, go forth to seek and find. that line to me is a sort of cipher; to be unafraid and alone in the world and my human experience, however difficult the process and passage may be.

dylan thomas is similar in his impeccable use of the english language and his startling, paganistic, and violent images of love and death (because what else is there, really? what are the two things we are doomed to experience, but love in all her anguish, bliss, and rage. and death in its finality).

i enjoyed this movie for its depiction of thomas; an other-worldly man no one could begin to comprehend. he doesn't adhere to social constraints or mores; he's a boozer, a brawler, and says what he thinks, even in the company of scholars and administrators at yale. in an early scene he's at a house party carrying a woman over his shoulder while she beats his back with a pan. ' i believe in naked women in red macintoshes!' (macintosh is british english for a waterproof coat. so, imagine that. maybe she's also in strappy heels).

the story takes john m. brinnin (elijah wood), a thomas fan and academic, on a speaking tour of the states, beginning in new york in the early 1950s. thomas immediately is out of sorts and out of place. realizing that gotham has too many things to seduce and distract the poet, they retreat to brinnin's county cabin in connecticut in preparation for their next speaking engagement.

as you would expect, thomas goes on a bender then barely makes it through his reading, only to bash the masters of the universe at yale with contempt:

' i wish we were all hermaphrodites,' he says. ' so we could fuck ourselves.'

the film is shot in black and white and the production design is dreary, muddy, and dark as if to mirror thomas' misanthropic disposition. for days, he holds onto a letter from his estranged wife caitlin before retreating to the woods to read it and has hallucinations about her. she berates him in his mind, ' ...little man, half-man, crumpled boy.'  ' ...this is how it has to be until we devour each other, until we're set free.' 

her words refer to the destructive nature of their relationship;  fueled by love, anger, poverty, and booze.

the best sections of the film and its story are thomas's poetry. his words. to listen to verse and meter and allusion and grasp at the depths; to see the images in your mind.  you understand what he speaks of and his sense of wonder.

And death shall have no dominion. 

Dead men naked they shall be one 

 With the man in the wind and the west moon; 

 When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone, 

 They shall have stars at elbow and foot; 

 Though they go mad they shall be sane, 

 Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; 

 Though lovers be lost love shall not; 

 And death shall have no dominion. And death shall have no dominion. 

 Under the windings of the sea 

 They lying long shall not die windily; Twisting on racks when sinews give way, 

 Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break; Faith in their hands shall snap in two, And the unicorn evils run them through; Split all ends up they shan't crack; 

 And death shall have no dominion. 

 And death shall have no dominion. 

 No more may gulls cry at their ears Or waves break loud on the seashores; Where blew a flower may a flower no more Lift its head to the blows of the rain; Though they be mad and dead as nails, Heads of the characters hammer through daisies; Break in the sun till the sun breaks down, And death shall have no dominion.

birdman!

i'm a big fan of alejandro innaritu because he has such a divine nameand lyrical. one of my favorite films in the history of everything is amores perros (love dogs).

what makes innaritu such a dream is that he is a first-rate storyteller of fantastical realism (a bit like terrance malick, but with more actual talking). his films usually involve many characters, inter-connected in the same place and time; often by a random encounter, accident, or situation as happens in life.  his movies can be super deep and meandering such a biufiful which i bored out of during the first half.  babel was much better and very humanistic in its narrative.

birdman is magical in many ways. it starts out strong, then nose dives a bit near the end, but you want to stick with it like a lover you care desperately about. it's excellently cast with michael keaton
(playing a character that is a brilliant mock on his batman days, even down to the raspy voice he used).  keaton plays riggan thomson, the superstar of the birdman movie franchise. he's written, directed, and stars in a play adaptation based on a collection of short stories by raymond carver.

throw in riggan's daughter, working as his personal assistant, who's fresh out of rehab, his ex-wife, his lover, his colleagues ( the hilarious, neurotic and self-obsessed actors played by naomi watts and ed norton), and his confidant and lawyer, played by zach galifianakis (also a riot). 

riggan's existentialist crisis is exacerbated by his desire to create something with meaning. what is art? what is love? aging, death, and humanity. who is he? all of this plays out as his birdman alter-ego whispers in riggan's ear preying on his self-doubts and anxieties. man, without me you're nothing! 

then there's the technical tour de force of the film which seems like one continuous take as characters zig-zag throughout the theater, onto and off the stage, and the streets. the lighting shifts from desaturated drab browns and beiges of the old theater to luminous blues and and silver on the stage. the production design is full of clues and symbols. on his dressing room mirror, riggan has a note taped to it which reads  a thing is a thing not what is said of a thing. this across from his altar with a buddha head and lotus and his vanity poster of birdman.

it's definitely worth seeing if for nothing else the laughs, the great acting, and following the chaos down the rabbit hole.  it will remind you that most of the time we don't know what the fuck we're doing (like making a good piece of work), but we're doing it really, really well.

beyond the lights

 courtesy BET / Relativity Media

this i love. so much i've seen it twice. 

perhaps it's a bit corny, but it's one of those corny romances that works. it's a good story; full of charm, redemption, love, and transformation. the kind of chocolate dreams are made of. 

written and directed by gina prince-bythewood (love & basketball), beyond the lights tells the story of noni (gugu mbatha-raw), a gifted mixed-race black girl from brixton. her mother is white (played awesomely by minnie driver) and her black father is out of the picture. their relationship is a sort of updated gypsy rose lee and mama rose. 

' mama, i'm gonna be a star!' 'i call the shots now, mama!' 

while noni is a little girl doing talent shows, macy jean realizes noni is their ticket to the big time. it is inconsequential what noni herself may want to create with her artistry. 

fast forward 15 years and noni is teamed up as the hyper-sexualized sidekick to a white rapper named kid culprit. together, they have a string of number 1 hits and ridiculous videos. noni is glammed up in a lavender weave, long nails, and gilded pop gear. 

after the billboard awards she snaps and tries to take a leap off the balcony of her hotel. she's saved by kaz (nate parker), the cop hired as her security detail. (the fact that noni and her mom live in a glass house in LA, it didn't make much sense why they were staying in a hotel in LA?) 

  ultimately, beyond the lights is a fantasy, a fairy tale true love story. kaz is a caring, down to earth cat who is unaffected by the mania and chaos of noni's world. through his support and kindness, noni begins to transform and make changes, but she doesn't give up her music or ambitions for him. in one scene she clips the talons and cuts off the lavender weave in favor of her natural hair. 

it was refreshing to see a film narrative about a black woman and man falling in love and supporting one another as a unit. price-bythewood had to jump through mad hoops to get this film made with two black leads. it is also fantastic see a mainstream film about a black woman's transformation to her authentic self. how many recent hollywood films are released such as that? one for zero. 

brilliant. 

free the nipple

i enjoy indie, under the radar films. i never know what gem of brilliance and good art i may find (knowing that i love the dark and dreary, a friend in malmo, sweden hipped me to 'let the right one in' after she'd read the book).

unfortunately, free the nipple is not one of them gems. it rips off everything from sophia coppola's production and art design, music soundtrack style, to the guerilla girls and pussy riot's pink robber masks. there is brilliant dialogue such as, 'we didn't get the permits. i let everyone down.' 

free the nipple is a film where you don't know what the fuck is going on or what the fuck just happened. the main protagonist is with (yes, with). she's a journalist looking for an amazing story. she happens across liv and her crew of boobs-out,cape wearing protesters. they have no name or a collective purpose other than if it's legal for men to go about shirtless, why can't chicks?

then with takes over. she becomes their primary investor, manager, and coach behind the whole movement. she names them girllrillas or some shit, she magically gets a $5k check and they move from working from liv's basement squat (which looks more like a loft than any squat i've ever seen) to an abandoned indoor pool. 

there's very little character development in this story; spaces and circumstances suddenly change. there's lots of magic in this movie. such as when liv gets arrested trying to save with and is held on a
$ 25k bond. the girls throw a fundraiser at a dive bar, but they come up $ 24,500.00 short! then with's friend, jim black, a cigar smoking public relations father figure, magically writes her a blank check. (for a feminist film about women being self-sufficient and defiant, it sucked that a daddy-figure eventually comes to the rescue anyway). there's no growth here.

i wasn't sure if it was going for comedy, melodrama or a weird mash of docu-dramedy. in a word, it's a mess. there are some nicely framed shots, cool art, good music, and a hilarious cameo by jeane garafalo (who i think was doing an impersonation of the performance artist marina abramovic).  otherwise this film isn't much more than a hipster trip without substance.

this is lina esco's first feature film. how she bankrolled this project is baffling, but she has some very rich friends. maybe someone thought she's the next lena dunham; all that hip, edgy, young girl power type-shit. but dunham is hands down a much more talented writer and director.  i read esco's profile which listed her accomplishments such as modeling in france and then moving to england to work in theater (i thought, coat check or concessions?). she also does stuff to help dolphins.

she had a role on the series 'cane' if you remember that at all. it was a prime time soap in the vein of dallas about a rich cuban-american family in miami. there was lots of rum, scando, and people strolling around the family estate in white linen clothes. it was cancelled after one season.

perhaps that gig gave lina the seed money to save flipper.

i don't recommend this film at all, but definitely root for beyond the lights!