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"Rocker Roller Rican" Luis Chaluisan Salsa Magazine-WEPAwebTV-roughrican MNN Productions


Time Warner Documentary About Luis Chaluisan Amherst 1986 BA Theater Arts. Rocker Roller Rican begins with film of Internationally recognized Nuyorican Performer El Extreme Luis Chaluisan in October 1975 at Amherst College (a mere three months after he turned professional as a dancer-singer at the age of 17 with the Alliance of Latin Artists in NYC.) It is thoroughly produced filmed review as he travels from the Bronx in 1975 to the present day through the national American arts world as a Ballet/Jazz/Salsa/Folkloric Dancer-Curated Artist-Latin/Indie Rock musician-CBS/Telemundo/PBS News Reporter-Television Producer-Published Author-Radio Show Host-TV Station Manager-National Slam Poetry Ct. Team Champion

By: Maria Hernandez

Executive Director

WEPAwebTV-Managing Editor

Salsa Magazine 7,700+ members


ROCKER ROLLER RICAN

Directed by: Maria Hernandez WEPAwebTV - New Edge Theater

Produced by: Mike Tapp MNN Time Warner Cable

Associate Producer: Ronald Chaluisan

Featuring: L.f. Chaluisan Batlle plus

Film Directed by: John Coles Talking Wall Pictures 1975

Film Directed by: Tony Ortiz Top Productions NYC 1984

Off Broadway Scenes Directed By: Petronia Paley 2002

Set Design by: Albert Chaluisan

Rocker Roller Rican - A Nuyorican Adventure

"It is an edgy take on a unique slice of Latino culture, presented with a very personal perspective."

Tom Zapiecki Production Manager at WBGU-TV

"Measured yet expressive, delivered with a weight and authority"

Toledo Blade community news WBGU-FM

"Among all the cookie cutters I’ve worked with over the years, Luis Chaluisan is truly unique."

Gerry Brooks Anchor news at 6, and 11 p.m WVIT-NBC CT.

"It's all the things that Luis Chaluisan is: infectious, deep, passionate, life-loving, beyond brilliant."

Gary Lee Washington Post

Featured at International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival

Critical Reviews of Luis Chaluisan's Work:

“Let the man talk to you for a half hour about his life and he'll make Jack Kerouac look like Emily Dickinson." Adam Klasfeld - Theater Mania

“Luis Chaluisan is a born storyteller. His gift for capturing the heart and soul of each character he portrays is not only convincing, but also inspiring. The show is full of humor, insight, poetry, and Puerto Rican pride. Chaluisan's smooth-talking narrator introduces the various vignettes with articulate wit and wisdom. One is a heartfelt homage to the original poets of the Nuyorican venue. His unique voice as a writer clearly displays his poetic influences” Elias Stimac - Backstage


“In an era when spoken-word poetry has carved out a niche in slam competitions and even on HBO's Def Poetry, Chaluisan's work is old- school - often as literate as it is lyrical, stuffed with images drawn from New York City life. Clem Richardson, NY Daily News --NY Daily News”

Clem Richardson - NY Daily News


“An exceptional surprise. Juan Moreno, Diario La Prensa --Diario La Prensa”

Juan Moreno - Diario La Prensa


“El Extreme was the most innovative combo that I heard cranking out a compelling blast of pure fun that smashed the barrier between funk, rap, jazz and blues. They call their music "Psychotic Latin Blues," and that's exactly what tey sounded like- a great big Captain Beefheart-meets Sun Ra in Puerto Rico Jam. EDITOR & PUBLISHER Stephen Leon Metroland Albany NY” Stephen Leon - Metroland


“Poet Performer recognized for groundbreaking work. Performing since the 1970's Chaluisan, a Wakefield resident, says he is honored by the recent recognition of his work ... but says "My goal has been to develop the art form and bring it to people who generally don't see it."” Noah Fowle - BX TIMES


“I think Spic Chic is strong stuff, right in the Nuyorican tradition. Poems and then stories back into poems that are often emotionally moving. A self exploration in a non-chronological history consistent in language and point of view, it is clearly a highly personalized work that is successful in the Nuyorican free-style genre and successful in the broader sense as well. David Henderson, author, ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss The Sky: Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Child”

David Henderson - Steve Cannon's A Gathering Of The Tribes Reviews

“Luis Chaluisan you have done so much for salsa music keeping it in the eyes and ears of so many. Your poems, music reviews and general news reach the masses and you shed light on the new, when people thought it was lost." Jose Vazquez-Cofresi - Orquesta SCC

In late 2008, Fly by Night Press (a subsidiary of A Gathering of the Tribes, NYC) opted to publish a compendium of poetry, photos, artwork, comedic essays and short stories dating back to 1975 under the title of Spic Chic (The Adventures of the Last Nuyorican), written by Luis Chaluisan (aka El Extreme). The term "Spic Chic" caused controversy in 1974 when it was used on the Bill Boggs mid-day talk show - then aired on Metromedia Channel 5 in NYC (now Fox Television).

The offhand remark was offered by Latin NY magazine editors to describe the infusion of vivid colors by Latino clothes designers then making their mark on NY's fashion world. The latter part of the promotional title (The Adventures of the Last Nuyorican) is based on a humorous quip in 2005 from Nuyorican poet Papoleto Melendez that “El Extreme represents the torn page” from the canon of previously published Nuyorican writers who flourished in the 1970’s and ‘80’s.

Meanwhile, writer David Henderson (‘Scuse Me While I Kiss The Sky: Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Child) is a bit more serious stating, “I think Spic Chic is strong stuff, right in the Nuyorican tradition. Poems and then stories back into poems that are often emotionally moving. A self exploration in a non-chronological history consistent in language and point of view, it is clearly a highly personalized work that is successful in the Nuyorican free-style genre and successful in the broader sense as well.” Both observations are welcomed by Bronx bred author Chaluisan - now residing in Brownsville, Brooklyn - who states, "I could have chased a traditional path in developing my work but I was having too much manic fun being off-beat and, besides, God had other plans for my creative life." With the publication of “Narrative of a Hybrid” in the Polemic Anthology (1976, Straight Ahead Press – Amherst, Massachusetts) Luis Chaluisan joined the ranks of period Nuyorican writers that included Pedro Pietri (“Puerto Rican Obituary” 1973), Miguel Pinero (Short Eyes 1973) and Lefty Barretto (Nobody’s Hero 1976). Mentored by Black Panther cultural minister Ed Bullins and later by Young Lord Eddie Figueroa (founder of the “New Rican Village" on the Lower East Side of New York) Chaluisan was invited to join the NY Public Theater’s emerging playwright unit headed by Crispin Larengeira in the summer of 1977. A chance meeting with magazine editor-in-chief Soledad Santiago paved the way for Chaluisan to land a job at Latin NY magazine – the nation’s first successful long term English language monthly publication focusing on Latino (primarily Puerto Rican vis-a-vis Nuyorican) arts and culture. The nineteen year old Chaluisan rose up the ranks from reporter to music editor between 1977-79 under the

tutelage of Latin NY publisher Izzy Sanabria which led to his being hired by WCBS network affiliate WFSB (Channel 3) in Hartford, Connecticut in June of 1979. For the next twenty fgive years he worked as a TV investigative reporter, producer, writer and marketing executive for PBS (Bowling Green, Ohio), Telemundo (Tucson, Arizona/Yakima, Washington), WCBS Channel 2 (New York), and News 12 Long Island, along with stints at radio station WGB in Albany among other mainstream media outlets in the US. Upon leaving the news business in 1997 and resettling in Hartford, CT, Chaluisan (once again performing fulltime as “El Extreme”) began to disseminate work he had developed as a musical composer and poet/essayist with his own indie rock groups dating back to 1982 (Little Otis and The Upsetters, The Blankets of Doom, La Gran Orquesta El Extreme, Gang Bang Bang, and El Extreme’s Electric Cabaret.). The effort led to his inclusion in the

National Slam Poetry movement as a State Slam Champion for CT. (1998/1999 in Austin, Texas and Chicago, Illinois.) His semi-final performance was captured on film by CBS' Sixty Minutes and featured in the news magazine's report on the tenth anniversary of the Slam movement. In 2000 he returned to NYC and set to work on organizing his written work and professional notes describing his media/educational experience which resulted in the off-Broadway play Spic Chic: S.panish P.eople I.n C.ontrol (initially a 2001 workshop at the Nuyorican Café in Manhattan with later runs at the Chelsea Playhouse and Spanish Repertory Theater). The performance at El Repertorio Espanol garnered the attention of producers for the 2004 Biennale Festival in Bonn, Germany where Spic Chic had its European premiere at the Bonn Opera House Theater. In the meantime, Chaluisan was approached by film director Henry Chalfant (“Style Wars”) to contribute both content and interview source material to the award winning documentary “From Mambo to Hip Hop” which aired on PBS in 2006. In 2007, Chaluisan moved to Puerto Rico after the death of his father Federico Chaluisan to spend a year in mourning and soaking in the poetry/writer’s scene at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, PR. With the help of University students and Professor Linda Rodriguez, El Extreme reemerged writing in both English and Spanish.


Presented by WEPAwebTV - New Edge Theater WEPAwebTV Roughrican Productions Rocker Roller Rican vlɒɡ Salsamagazine.com 2014 Recognition Awards Federico Chaluisan L.f. Chaluisan Batlle Editors WEPAwebTV - New Edge Theater Luis Chaluisan El Extreme Luis Chaluisan

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