Cuéntame DC

Latine Heritage Month Showcase & Open Mic

An evening of poetry, storytelling & community with Tintas DC ft. Angela Pico & Lorena Ortiz followed by an open mic hosted by Azalea Aguilar. All are welcome to share their words, songs & stories.

Join the library and Tintas DC for a gathering to celebrate language, culture and the power of shared stories. The program will feature Angela Pico and Lorena Ortiz followed by an open mic where all are welcome to share. There will be a 4-minute time limit per performer. 

Tintas DC is a Latine writers group for storytellers in the DMV. Their mission is to share stories that build community

Featured Storytellers: 

Angela Pico

Angela Pico is a poet in Spanglish, Spanish and English. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa where she was awarded the Iowa Arts Fellowship and the Stanley Award. She is a PhD candidate in US Latino Literature at the University of Maryland, where she is an instructor of US Latino Literature and Creative Writing. She received her BA in Romance Languages and Literatures from Pomona College, and she also has an MA in French and Francophone World Studies from the University of Iowa. Angela writes poetry, prose and children’s stories. She has performed her work in Iowa City, Chicago, and Washington D.C., showcasing her love for the spoken word. In addition to her literary pursuits, she is a trained visual artist who has marketed her artwork in the Washington D.C. area. Her creative approach integrates literature, cultural studies, and visual arts.

Lorena Ortiz

Lorena Ortiz is a Mexican American fiction writer born in California and currently living in Washington DC. Her work has been published in PenDust Radio, The Acentos Review, The Latino Book Review, Konch Magazine, and Hola Cultura. She has been supported by VONA, Stanford, Tin House, Macondo, and Kenyon and she is a 2025 Periplus Fellow. Lorena is working on her debut novel.

Featured Host:

Azalea Aguilar

Azalea Aguilar is an emerging Chicana poet from South Texas, where salt air and childhood memories shape her poems. She writes about motherhood, survival, and the resilience found in spaces touched by addiction. Her work has appeared in Angel City Review, The Skinny Poetry Journal, The Acentos Review, and her poem Hide and Seek was named Editor’s Choice by Everscribe Magazine. She has read at events hosted by the American Poetry Museum in DC and is completing her first manuscript, a collection exploring love, loss, and inheritance.

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