Black Americas Network

Mariposa Fernández

Mariposa Fernández is a Puerto Rican spoken word poet and performance artist Mariposa María Teresa Fernández was born and raised in the Bronx (NYC). In her poems, which often combine Spanish and English lines, Mariposa explores issues of racism, empowerment and diasporic identity from a Nuyorican Afro-Latina perspective. She is the author of Born Bronxeña: Poems on Identity, Love & Survival (2001) and her poetry has been included in The Afro-Latin@ Reader: History and Culture in the United States (2010, ed. Miriam Jimenez & Juan Flores) and many other anthologies. Currently, Mariposa is hosting "Barrio Poetix"- a weekly open mic show at La Marqueta in Spanish Harlem/El Barrio.