What an honor to be a featured author at the 20th Dodge Poetry Festival!

I’ve been a featured poet and headliner at festivals all over the world (more than a dozen countries), Split This Rock in DC, the Brooklyn Book Festival, and I’d never seen anything like the lineup for this year’s 20th celebration of the Dodge Poetry Festival.

Attending the 2006 festival in Stanhope, NJ as a baby poet was a life-altering revelation for me as a writer, reader, and human being.

Which is all to say: what a mind-blowing experience to be a featured author (nearly 20 years later!) at this iconic festival (the largest literary gathering in North America!).

Heartfelt thank you to everyone who traveled (some from several states away) to see me at the festival. It meant so much to me.

#DodgePoetryFestival
#CarlosOnTour
#20thDodgePoetryFestival

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the long-awaited release of our award-winning short film: “Abuelita”

A couple of years back, Joe West, Brent Shuttleworth, and I hatched this idea to make a visually-stunning experimental short film of our track “Abuelita” (from my album, “Opus,” which was produced by Joe and Brent).

I was completely awed by the vision of Joe West, who directed, edited, filmed (with Shawn Hudgins), and conceived of the idea.

We’ve been quietly submitting the short film to festivals across the globe and, honestly, mind-blown by the ways it’s been celebrated:

33 awards (from 13 countries across 4 continents)
40 Official Selections for film festivals (17 countries across 6 continents)

I’m not going to list all the accolades here, but it’s been wild.

After a long wait, we are FINALLY ready to share our award-winning short film, Abuelita:

To watch it, CLICK HERE

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Playa Flamingo Writing Residency in Guanacaste, Costa Rica

These five days in Guanacaste, Costa Rica for my Playa Flamingo Writing Residency have been such an incredible recharge and allowed me to make a huge leap in my poetry manuscript in progress.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone at Atmosphere Press, and especially
Dr. Nick Courtright (their Founder & CEO), for selecting me for this sublime residency and making this possible.
Scroll down for a shot of my roommate (photo 4) and my neighbor (photo 5) in Playa Flamingo.
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I’ve been nominated for 2024 NACE Speaker of the Year!

I am humbled & honored to be nominated for 2024 NACE Speaker of the Year.
My calendar is absolutely absurd right now, but I’m trying to find a way to get to Denver later this month for the conference. Huge congrats to my fellow nominees.
I often pinch myself that I get to travel the world & deliver keynotes for companies, organizations, and schools on how to build spaces that are healthier, safer, more productive, and—most important of all—more fair & inclusive.
It’s a joy to collaborate with curious & passionate leaders committed to the difficult, complex, & necessary work of making a better world for everyone.
I do not take the blessing & gift of my life as a keynote speaker for granted.
Every day I wake up filled with gratitude for this path. There is so much work to be done.
My heartfelt gratitude again to NACE on this #NACEOneAwards nomination.
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A bucket list trip a lifetime in the making

A bucket list trip a lifetime in the making: relishing and savoring these past few weeks in Rio and Bahia. A trip I have dreamed of for so long.
I lived in Brasil when I was very little, continuing to speak Portuguese with my sister when we’d play even after we left.
There is something innate about this epic country and the ways in which people, relationships, & the social rituals of celebrating connection remain at the center of each day.
I am so grateful to share this with my love, my kids, my mom, and our chosen family here.
I look forward to returning someday soon. 💚
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