Cleveland Students EXPRESS THEIR SUCCESS at Fifth AnnUAL AMERICA SCORES Cleveland Poetry slam

CLEVELAND, OH –Language is life for Gonzalo Villafan.; you can tell by the way his eyes light up when he speaks about poetry. To many, this would seem like an unusual interest for a 10-year-old 5th grader from Ohio City’s Walton K-8 School, but for Gonzalo and his America SCORES Cleveland (ASC) teammates poetry is an outlet for creative expression.







“I am excited to show what I feel inside of me. Poetry allows me to do that,” Gonzalo shared when asked about his upcoming performance in America SCORES Cleveland’s Poetry Slam!







He and his 15 classmates ranging in ages 8-12 will perform an original team poem, titled “Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall” before 15 other America SCORES Cleveland teams and their families on Friday, November 13 in John Hay High School’s Auditorium. Gonzalo will also take the stage alone to perform his own poem, a piece of spoken word so secret he refused to give away the title.







Three years ago, the story would have been very different. Plagued by shyness, Gonzalo never would have stepped foot on stage. But after experiencing the freedom of speaking his mind at the 2007 Slam!, he could talk to anyone. Something about performing in front of 600 people helped him to get over his fears and it probably didn’t hurt that his team walked home with the coveted Golden Mic Award. “I used to be afraid of speaking in front of people and my classmates, but the Poetry SLAM! helped me get over that,” said Gonzalo, “I was proud to be in SCORES that night.”







This freedom of expression has helped Gonzalo conquer his fears in the classroom, on stage and even in the doctor’s office. Gonzalo translates for his parents, who speak little English. Although it is difficult for Gonzalo to translate medical terms he does not even understand, he does it because he loves to help his mother, Maria, at his 2-month-old sister’s doctor appointments. SCORES has empowered Gonzalo to speak for those who sometimes cannot.







As one of the 16 individual poets performing at this year’s SLAM!, Gonzalo has the opportunity to be selected as one of two ASC ...