Cielo profile picture

Cielo

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me

Here I am! I'm on my grind and always trying to stay centered in the whirlwind, while learning and growing. I was born in the Bronx and raised in the theatre. Ran around the Nuyorican, Public Theater and other venues literally when I was in diapers. As a truly free spirited child, I created my first local rap group, Silk Satin Lace, with girlfriends, Amira and Dyhana at age 11. My brief childhood acting career included television, jobs within and outside of the family owned African Caribbean Poetry Theatre, and ended after my return from a run in France with the Family Repertory Company at the age of 13. My father was an up and coming actor, my mother is a respected world class poet and visual artist, and the arts as a whole are in my DNA. I formed my first company at the age of 24 and currently work in the legal industry as an assistant with an international corporate law firm. Nowadays, my focus is on family, redesigning my corporation, packaging my art, real estate, enhancing my art collection, oh and the next vacation. My various connections to the arts remain, are constantly developing, and will always be active parts of my being.Feel free to support my friends, especially my cousin Daoud's dope clothing line, coup d'etat Brooklyn; our lil' bro Mr. Stephens who is revamping the skating sport as we know it with his Dipskate crew; Raquel Cepeda, who made me think twice about buying diamonds; and so many others who are making a difference in one way or another.

Myspace Layouts at Pimp-My-Profile.com / Sing Me to Sleep

My Interests

Progressive thinking and Evolution.

I'd like to meet:

Latinos who are in touch with all aspects of our history and have no trouble acknowledging our African, Asian and indigenous roots. Let's keep it real, stop the inbred racism, and act like we know.

Music:

Latin Jazz, especially my great-uncle, the late famed "Joe Loco" credited for introducing Mambo and Cha Cha Cha to the United States, and numerous friends of the family who I grew up listening to, such as Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, Dave Valentin, and Paquito. In addition, I enjoy many genres including Celtic, Modern and Classic R&B, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Perico Ripiao, Samba, Country, Rap, House, Reggeaton, Gregorian Chant, Cantos para Orisha, Rock, Metal, Gospel, Negro Spirituals, and so much more.

Movies:

Got to rep a couple of the movies my Daddy (RIP) was in - Fort Apache and Short Eyes, oh and the movie where Dad was a character, Piñero. Some of my other favorites are BLING, In the Time of the Butterflies, Frida, Matrix, Drumbline, and so many others. I'm more of the nerdy documentary type than a movie buff.

Television:

The Episodes of Miami Vice that Dad was in, PBS, IFC, HGTV, DIY Network, TLC, BBC, CNN, FIT TV, NYC TV, Univision, Galavision, BET, BET Jazz, Telemundo, SiTV, TV One, Mun2, the Russian news channels, the Indian channels, all those Music and on demand channels, and several more.

Books:

Poetry, especially my Mom's Yerba Buena and Bluestown Mockingbird Mambo, and all those literary works written by close and well respected friends of the family such as Jesus Papoleto Melendez, Pedro Pietri (RIP), Amiri Baraka, Louis Reyes Rivera, Nicholasa Mohr, and far too many others to list here. Other books that I have appreciation for are Love in the time of Cholera, For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf, Assata, the McKinney's collection, the New York Legal Assistant Handbook, HERBS, Orin Orisa, and many many more. I'm more into non-fiction and references when it comes to reading. I'm hardly the Harlequin Novel nor Zane Enthusiast.

Heroes:

Our Ancestors. Louis Reyes Rivera

My Blog

So Low

Cats are funny, want to act up, when it ain't nothingWe don't walk lost, understand the lure of fast-talkReading in between the lines but there's not muchTo be said for sandcastles built in the air, l...
Posted by Cielo on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:56:00 PST

Dance With Me

He wants to, dance with meGroove to the mambo of our African ancestorsSyncopated rhythms jumping through the soulFeeling like home, hearts beating, feet skipping stepsTaking twirls, dipping low, windi...
Posted by Cielo on Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:17:00 PST

My Lost Neighbor

How funny is the way she wonders, when the evidence is in her faceSitting comfortably at home plate, as he works the ladies at each baseUnable to make sense of signs that are obvious, dangerously inex...
Posted by Cielo on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:40:00 PST

Not That Slow

We saw you coming early, trying to be a disruptionFittin' to get in the way, driven by hate, upsetDown ridden with disappointment, standing crookedNot human enough to be decent, rockin' a shady appear...
Posted by Cielo on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 03:11:00 PST

Jungle

Break them pockets, build those profitsDefine your limits, and once you reach, keep pushingI plan to live life to the extreme, on my termsMy legs hit the pavement, they burnDon't know what it is, can'...
Posted by Cielo on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:33:00 PST

Diversity Where it Matters!

Dear Friend, The Supreme Court recently dealt a huge blow to civil rights protections by making it nearly impossible for employees to challenge pay discrimination. More than forty years after the pas...
Posted by Cielo on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:35:00 PST