Latinx Poet Christopher Soto Inspired Students at UWM’s Lyrical Sanctuary

The first thing Christopher Soto acknowledged when they got on stage was that Wisconsin is a swing state and that we need to “fight hard.” A lot of their pieces have anti-authoritarian themes and heavily criticize politics. Punk Aesthetic writing style is also the desire for change in one or a collective’s condition, according to Soto. Soto is all for protesting or standing against the powers that govern us. They (Soto’s preferred pronoun) want people to be aware of the current societal issues that are heavily present within the lives of Latinx and LGBTQ+ people. 

“For poetry you never know what people will get,” said Soto. “It’s about contributing to protests and movements.” 

Lyrical Sanctuary open mic night gives students the opportunity to perform and present their pieces in a safe space. Every month, there is a featured artist that presents spoken word, music, or art. This month’s featured artist was Soto, who is a social activist and poet. 

Soto is from a large El Salvadoran immigrant family, and his father’s side of the family is Puerto Rican. Soto was educated at New York University and lives in Brooklyn but grew up in Los Angeles. Soto was a part of the Poetry Society of America and wrote a book called “Sad Girl Poems.” Soto is non-binary and goes by the name as “Loma” or pronouns like “they.” 

Soto read pieces that helped give comfort to people who feel like being themselves isn’t okay. Soto wasn’t the only one who presented. Several UWM students also volunteered to present their pieces during the event. A lot of pieces presented by students or faculty during the open mic night dealt with issues like self-identity, sexuality, gender, toxic masculinity, and women empowerment. 

The event included DJ Bizzon, a music producer and radio host who had music ready to play for anyone who would need it for their piece. The event also had an artist with a projector who would depict the poetry with images. Lyrical Sanctuary is held on a Wednesday of each month, although the date itself varies. The writing workshops are in the Inclusive Excellence Center in the UWM Union from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. The open mic and performance are from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the UWM Union Fireside Lounge. 

Soto’s work touched on topics like trauma, intimacy, and identity. Soto grew up using a Punk Aesthetic writing style which makes their work much more explicit. Punk style is meant to be crude, but looking beyond that there is tenderness or pain, according to Soto’s essay on defining Punk.

“Promoting voting was the first thing I wanted to touch on because I know Wisconsin is a swing state, and we need change,” said Soto. 

At the end of Soto’s performance, they encouraged students to write what they want to write. They want people to write about their issues and present them in an unapologetic way.

Students at the event felt like a safer space was created to present their own personal struggles after Soto had presented his work. 

 “It makes me feel very included being surrounded by this community and seeing people present their pieces,” said Anna Benjamin a junior at UWM. “It makes me feel in place.” 

Benjamin said it was her first time presenting at Lyrical Sanctuary, but it wasn’t her first time attending the event. She felt nervous but free while presenting her work. Benjamin was very inspired by Soto’s poetry that she had presented a second time after Soto’s performance. She said that she would be very interested in seeing another poet like Soto due to their punk style. She also feels like UWM does enough to create a diverse campus and create an accepting community. 

“This was a moment of catharsis for me and for all,” said Andrew McKee a senior at UWM. “It’s a very beautiful thing when a safe space is created.”

McKee was another presenter at the event who felt that UWM is a safe space for Latinx students and LGBTQ+ students. McKee also acknowledged that he feels that students here at UWM are socially comfortable in presenting themselves in any matter. He also agreed that he would encourage another artist like Soto to come to UWM. He felt that Soto had a positive influence on everyone. McKee had also gone up for a second time after Soto was done performing.

“I say to the folks who are writing, know your stuff is good, know your stuff is real,” said Soto.