Monday, April 15, 2024 is the kickoff of the MEGA CORAZÓN celebration, an online spoken word marathon that is part of San Antonio’s National Poetry Month participation. This festival presents San Antonio’s poetic tradition that combines street, classical, and slam performance styles in a production that is improvisational, at times painful, and choreographed for a highly visual impact. The festival will begin streaming at urban15.org/live-stream/ at 8pm on April 15, and will highlight about 90 poems from various artists throughout a continuous 24-hour loop.

This year’s poet lineup includes past San Antonio Poets Laureate Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, Octavio Quintanilla, and Carmen Tafolla, as well as Texas Poet Laureate ire’ne lara silva, and newly named San Antonio Poet Laureate Eddie Vega. Returning also will be a variety of talented and locally recognized poets such as Anthony “The Poet” Flores, Amalia Ortiz, and Jim LaVilla-Havelin, among others.

The winner of Mega Corazón will be determined by an online vote that URBAN-15 will launch on the same day as the livestream. Once Mega Corazón comes to a close, votes will be tallied, and the winner will be awarded the $500 Gregg Barrios “Precious Words Prize”.

The Gregg Barrios “Precious Words Prize” was created by world-renowned poet and author Gregg Barrios in 2021 to award the Mega Corazon poet selected by the on-line audience for the best performance during the festival. The 2021 winner was Amalia Ortiz, 2022 winner was Jessica Tilton Zertuche and 2023 winner was Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson.