Meet Our National Poetry Slammers! Part 2

Meet our two poet-athletes representing San Francisco at the National Poetry Slam in New York City: Xitlaly and Selascie! The National Poetry slam is today at the historic Apollo theatre.

Selascie Smith and Xitlaly Martinez, Bay Area representatives at the America SCORES National Poetry Slam, pose for a future album cover at a Game Day this Spring.

Xitlaly Martinez
5th Grade, ER Taylor Elementary School

Xitlaly finds inspiration for her poetry from the music she listens to and from her parents ... her heroes. When she grows up, Xitlaly plans to work as a scientist to develop medical cures.

This year Xitlaly is focusing on doing well in school and enjoying her time on the soccer field. She thanks her SCORES coach, Manny Anaya, for being a great coach and mentor to her and her team. Xitlaly is very proud to represent San Francisco and her teammates from ER Taylor in her first trip to New York City!


Selascie Smith
4th Grade, Junipero Serra Elementary School

Even when Selascie isn't playing his favorite sport of soccer, he still loves to be outside. He draws inspiration for his poetry from everyday life, from what he learns at school, and what he reads in the newspaper. Selascie is also inspired by his hero Martin Luther King Jr. 

Selascie has many talents and interests, one of which is being a sports announcer. Watch out...he could be the next announcer for his San Francisco Giants!

Meet Our National Poetry Slammers! Part I

Four  students have been chosen to represent the Bay Area at the National SCORES Poetry Slam in New York City. A week from today these students will perform their original poems on stage at the historic Apollo Theatre.

Meet our two representatives from West Contra Costa in the East Bay:

Nayeli Cuiriz Galvan, Grant Elementary 

Ask anyone on the Grant SCORES Girls team, “Who is someone on their team who is always positive and full of energy?”… Hands down they will all cheer … NAYELI!! 

Nayeli is a bright and exuberant student who loves to play soccer with her SCORES team.  She especially enjoys performing in front of an audience and is so excited to perform her poetry on the big stage at the Apollo Theatre.

When Nayeli grows up she aspires to be a veterinarian. She is so thankful for the strong support and love of her family.

Christian Gomez, Grant Elementary

Christian is a motivated young man who loves challenges and always pursues opportunities to succeed and to grow. When he heard about the audition to represent SCORES at this National Slam, Christian jumped at the opportunity.

At his school, Grant Elementary, and on his team, Christian exhibits strong leadership everyday and is known by his peers as “the peacemaker". During this trip, Christian looks forward to meeting other SCORES kids from across the country and to explore New York City!